Please click on the relevant link for information
Progress review and upgrade panels are required to consider any exceptional circumstances information submitted by a student. However, exceptional circumstances do not create a separate assessment process and do not automatically determine an outcome. In all cases, panels remain responsible for exercising academic judgement and determining the most appropriate outcome under the Regulations for Research Degrees.
In practice, panels will begin by considering what outcome would be appropriate based on the student’s academic progress and performance. They will then consider whether the exceptional circumstances mean that a different outcome would be more appropriate. Exceptional circumstances are therefore only one factor that informs a panel’s judgement. They do not replace academic judgement.
Exceptional circumstances are circumstances outside your control which have had a significant impact on your ability to engage with your studies, prepare for assessment, or perform under assessment.
No. Panels consider exceptional circumstances alongside all other relevant information. Submitting exceptional circumstances does not guarantee a particular progress review or upgrade outcome.
Progress review panels must select one of the outcomes permitted by the Regulations for Research Degrees/ These are:
- continued registration without conditions;
- continued registration with conditions;
- continued registration as an MPhil candidate; or
- termination of registration.
Where exceptional circumstances have affected a student’s progress, the panel may conclude that a less serious outcome is more appropriate than it would otherwise have been. Equally, a panel may conclude that the circumstances do not justify departing from the outcome it would otherwise have reached.
The key question is whether, after taking the circumstances into account, the student retains a realistic pathway to satisfying the academic requirements of their programme.
No. Panels may decide that conditions remain necessary even where exceptional circumstances are accepted.
No. Panels will consider the circumstances carefully, but may still reach these outcomes if they conclude that they remain appropriate in light of all the available evidence.
Upgrade assessments consider whether a student has demonstrated the potential to complete a doctoral-level thesis. For MPhil/PhD students, upgrade assessments are governed by the framework set out in the Regulations for Research Degrees. For MRes/PhD students, upgrade assessments are governed by rules set out in the regulations for their programme. Where exceptional circumstances have affected performance in an upgrade assessment, the panel will take those circumstances into account when exercising its academic judgement.
As with progress review, the presence of exceptional circumstances does not automatically determine the outcome. Instead, the panel will consider whether those circumstances affect the weight that should be attached to concerns arising from the assessment.
MPhil/PhD students who are not upgraded at the first attempt are normally entitled to resubmit work and be re-examined in accordance with the Regulations for Research Degrees. MRes/PhD students’ re-sit entitlements are governed through specific programme regulations, which can be found in the LSE calendar.
No. Panels remain responsible for determining whether a student has demonstrated the potential to complete a doctoral-level thesis.
Most research degree students are required to satisfy taught-course requirements before progressing further in their programme. Where a student has failed a taught-course assessment, their progress review or upgrade panel must consider the implications of that failure alongside any exceptional circumstances that may have affected performance.
Where a panel concludes that exceptional circumstances materially affected the assessment outcome, it may decide that the failed assessment should carry less weight than it otherwise would when considering the student’s overall academic position. The key issue for the panel will normally be whether the student retains a realistic pathway to satisfying the academic requirements of the programme.
Exceptional circumstances do not automatically remove the requirement to satisfy taught-course requirements. Instead, they form part of the evidence considered by the panel when exercising academic judgement.
No. Progress review and upgrade panels cannot waive taught-course requirements or disregard failed assessments on their own.
Where a student has failed a taught-course assessment, the panel should first consider the student’s overall academic position, including any exceptional circumstances that may have affected performance. If the panel concludes that the student remains capable of satisfying the programme requirements, it will normally expect the student to take any re-sit opportunities available under the programme regulations
If a department believes that a student should be permitted a further assessment opportunity beyond those normally available under programme regulations, it may ask the Chair of the Research Degrees Sub-Committee (RDSC) to suspend the relevant regulations.
In considering such a request, the Chair will normally assume that permitting a further assessment opportunity is preferable to waiving an academic requirement altogether, provided there remains a realistic prospect that the student can satisfy the requirement.
Yes. The Chair of RDSC may approve a suspension of the regulations that allows a taught-course requirement to be waived.
However, waivers will normally be approved only in genuinely exceptional circumstances. Before approving a waiver, the Chair would normally need to be satisfied that:
- the course failure will not affect the student’s ability to complete and submit their thesis on time;
- requiring a further assessment attempt would not be the most appropriate response; and
- waiving the requirement is justified in light of all the circumstances of the case.
The existence of exceptional circumstances does not automatically justify a waiver. Each case will be considered on its individual merits.
No. Progress review and upgrade panels cannot create additional assessment opportunities on their own.
If a department believes that a student should be permitted an assessment opportunity beyond those normally available under programme regulations, it must seek permission from the Chair of RDSC to suspend the relevant regulations.
Exceptional circumstances are intended to ensure that panels have the fullest possible understanding of a student’s circumstances when exercising academic judgement. They do not guarantee a particular outcome, remove the requirement to satisfy academic or progression requirements, create additional assessment attempts automatically, replace academic judgement, or prevent a panel from reaching an adverse decision where the academic evidence supports it.
No. Exceptional circumstances do not change academic marks.
No. A panel must still reach an academic judgement based on all available evidence.