I had the misfortune of falling ill just before my Final Honours School (FHS) examinations and as a result, found out just how strict and unforgiving the university is of these circumstances. I had heard from friends that the university is highly inflexible regarding mitigating circumstances, but I was still unprepared for just how awful the whole process can be.
Key Resources
- MCE Guidance: Oxford’s official MCE guidance document
- Required Forms: Proctor’s Office forms
- Appeals Procedure: University Student Appeal Procedure
Should you fall ill before the examination, this could have a significant adverse impact on your grades, especially because the final grade is heavily weighted towards final examination at the end of the degree. There is an appeals process but do note that anecdotally, few cases are successful. Furthermore, there is a strict timeline on submission of appeals within 20 working days, and a lot to read up on.
As such, I make a few key recommendations upfront – if you are student who is sick now before exams, please consider the below carefully.
When am I sick enough for MCE?
As long as your performance has been affected, I would encourage you to file an MCE. This can occur as a result of acute illness, bereavement or any other reason.
Get your college involved with a paper trail as soon as possible. Email your college bursary and academic leads. They will be able to give the most updated advice, which is especially important because the rules undergo constant updating. The paper trail from the college can also form the basis of a statement from college to provide background on the extent of your circumstances. You could also ask your college staff to read through the MCE to make sure it is coherent and portrays your circumstances clearly. The college might be able to help you submit the MCE (though you can do it yourself through the self-service.
Don’t self-disqualify by assuming your situation isn’t “serious enough.” If your performance was impacted, it’s worth documenting.
Collect evidence
This is very important – the stance of the university is that it is your own responsibility to know what evidence is to be submitted – the Exam Board and Proctors will not consider anything not submitted to them.
From the guidance: “The evidence will need to be:
- Relevant – relating to the time period of your exams or your period of preparation for exams and written submissions
- Contemporary – produced close in time to the period affected (make sure all evidence is dated)
- Independent – coming from a source that is not yourself or your friends/family, that is, from a medical professional, professional services such as the University’s Counselling Service or Disability Advisory Service, a statement from the police or a solicitor, or a statement from your department/college
- Specific – if possible, it should explicitly relate to the impact your circumstances have had on you and your performance”
The handbook states that evidence should be from a college nurse or a doctor for acute illness, but longer-term conditions should be from a doctor. What is not mentioned is that the strength of the evidence matters as well even for acute illness.
You would be best served going to a doctor in-person, so that the diagnosis is deemed more credible. Yes, this is immensely difficult during the examination season but this could be critical to the strength of your subsequent MCE. While the college nurse might be a more convenient solution, Iโd still suggest going to the doctor for a more credible diagnosis.
When going to the doctor’s or the college nurse, do remember to ask them for a supporting letter/diagnosis, and if they could include the potential impact on your academic performance. Make sure that your medical note contains ALL the symptoms that you face; you will not be able to verbalise any further details about your condition – everything on the paper will be the only details considered by the exam board. This should include all information and side symptoms. Point this out to your attending nurse/doctor if they miss it out.
You can also ask for a statement from your college if they have been actively supporting you. Again, make sure that they have written down everything, in a comprehensive manner.
Document everything
Note down the conditions and how you are affected. For each exam, keep a log on the problems your circumstances cause.
Prepare your submission carefully. Your MCE documentation is the only information examiners will see-there are no interviews or opportunities to provide additional context later. Put it all in, and label the evidence nicely as different annexes. Submit your MCE after the exam. Do it immediately – the deadline is noon on the day prior to the final exam board meeting.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Your MCE will be considered with your results to form the final grade appearing on your transcript.
The potential outcomes
It’s important to maintain realistic expectations about the MCE process. According to Oxford’s guidance: “Examiners are limited in the way they can take such circumstances into account, as ultimately they have to assess your performance on the work that has been produced.โ There are only certain actions the examiners are able to take, but they will primarily rely on the performance they see on paper. This reflects Oxford’s emphasis on assessment of demonstrated performance, even when the surrounding circumstances have been challenging.
Your circumstances will be classified into three bands:
- Band 1: Low severity – unlikely to result in significant action
- Band 2: Moderate severity – may result in limited adjustments
- Band 3: High severity – most likely to receive substantive consideration
The results will be almost final – any further appeal and review will be based on procedure and whether the decision was unreasonable. There is no further consideration of the results, or for the review, of the academic appeal itself. This means that insofar as any decisions taken could exist within the range of reasonable decisions for the Exam Board/Proctor to make, the Proctor/Reviewer will not intervene.
In a nutshell – the decision of the Exam Board is almost entirely set in stone and final, unless a flagrant breach of procedure has occurred. How they set your marks is considered “academic judgement”, which cannot be further contested.
The appeal process
You can file an appeal against the treatment of your MCE if you are dissatisfied with it. While you cannot question the “academic judgement”, you can appeal the band that your MCE was classed in. You can also appeal any other procedural error or bias that may have occurred.
Do not at any point contact the examiners directly.
There are several steps:
- Speak with your college tutor and/or your department administrator to ask for more information as to how your MCE was considered.
- Only after that, should your concerns be unaddressed, you can submit an academic appeal. Form can be found in the link at the start of this post.
Unfortunately, the process could take a long time, so do factor this in when considering your application for jobs/further education.
The appeals process is supposed to take 30 working days, but they do set the caveat that they can extend the timeline for their investigations. Some cases have been known to take more than 5 months to complete. In fact, I know of folks who have been waiting for the outcome for more than a year.
The review process
If your appeal fails, you can file a review of the appeal if you believe the rationale for rejecting your appeal is flawed, unreasonable or unclear. This is not a rehashing or asking of the examiners to review your appeal again on the same grounds. Rather, it is a criticism of the treatment of your academic appeal.
Again, this process can take a very long time, yet you will have to submit your review form within 20 working days from the date of receiving the academic decision. If you are busy with work, however, you can write in to the Proctor Casework team for an extension.
Complaint to Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA)
Should you still be dissatisfied with the outcome of the review process. You can make a further complaint to the OIA. This is a body outside of the University, covering students across England and Wales.
All the best!
Navigating Oxford’s mitigating circumstances process requires diligence, thorough documentation, and realistic expectations. While the system has significant limitations, being prepared and proactive can help you present the strongest possible case, especially while dealing with the stress of impending FHS examinations.
I hope this guide helps you navigate this challenging process more effectively than I was able to. Good luck with your examinations and any MCE submissions you may need to make.
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