An approved deferral allows you to postpone an attempt at an assessment to the next appropriate opportunity without being marked as absent. 

It is important to note the following:

• A deferral is not a right. Permission to defer will only be given where you have provided a completed deferral form, and have sufficiently demonstrated your inability to complete an assessment due to mitigating circumstances. Supporting evidence must be relevant and proximate to the period of assessment.
• You will need to provide evidence to support your request, guidance on what evidence is appropiate and how to upload it can be found on evidence to support deferral requests. 
• Your completed deferral form and evidence must be submitted to the SSC in good time and at least 24 hours prior to either the start time of a centrally organised exam or at least 24 hours prior to any other assessment deadline (which can include an agreed extension) to be considered.
• If you submit your deferral request within 48 hours of an exam start time/assessment deadline, we cannot guarantee it will be processed before the assessment deadline. If you choose not to sit the exam/submit the assessment and your deferral request is rejected you will receive a Zero Absent (0AB) mark.
• You must submit your deferral request no later than 24 hours before an exam start time or assessment deadline (which can include an agreed extension). Requests received after this time cannot be considered. 
• It will take at least two working days from the day after you submit your deferral form and evidence for the SSC to consider and process your deferral appropriately. The outcome of your deferral request will be sent to your LSE email.
• You may request to defer any assessment appropriate to your individual circumstance. You must list each component of assessment you are seeking to defer on the deferral form. 
• If you do not request to defer all components of assessment within a course, you will be expected to attempt and complete all non-deferred components in accordance with published deadlines.
• When submitting your deferral request, you should demonstrate that you have attempted to mitigate against any foreseen circumstances that would prevent you from engaging with an assessment  (e.g. requesting an extension). 
• If you do not have an approved deferral, and you do not submit an assessment or sit an exam, you will be marked as absent. Please see the Exceptional Circumstances Guidance for further information on what to do if an assessment has taken place.
• You should refer to the Repeat Teaching webpages if your deferral is approved and you wish to apply for repeat teaching.
• If you have a deferral approved, and attempt the assessment anyway, your deferral request will stand and any mark you achieve in that assessment will be void. 
• If you have a query about the deferral process, please refer to the Student Guidance for Deferrals for support in the first instance.
• Please note, this section is for "Taught Students" only. Any research (i.e. PhD) students must refer to the Research Students Deferral Procedure below for guidance.

Research students are subject to a slightly different process than taught students. It is important to note the following:

• A deferral is not a right. Permission to defer will only be given where you have provided a completed deferral form, and have sufficiently demonstrated your inability to complete an assessment due to mitigating circumstances. Supporting evidence must be relevant and proximate to the period of assessment.
• You must ensure the evidence you provide satisfies the School's Standards of Evidence. You must ensure the evidence you provide satisfies the School's Standards of Evidence. Further guidance on evidence for deferrals can be found on the Evidence to support deferral requests webpage. 
• Your completed deferral form and evidence must be submitted to your home Department in good time and at least 24 hours prior to either the start time of a centrally organised exam or at least 24 hours prior to any other assessment deadline (which can include an agreed extension) to be considered. Should your department approve your deferral, please return the completed deferral form to the PhD Academy for processing.
• When submitting your deferral request, you should demonstrate that you have attempted to mitigate against any foreseen circumstances that would prevent you from engaging with an assessment  (e.g. requesting an extension).
• If you have a query about the deferral process, please seek advice from your home department in the first instance.

The School has a “fit to sit” policy that applies to all students. If you submit an assessment or sit an exam, the School considers you have declared yourself fit enough to do so.

Therefore if you know you are unwell or not fit to attempt an assessment in advance of the due date, you should seriously consider making a deferral request. Where you subsequently proceed to attempt the assessment, feel you have underperformed and submit Exceptional Circumstances, the Exam Boards are entitled to take in to account that you have declared yourself fit to sit. 

A deferral request must be submitted no later than 24 hours prior to an assessment taking place. If this deadline has passed you should refer to the School's webpage for Exceptional Circumstances and the Student Guidance for Exceptional Circumstances.

If you are considering requesting to defer multiple assessments, please bear in mind that if deferring to a resit periods, then it is likely all exams/assessments will be due within a one week or seven day period. Therefore, you should carefully consider the number of exams/assessments you are seeking to defer.

You may normally only request to defer an assessment once. This rule only applies to assessments due for submission in the 2023/24 academic year and future academic years. This means if you have deferred assessments into the 2023/24 academic year you may still apply to defer them again on one more occasion.

You can receive support with sitting exams and submitting assessments in the following ways:

• For non-exam formats of assessment such as coursework, essays, dissertation etc, you should consider if an extension is more appropriate for your circumstances. For further information about extensions, please review the School's Extension Policy webpage and the Student Guidance for Extensions.
• In some cases, if you have a documented medical, physical or mental health condition and/or a Specific Learning Difficulty such as dyslexia or dyspraxia you may be entitled to Central Exam Adjustments (CEAs) to assist you with your exams. Please review the following CEA webpage and “Deadlines for applying for CEAs” section below for further information about the types of adjustments that might be available and how to apply for CEAs.  

You should submit your deferral request in good time to ensure you are informed of the decision before the assessment takes place. As noted above, it will take at least two working days from the day you submit your deferral form and evidence to confirm the outcome of your request. 

For all assessments you should request a deferral no later than 24 hours in advance of either the exam start time or submission deadline (which can include an agreed extended deadline). It is not possible to request deferrals once the 24 hour cut off has passed. 

For non exams, if you require more time to submit the work as a result of your circumstances, you should consider if an extension request might be appropriate. Please see the Extension Policy webpage for further guidance.If you are not fit enough to complete the work even with an extension you should seek advice from your home Department or advice about your options from the Student Advice and Engagement Team.

Please review the Student Guidance on Deferrals, as well as the Evidence to support deferral requests webpage for additional information and support. 

Please submit your request in good time and more than 24 hours prior to the assessment deadline. Requests received outside of this criteria cannot be processed. We shall try to confirm the outcome of your request within the next two working days after your submission.

PhD students: please speak to your department directly about deferring assessed courses.

You should request to defer as soon as possible and at least 24 hours before the deadline / start-time of the assessment.

If you request a deferral within 48 hours of an assessment we cannot guarantee you will receive the decision prior to the assessment taking place. 

Please note that certain assessments cannot be deferred (e.g. components based on class attendance or participation, in-class presentations etc...). In these instances, or if you are unsure, please contact the department responsible for the assessment for further guidance. 

In cases where the 24 hour deadline is approaching and you do not have evidence, but you expect to be able to provide evidence after the deadline, then you must submit the form by the deadline. You must make your intention to defer known by submitting the form and indicating in the form there is evidence to follow. In such cases we won't make a decision about whether or not your deferral can be approved until after we have received your evidence. You will then need to submit your evidence within 14 days (see the "What happens after submitting a deferral" section).

If your deferral request is rejected, you may try to obtain further evidence and resubmit your request if there is more than 24 hours before the assessment deadline or start time of the exam. 

If there is less than 24 hours prior to the start of exam or assessment deadline it is too late to request to defer. Therefore, you must carefully consider whether or not you are fit to sit. If you are suffering from a contagious illness you must not come to campus.

If you attempt the assessment you should submit Exceptional Circumstances (ECs) and appropriate supporting evidence if you feel your performance has been impacted by circumstances beyond your control. You should explain in your EC form why you did not request to defer. Please note: individual marks can never change as a result of ECs. Rather, the only actions the Exam Boards can take is to either discount (treat as a retrospective deferral) a failed assessment or make an adjustment to your overall award if you receive a borderline* mark in that course and have a borderline* overall mark profile. It is not possible to discount a course that you pass even if you feel you have underperformed. (* to note: the definition of a borderline mark and borderline overall mark profile is defined by the classification scheme. As well as your circumstances, the Exam Boards also need to be satisfied you meet specific conditions as set out in the classification scheme for your programme).   

If you are not fit/too unwell to attempt the assessment you must submit Exceptional Circumstances (ECs) and appropriate supporting evidence so that the Exam Boards can consider whether or not to discount the absent attempt. The Exam Boards need to be satisfied you were unable to request to defer in good time and that you have appropriate supporting evidence. 

If you provided evidence with your request, you will receive an email confirming the outcome of your request. This will normally arrive within two working days but can take longer at peak periods. Weekends and closure periods are not working days.

If you do not receive an outcome in time for the relevant exam or assessment, you must carefully consider whether or not you are fit to sit. If you are suffering from a contagious illness you must not come to campus.

If you are submitting your request with evidence to follow, you must submit this within 14 days and only once received, will we consider your request. As a deferral is not guaranteed, you should consider the guidance set out in section “What happens if my deferral request is rejected or I have missed the deadline?” as to whether or not you should attempt the assessment.

If your request to defer is successful, it may still appear on your personal exam timetable. However, the deferral outcome email you receive serves as confirmation that your entry to the exam has been removed. 

Undergraduate students will normally take deferred assessments during the August In-Year Resit and Deferred Assessment Period (IRDAP). Postgraduate students will normally take deferred assessments during the January Resit and Deferred Assessment Period (RDAP). I.e. if you defer a January 2025 exam or a Spring Term 2025 exam, you would be entered to take it in January 2026.

You can find information on the re-entry webpage about when your deferred assessment(s) will take place. You will auomatically be re-entered to take any deferred, discounted or failed courses. 

Please note, if you are a finalist and defer your assessment(s) this may result in your eligibility to graduate being affected. 

If you are facing difficulties with your studies, whether for academic or personal reasons, there are many sources of support that may be able to help. 

If you anticipate difficulties with your assessments due to a documented medical, physical or mental health condition and/or a Specific Learning Difficulty such as dyslexia or dyspraxia, you should contact the Disability and Mental Health Service as soon as possible to find out what teaching and learning support is available and/or if you are eligible.

Most departments remove material from Moodle in the summer to prepare the pages for the next academic year. If your deferral request is approved please ensure that you save any material from Moodle before the end of the academic year. If you have any queries please contact the Department which runs the course(s). 

Can I defer on the basis of work commitments or if I want to take an internship?

Full time students are expected to prioritise their studies and complete their degree. Therefore, work commitments (unexpected or otherwise) are not normally an acceptable reason to defer. However, for part time students, unexpected work commitments may be acceptable provided you are able to corroborate the need to work is unexpected. Normally a letter from your employer would be acceptable.

Will I have to pay any fees when I come back to sit my deferred assessment(s)?

There are no tuition fees to pay as you would have paid for, and received, all tuition in the previous academic year.

If you are sitting a deferred first attempt at your assessment(s) then there are also no re-entry fees due. However, if you have deferred a resit, you will have to pay the re-entry fees of £60 per full unit and £35 per half unit.

Will I be entitled to tuition/supervision?

You will not be entitled to tuition or supervision for deferred exams or assessments (including your dissertation).

Can I have access to the Library even if my student ID card has expired?

Yes, and if your ID card is due to expire you can you can request a new one.

What syllabus will I be examined on when I come back to sit the deferred assessment(s)?

You will take assessments based on the syllabus which you were taught in the academic year you received teaching for the course.

How do I register for my deferred assessment(s)?

You will automatically be re-entered for your deferred assessments by the Student Records Team. Visit re-entry for more details. 

Can I defer part of a course, can I for instance, complete assessed course work and just defer the exam?

You must be specific in your deferral request about both the course and the specific assessment (or assessments) you wish to defer. For example, if you defer January exams but still have May/June exams to take for the same courses that year, then you would still be expected to sit your May/June exams that year. The marks achieved for these May/June exams would be combined with the marks you achieve for the deferred exams once you have taken them to produce an overall course mark. 

Are there limits on how many times I can defer?

Deferral is by permission and not always granted. You will normally only be allowed to defer an assessment once and be expected to attempt it during the next appropriate assessment period. 

The School will not normally approve a deferral if it would result in the student exceeding the maximum period of registration.The normal maximum period of registration is stated in the General Academic Regulations for your programme. Failure to achieve an award within the maximum period of registration allowed will result in deregistration.

Every taught programme has a maximum period of registration: this is five years for a three-year undergraduate programme, and six years for a four-year undergraduate programme. For a postgraduate programme, the normal maximum period of registration is: two years for a 9-, 10- and 12-month programme, three years for 21-month programmes, and four years for a 24-month or part-time study of any programme. 

If by deferring an assessment you will extend your studies beyond the maximum period, you may not be permitted to continue with your studies, irrespective of any outstanding assessment opportunities. If you are unsure whether you are likely to exceed your maximum period of registration or require any further advice on this, please contact the Student Services Centre in plenty of time before your deferral deadline.

Can I change my mind after I have deferred?

Once a deferral has been approved, you will not be able to withdraw it if you submit an assessment/sit an exam.

I have a student visa. If I defer, can I remain in the UK?

Your visa status may change as a result of your deferral. The School is required to report to UK Visas and Immigration any changes in the registration status of Student visa holders. This means that your Student visa may be amended or curtailed (cancelled).

Please contact the Student Advice and Engagement Team for more details and advice.