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• Late submission policy

Extensions of up to 5 days

Extensions of more than 5 days, online exams, late submission policy .

The University has a late submission policy that allows extensions to be granted. The University policy for taught students on late submission of coursework can be found in  section 16.25 onwards of the Code of Assessment , which is part of the University Regulations.

If you hand in your work late, without a good reason for doing so, your mark will be reduced by two secondary bands for each day late. Anything over five days late gets an ‘H’ (i.e. zero marks).  Anything handed in after feedback has been given to the class on that assignment also gets an ‘H’ (zero).

Example: Emma’s essay would have been worth a B3. However it’s two days late and she doesn’t state a good reason why. Therefore her mark is reduced by four secondary bands, giving her a D1.

Part days count as full days –  for example:  Your essay is due on Wednesday at 5 pm.  You hand it in on Friday at lunchtime – a day and a half over time.  This counts as two days late, so would normally be penalised by four secondary bands in total.

If you do have a good reason why you can’t hand work in on time, then try to ask for an extension  before  the deadline if you possibly can. There are a couple of different rules, depending on the severity of the situation and how late you are in submitting the work.

Your course convenor has the power to give an extension of up to five days without any late penalties being applied to your work, provided you have a reasonable basis for needing the extension.

If you were unable to ask for an extension beforehand (because of whatever the circumstances are that are making you late with the work) then it’s still worth bringing your circumstances to the attention of your course convenor as they may still exempt you from the late penalties.

If you need longer than five days then you will need to apply under the ‘ Good Cause ’ rules. These are also in the Code of Assessment . There is no definitive list of what constitutes ‘Good Cause’, but things like being ill or injured, or other exceptional circumstances such as a death in the family are likely to be included. If you can establish ‘Good Cause’ for your late submission then the late penalties can be waived. See also the  Student Absence Policy  , and this handy flowchart guide to whether an  Absence Report or Good Cause Claim  is needed.  The University has also produced some helpful  Good Cause FAQs .

Remember to leave yourself enough time at the end of the online exam to upload your exam submission. The University can be very strict on accepting any submissions that are received after the exam time has ended. Please refer to the University's  Online Exam and Late Submission Policy .

If you experience any technical or IT issues during an online exam  it is vital that you contact the University's IT Helpdesk to report this.  Even if the IT Helpdesk are unable to assist or resolve the issue for you, if you decide to submit a Good Cause claim for the exam the fact that you have a record of contacting them could be vital evidence to support your claim.

If you disagree with your School’s decision about late penalties, you have the right to appeal. Please see our page on  appeals  for further information about this.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact the  SRC Advice Centre .

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How can I apply for 7-day extensions for coursework assessments (including essays and dissertations)?

This article provides an overview of the 7-day arrangements that can be made for disabled students when completing coursework. Students will be able to request up to 7 days of additional time to complete assessed coursework. 

This also includes: 

• Essays 
• Dissertations 

Important to know:  This adjustment cannot be made for assessments with short deadlines (less than 3 weeks between assessment details provided and the submission deadline). Similarly, it can't be made for written exams (face-to-face and online).

How can I apply for the 7-day extensions for coursework assessments? 

The first step is to make sure the 7-day extensions are added to your Personalised Assessment Arrangement (PAA). To do this: 

• Make sure you have a Personalised Assessment Arrangement (PAA). If you don't have a PAA, please refer to our article  Guidance for applying for Personalised Assessment Arrangements (PAA) .
• Go to your PAA application form on Student Records  and select the '7-day extension provision'.
• When this is approved by the PAA panel, you'll have the option to request 7-day extensions for your assessments via the Mitigating Circumstances Form.

Important to know: The Examinations Office are not able to help with 7-day extension queries after the PAA application stage. Please ask for help within your department instead.

How do I submit a request for the 7 day extension?

• Log on to  Student Records ;
• Select ‘Student Home Page’ within the banner at the top of the homepage;
• Select ‘My Mitigating Circumstances’ within the ‘My Modules’ area;
• Select ‘New Request’ within the ‘Submit a new Mitigating Circumstances request’ area;
• Select the “Extension Granted by PAA” option from the 'Nature of Circumstances' drop-down list;
• Fill in the details on the form, as applicable. 

You will need to complete these steps each time you want to request a 7-day extension for a coursework assessment.

What happens after my request is submitted?

Common questions about the application process

I'm a King's Online student, can I apply for PAA and 7-day coursework extensions? 

All disabled students can apply for 7-day coursework extensions. Please note that extensions are not always possible for assessments with short time frames. To learn more about the ways we support disabled students, please read our article  An overview of the provisions and support you can access for your disability at King's .

Why can't I select a 7-day extension request in the Mitigating Circumstances form? 

Before completing the Mitigating Circumstances Form, you need to apply for the 7-day extension via an application for Personalised Assessments Arrangements (PAA).

Please apply for all provisions that may be required. Have a look at our article  What are Personalised Assessment Arrangements (PAA)?  for further guidance.

I’ve submitted my application for PAA; why can’t I see the option to select a 7-day extension within my Mitigating Circumstances form?  

If you're not able to request a 7-day extension request in your Mitigating Circumstances form, your application for PAA may still be under review. To check the status of your application, please email the Examinations Office . 

Important to know:  For guidance on what to expect once you’ve applied for PAA, please read our article  After you have applied for Personalised Assessment Arrangements (PAA) .​​​​

Is there a restriction on how many requests I can make for a 7-day extension?  

You can only request one 7-day extension per assessment.

There's no restriction on requesting 7-day extensions for different coursework assessments.

If you request a 7-day extension and find that you need more than the 7 additional days, you’ll need to submit another Mitigating Circumstances form, and select another category. You'll need to provide an explanation of your circumstances and supporting evidence.    

Important to know:  Some academic departments may offer you a short extension that is longer than  the approved  seven days .  This may be for administrative reasons, or to keep within their assessment cycles, but you are able to hand in your work at any point during the agreed extension time. ​​​​​​

If 7-day extensions can only be applied to assessments where completion time/deadlines are set at least three weeks in advance, what about other assessments with shorter timings? 

E xtra time is available for timed tests and examinations, but assessments with short time frames (including 24-hour online examinations) usually have additional time built in, so that it is not necessary to add any further time for disabled students. ​​​​​​

Can I request a 7-day extension for a dissertation?  

Yes, you  are able to  request a  7-day  extension for a dissertation.

Can I request a 7-day extension for a presentation?  

This would not normally be appropriate, but if you are required to submit your presentation in a written format then you can request a 7-day extension for it.  

Important to know:  Verbal presentation deadlines can't be extended under this arrangement. You should speak to your personal tutor if you will not be able to present at the time given. To find out how to contact your personal tutor, read our article Who is my personal tutor & what do they do?

My tutor has set a task to complete for next week and won’t provide an extension, why is this? 

Assessments with short time frames (see above) are not covered by the 7-day extension arrangement. Assessments with short time frames are set with enough time for all students to complete them, including those who need extra time compared to others.   ​​​​​​

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Policy on penalties for late submission of assessed work

This page contains the University's policy on penalties for the late submission of assessed work. Its content is applicable to staff and students across all of the UK, China and Malaysia campuses.

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Essential information.

Includes: standard deadline for submission of coursework; deduction of marks upon expiry

The standard deadline for submission of coursework on all campuses should be 15:00 local time.

A deduction of five percentage points i.e. 5% of the maximum possible mark (100%) shall be imposed upon expiry of the deadline, and an additional 5% per subsequent 24 hour period (weekends and University closure days do not count as days where a 5% is to be imposed). 

For example, an original mark of 67% would be successively reduced to 62%, 57%, 52%, 47% etc. It is understood that, exceptionally, there may be academic grounds for different penalties to apply. 

Includes: university procedure for coursework submitted late; penalty for late submission; extensions when a student is likely to miss a deadline; assessment regulations

The University follows the following procedure when coursework is submitted late: 

1.    When coursework (including essays, laboratory reports, projects, performance or other similar activities) is to constitute part of the whole of the assessment for a module, students should be told in writing at the start of the module the deadline by which the coursework is to be submitted and the penalty for late submission. Deadlines should be set taking account of student workload,and must avoid the revision period. (In certain cases, deadlines during the examination period may be acceptable.)  Friday deadlines should be avoided where practicable.

2.    If coursework is submitted late without a valid extenuating circumstance claim being approved, it should be marked in the normal way, and a penalty then applied. For the benefit of the student, external examiners and others, the original mark and the penalised mark should both be clearly indicated to the student when work is returned. The pre-penalty mark should be used as part of the School/Department’s feedback and moderation processes and the post-penalty mark should be used in any progression or award calculation and will appear on a student’s Transcript or Diploma Supplement. To minimise disputes about timing or submission, coursework should be date-stamped and receipted in some way. 

3.   The standard University penalty for late submission should be 5% per day, until the mark reaches zero. A deduction of 5% of the actual mark achieved shall be imposed upon expiry of the deadline, and an additional 5% per subsequent 24 hour period (weekends and University closure days do not count as days where a 5% is to be imposed). It is understood that, exceptionally, there may be academic grounds for different penalties to apply, with the approval of the Head of School/Department, for example, when solutions are to be discussed on a particular date, so that work submitted after this date is essentially worthless.

4.    The standard penalties are intended to be very easy to understand, to be sufficiently severe to discourage deliberate late submission (bargaining the penalty against potential improvements to the work), but to encourage late submission in preference to no submission. Any different penalties should, if possible have the same intentions.

5.    A student who is likely to miss a deadline should discuss their situation as early as possible with their personal tutor and with the member of staff responsible for the coursework. Extensions to deadlines should not be allowed without extenuating circumstances to ensure fairness to those students who do manage to complete their assignments in good time the procedures laid down under the Assessment Regulations and Extenuating Circumstances policy should be followed.

6.   The application of a late penalty may mean that a student fails the relevant piece of work and/or module and this may affect the student’s overall average for the relevant stage of their programme of study so that reassessment is necessary before the student can be considered for progression or award.

7.   In circumstances where students have the right to a reassessment as outlined in the relevant undergraduate or postgraduate study regulations, Schools/Departments will determine the form of reassessment.

8. Schools/Departments may, where without penalty the work is a pass and/or where it is not appropriate to set a new piece of work use the pre-penalty mark as the reassessment mark at the exam board instead of requiring the student to take further assessment. The pre-penalty mark will be utilised for progression purposes only.   The decision on whether or not it is appropriate to set a new piece of work is at School discretion and based on the pedagogy or duration of a particular assessment.

For more information about the assessment regulations, please consult the following:

Assessment regulations

UNUK students   

Student services, unnc students .

UNM students 

Staff       , related content.

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Submission of Work for Assessment

Submission of work for assessment (taught programmes) - 2023/24.

Submission of anonymised coursework for assessment, word limits and penalties, extensions and penalties for unauthorised late submission, provisional marks and feedback, and retention of coursework

*Summative coursework is defined as work that is taken into account by a Board of Examiners for the purposes of progression and/or for an award. Formative coursework is defined as work that is not taken into account by a Board of Examiners for the purposes of progression and/or for an award.

Submission of anonymised work for assessment

(1) All written coursework, project reports and dissertations submitted by undergraduate and taught postgraduate students for assessments that have a summative component should be identified by a unique identifer, such as a student's user name or registration number and not by their name. [1]

(2) Coursework which is entirely formative – i.e. is to help the development of a student and which does not count towards decisions regarding progression or the conferment of an award – need not be anonymised. In some circumstances, even though a piece of coursework is identified only by a student registration number, the first marker may know the identity of the student because of the nature of the assessment - e.g. because of the personalised form of teaching, or because a student has been given specific advice by a marker on a reassessment, and because supervisors will know the real identities of their project and dissertation students. It is also possible in these circumstances that a second marker may know the identity of the student. External examiners or moderators will not, however, be aware of the identity of the student.Please note that in the current academic year, late work submitted in Turnitin after the majority of work has been marked will be identified by student name (rather than student registration number) this is due to technical constraints of the system at this time. If a marker considers that a written assignment should not be anonymised, they should consult the appropriate Faculty Associate Dean (Learning, Teaching and Quality), who may discuss the circumstances with the Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Education and Curriculum. Markers are reminded that they should not break trust with students by seeking to identify them from their registration number at the point of marking coursework.

[1] 'subject to what is possible due to technical system constraints' 

Word limits

(3) Information on the word limit of each item of coursework (whether formative or summative) shall be published to students. The word limit will be clearly stated in the title of the written assignment, project, report or dissertation. For example, an essay may have the title ‘Essay 1 (2500 words)’, where the number in brackets indicates the word limit. (There will be obvious exceptions, for example, where the assignment requires formulae or computer code rather than text).

(4) The word count for coursework, written assignments, projects, reports and dissertations shall include: Footnotes and endnotes, references (in the main text), tables and illustrations and if applicable the abstract, title page and contents page.  Any appendicised material and the bibliography or reference list shall be excluded from the word count.  Where it is agreed that bibliographic referencing will take the form of footnotes and/or endnotes this will not be included in the word count - any additional notes within the body of the text will be counted.

(5) Students should declare the word count of the text of their assignment on the coversheet (for an eVision or hard copy submission) or in the comments box (for a Blackboard submission).

(6) Markers who suspect an assignment is over the word limit should assign it an un-penalised mark, and return it to the Learning and Teaching Hub, flagged appropriately, for investigation and application of any resulting penalty.  Penalties will be applied if work exceeds the word limit, with a 10% tolerance allowance.

(7) Students are required to submit an electronic version of the originally-submitted work in a format which can be checked for word count (for example Word or Excel) when requested by Learning and Teaching Service staff to do so, when the marker has raised a suspicion that the student has exceeded the word count.

(8) Failure to submit an electronic version of the work for checking will result in the mark for the assignment being capped at the pass mark.

(9) Cases of intentional misrepresentation of the word count will result in the mark being capped at the pass mark.

(10) When an assignment is excessively over the word limit, the marker is obliged to read up to the limit but is not obliged to read beyond it. It is recommended that a 10% allowance is made in determining the cut-off point, which should be clearly identified on the script by the marker. The awarded mark will reflect the assignment content up to that cut-off point.  In addition, this awarded mark will have a 10 mark deduction penalty applied by Learning and Teaching Service staff. For Pass/Fail assignments where the word count is found to exceed the word limit plus 10%, the judgement on whether the grade is a pass or a fail should made only on the text up to the word limit plus 10%.

Penalties for exceeding the word limit

(11) The penalties for exceeding the word limit are:

There is a separate policy covering word limits in online exams . 

Arrangements for submission of work for assessment

(12) The method of submission for assignments will be published to students, for example through the Student Information System’s web interface, eVision.

(13) For the majority of assignments, students will submit their work electronically.  Where electronic submission is set up for a module assignment it will be the only method to submit the assignment; hard copies will not be accepted.

(14) For limited number of assessments, electronic submission is not appropriate, (for example because the work is an artefact of a circuit board) and the work should be submitted as advised by the Module Organiser. 

(15) The deadline for submission will be 15.00 on the specified date.

(16) The specified date for submitting work for assessment should be a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday and may not include student vacations.

(17) Students should be reminded, when work for assessment is set, that the deadline for a piece of work is the last possible time for the work to be submitted without penalty for late submission (in the absence of exceptional circumstances) and that time should be allowed for the submission process and for checking the quality of the submission. The earliest time for submission being one week ahead of the deadline.              

(18) Electronic submission will only be considered as ‘submitted’ on successful completion of the defined submission process. Failed submission attempts, or partial completion of the electronic process by the deadline will not be considered as ‘submitted’.

(19) In instances of a student submitting an electronic file for assessment that fails to comply with the published instructions, and the work cannot be marked as a result (e.g. the file type cannot be opened and read) then this work will be given a mark of zero. This recognises that a submission has been made by the deadline, but cannot be assessed.

(20) The student is responsible for checking the quality of the electronic submission. Students should check that the correct file has been uploaded and resolve any issues with corruption in transit. Where any work submitted has been corrupted in transit, to the extent that the final submission cannot be assessed, the work will be given a mark of zero.

(21) Work may be submitted up to 20 days after the published deadline. The method of submission will be the same as for pre-deadline submission. Late submission in the absence of acceptable exceptional circumstances will be subject to a penalty as set out below.

Confirmation of submission

(22) Submission confirmation details will be published to students (through the Virtual Learning Environment (Blackboard)) at the point of uploading, for electronic submissions.

Extensions for late submission of work for assessment

(23) Each Semester, submission and return deadlines should be published to students, for example through eVision.

(24) Students who have a valid reason for needing an extension should refer to  the Exceptional Circumstances Regulations

Penalties for unauthorised late submission of work for assessment

(25) The penalties for late submission of numerically marked work for assessment in the absence of acceptable exceptional circumstances are:

Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays will be taken into account for the purposes of calculation of marks deducted.

• The penalties assume the work will have a maximum of 100 possible marks. The penalties should be adjusted pro-rata for any other (numerical) marking scheme.

(26) Late submission of pass/fail marked work for assessment in the absence of acceptable exceptional circumstances will be awarded a fail mark.

(27) All submitted work for assessment up to 20 working days after the published deadline will be marked normally and a non-penalised mark recorded in Blackboard. The Learning and Teaching Service staff will deduct any penalty for late submission where there are no accepted exceptional circumstances and record this in the student records system (viewable in eVision).  Any work submitted for assessment more than 20 working days after the published deadline (where there are no exceptional circumstances and where an extension has not been approved) will not be marked and will receive an automatic mark of zero / fail. This will apply to work submitted beyond an approved extension date, if the submission date is more than 20 working days after the published deadline.

(28) The Academic Appeals Procedure may be used where a request for an extension to a deadline has been denied. However penalties are not open to appeal.

(29) The unauthorised late submission of work or exceeding the word limit are the only circumstances in which marks may be deducted from the merit mark. Where plagiarism or collusion is detected an adjusted mark may be awarded in accordance with the Plagiarism and Collusion Policy . Where a student does not achieve an intended learning or assessment outcome the marks awarded or withheld will reflect this. Negative marking is not permitted.

Provisional marks and feedback

(30) Marks for summative coursework remain provisional and possibly subject to change until confirmed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

(31) Feedback on assessed work will cover essays, reports, exercises, presentations, performance and practice placements. It will take account of the learning outcomes of the assignment and the relevant marking criteria.

(32) Students will be given advice on the academic support available to them in the event of feedback indicating areas for improvement and enhancement.

(33) Feedback in the form of basic statistics (e.g. average marks and standard deviations) will be made available to student cohorts, where appropriate, so that students may gauge their performance against that of their peers (no individual will be identified).

(34) The deadline for return of feedback and provisional marks on larger pieces of work, notably essays, will where possible be set sufficiently in advance of the deadline for handing in a further piece of work of the same kind to ensure students can benefit appropriately from the feedback.

(35) The University is committed to returning feedback and provisional marks on summative coursework to students who submitted by the deadline as soon as possible, ideally within 15 working days and certainly no later than 20 working days after the published deadline for submission. Normally this is the return of the marked coursework. Provisional marks will also be published on the students’ eVision pages.

(36) It is recognised that illness or other unforeseen circumstances may delay turnaround time beyond the 20 working days deadline: where this occurs students affected by the delay should be informed.

(37) Because of their nature, Dissertations, Placement Reports, Projects, and Portfolios at undergraduate and at Master’s level, are normally returned within 30 working days.

(38) The conditions set out in the Re-Marking Policy should be referenced by students considering making a request for an assessment to be re-marked.

(39) Where a student has been given an extension to submit coursework after the deadline, feedback and provisional marks will normally be provided to that individual within 20 working days of the new submission date. Where an  approved extension to the deadline exceeds the published deadline for  feedback and provisional marks, a module organiser or teacher who has set the original piece of work will set an alternative assignment (consistent with the learning outcomes  for the original piece of work) as appropriate, so as not to compromise a fair assessment opportunity.

(40) Students are expected to retain a copy of all their summative coursework in all years of their course in case this needs to be recalled for scrutiny by Boards of Examiners as part of their decision-making processes for progression to the next Stage and/or degree classification and for moderation purposes with regard to academic standards of awards.

Return and retention of coursework

(41) The method of return of coursework will be published to students.  All feedback will be available electronically via Blackboard. 

(42) Electronic copies of students’ work will be kept on systems such as Blackboard for the duration of their study on the course plus an additional year before disposal or as specified by the Office for Students.

(43) For postgraduate students where a copy of the dissertation or research project is deposited in the School the title page shall include the candidate’s name, the title of the dissertation, the name of the degree for which the dissertation is submitted and the date of submission.  It should include the following words: “This copy of the dissertation has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that use of any information derived there-from must be in accordance with current UK Copyright Law. In addition, any quotation or extract must include full attribution.

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Preparation and Submission of Directed Independent Learning

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Swansea University Policy for the Preparation and Submission of Directed Independent Learning

1.     Introduction

This policy outlines the requirements for the submission of assessment, for directed independent learning for Postgraduate Taught Master’s students. The directed independent learning can take a variety of forms, chosen to be the most appropriate for the programme, and/or to enhance the employability prospects of the students. This can be defined at programme approval and will be equivalent to the effort required to prepare a dissertation of up to 20,000 words.

Faculties/Schools should inform students of any requirements regarding the submission of directed independent learning in the Faculty/School Handbook, including advice on the general layout (if different to the guidance below), referencing conventions and any subject/discipline specific requirements.

2.     Bar on Access - Restricting access to a commercially or otherwise sensitive piece of work

The bar on access protects a student’s intellectual property - or that of the company they work with.

Work deemed to be commercially valuable or sensitive in other ways, for example, in the use of material that is restricted by agreements or other contracts, can be protected by placing a bar on access which will mean that it will not be available to the general reader for up to five years (the period can be extended in special circumstances).

Full details on the bar on access request process are included in the specific Postgraduate Taught Master’s regulations.

Where a bar on access is granted a different statement is used on the Statements and Declarations page (see below).

3.     Number of Copies

The piece/pieces of work must be submitted in accordance with the University’s requirements. Faculties/Schools may choose one of the following options:

• To accept an electronic copy;
• To accept two soft bound copies and an electronic copy.

Faculties/Schools must inform students of the method of submission in the Faculty/School Handbook.

Work which is of particular relevance to Wales or Celtic Studies may be deposited in the University Library (copies may be decommissioned after one year).

4.     Word Count or Limits

The word limit for a piece or pieces of directed independent learning shall be defined at programme approval and will be equivalent to the effort required to prepare a dissertation of up to 20,000 words. Faculties/Schools must specify the exact requirements in their Faculty/School Handbooks.

The word limit should not include appendices (if any), essential footnotes, introductory parts and statements or the bibliography and index.

5.     The Internal Layout

If the work is submitted as a single volume the layout will generally follow this pattern:

Candidates must include the standard declaration in 6.2 (statement 1), and one of the statements in 6.3 (statement 2).  6.     Declarations and Statements

6.1   Declaration

This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree.

Signed ……………………………….            Date ………………………….

6.2   Statement 1

This work is the result of my own independent study/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A bibliography is appended.

6.3   Statement 2

Candidates shall use option one (6.3.1 below) unless a bar on access has been approved by the University. Where a bar on access has been formally approved candidates shall use option two (6.3.2 below).

I hereby give my consent for my work, if relevant and accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations.

I hereby give my consent for my work, if relevant and accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loans after expiry of a bar on access approved by the University.

7.    Formatting

Paper type (soft bound copies)

White, A4-size, with sufficient opacity to prevent any show-through: to achieve this you should employ paper with a weight of 70 to 100 gsm.

Print (soft bound copies)

Text should be printed in black ink on one side of the page only. This prevents show-through and helps to ensure that photocopies are clear.

Character or Print Height

Print or character size should not be less than 8 pt (2.50 mm) but, normally, the text-size would be equivalent to 12 pt Times New Roman.

Margins should be 4 cm (1½ inches) wide on the left-hand side and 2 cm (¾ inch) on the right-hand side.

Line Spacing

Double or one-and-a-half line spacing should be used in the main text. However, single spacing should be used in the Summary and in any indented quotations and footnotes.

Page Numbering      

Pages should be numbered sequentially. Page numbers should be placed top-right or bottom centre.

8.     Academic Integrity

The first requirement for work submitted in candidature for the degree is that it presents the results of the candidate's own work. Clearly, this demand does not exclude quotations or the representation of the views or results of other scholars in the field. Indeed, another expectation is that the candidate will relate his or her own work to that of other researchers and will clearly and unambiguously distinguish between their own thoughts, conclusions and results and those of other scholars.

The standard mechanism for ensuring that a plain distinction is made is by means of quotation marks, for direct quotations from the work of other scholars, and references to acknowledge indirect use of the work of other scholars. References must be sufficiently precise to enable the reader to obtain and consider the original work.

References are used to indicate the works mentioned in the text but the bibliography, placed at the end of the work (before the index), will not only provide the necessary details of cited work but also other works that have been useful in your study, even if they are not explicitly cited in the text.

9.     Referencing

Faculties/Schools should specify their referencing requirements in the Faculty/School Handbook; guidance on referencing styles is also available on the ISS website.

In addition, Endnote software for managing bibliographic references is available on all open access PCs. A personal copy of the Endnote software for home use can be bought at a reduced price from the Library. Information on how to obtain Endnote for home use is available from the IT Support office in the library ( [email protected] ).

10.   Time Limits

Submission of the piece/pieces of directed independent learning shall be in accordance with the time limits for postgraduate degrees. Faculties/Schools must inform students of the submission deadline in the Faculty/School Handbook.

11.   Time Limits and Extensions

A candidate's time-limit may be extended by the Student Cases Board (or Board nominees) in exceptional cases. Extensions may be granted on compassionate grounds, in cases of illness, serious domestic difficulties, or inordinate professional commitments (part-time students only) which can be demonstrated to have adversely affected a candidate's ability to complete within the stipulated period.  

A full and reasoned case, supported by appropriate medical or other independent evidence, must be made by the Faculty/School and submitted to Education Services where it will be considered, administratively, on behalf of the Student Cases Board. A clear statement must be supplied, showing that the Faculty/School concerned has evaluated the situation in which the candidate finds him/herself as a result of the illness or other circumstance and that it considers the requested extension to be appropriate. Such a statement will, wherever possible, follow direct contact between the candidate and the Faculty/School.