If you experienced difficult circumstances which may have affected your exam performance (mitigating circumstances), you can tell us by submitting details through MyACCA.
- How to apply for mitigating circumstances
- What type of issues might be considered mitigating circumstances?
- Evidence of mitigating circumstances
- Can I claim mitigating circumstances for on-demand CBEs?
- What are my options if I don't believe my circumstances have been fully considered when I receive my result?
How to apply for mitigating circumstances
You can let us know about mitigating circumstances by submitting details via the Exams section of your MyACCA portal.
To view the mitigating circumstances submission deadline dates for upcoming sessions, visit the important dates section. All notifications of mitigating circumstances and supporting evidence must be provided by this date. Watch the video below for more support on submitting your request.
How to apply for mitigating circumstances
[00:03]
Welcome to this short video about mitigating circumstances.
[00:09]
In this video, we will look at what the process involves, when to submit a request and how to do it step by step.
[00:16]
If you're a student and you have already attended an exam, but your performance has been affected because of individual mitigating circumstances, or if you have been unable to finish all of your exam because of such circumstances, you can submit your request via your My ACCA account.
[00:33]
If you have been unable to take your exam at all due to exceptional circumstances, please do not submit a mitigating circumstances request.
In some cases like that, you might be able to withdraw from your exam. You can find further details on our website.
[00:50]
Let's take a look at how you can submit your mitigating circumstances request. But first, a quick note.
The link to apply for this on my ACCA portal will not become available until the first day of your exam.
We will not accept requests after the deadline.
[01:08]
You can find details of all important dates and deadlines on our website.
[01:13]
Let's see what submitting a mitigating circumstance request would look like.
Once you've logged in to your My ACCA portal, scroll down and select help to access our knowledge base, where you'll find all the guidance you need.
Choose I'm a student.
Then select exams.
Followed by exam experience.
Next select circumstances affecting exam.
[01:49]
Here you'll find an article that explains the steps for applying for mitigating circumstances that affected your exam.
Select the qualifications drop down menu, then choose qualification progress.
Scroll down to exam support.
Then choose mitigating circumstances.
[02:11]
After reading the additional information, you will need to fill in the form. All fields with an asterisk are mandatory.
First, you pick the format of your exam.
Next, at the drop down where it says sitting, choose the exam you're referring to.
The options available to you will reflect any exams you were due to take in that session.
[02:37]
On the description field, you can give the details of the reason for your request.
The character limit on the form is only 1000 characters, and you will only be able to submit the request if you are under the character limit. So please capture the main reasons you are asking us to consider your mitigation.
[02:56]
Next, you can select from a dropdown menu the category of the reason for your request.
There are 14 categories to choose from, and these include difficult personal circumstances, such as bereavement within close family circle, ill health of the student or that of close family members, unforeseen circumstances, equipment issues, slow system performance, loss of exam time due to technical issues, revoked exams, delays to the exam start time, invigilator experience, or other.
[03:34]
Next, clicking on select files allows you to upload documents to support your request as evidence, with a maximum size of 2 megabytes in a PDF, JPEG, or Word format.
You should always try to include documentary evidence whenever possible, and the documents need to be in English.
[03:55]
After you click on submit, this is the confirmation message that you will see.
You'll also receive an acknowledgement within a few minutes.
No further communication will be issued after you receive this.
[04:12]
For more information about mitigating circumstances, please visit our website.
[04:20]
This was step by step, the process of submitting a mitigating circumstance request with some information about when and how to submit it.
Thank you for watching this video.
What type of issues might be considered mitigating circumstances?
Mitigating circumstances may include but are not limited to:
- recent bereavement
- severe illness prior to or during exam sitting
- immediate care of a relative with a severe illness or other circumstances
- technical issues.
Evidence of mitigating circumstances
It is extremely important for you to provide documentary evidence relating to your personal circumstances (where applicable), for consideration to be given.
Examples of documentary evidence may include but are not limited to:
- medical letter or official certificate
- incident reports.
Where the circumstance relates to technical issues, we will also review internal information in relation to this, in order to understand the issues that may have affected your exam.
Translations of your documents
If you are providing your documents in a language other than English, you'll need to provide an official translation as well as a copy of the documents in their original language.
Official translations must be performed and stamped by a licensed translator.
How to provide evidence
You should upload evidence via myACCA, along with your mitigating circumstances submission.
If you have any additional evidence to upload at a later date, you must submit it by the mitigating circumstances closing date. We are unable to accept any evidence provided after this date.
Can I claim mitigating circumstances for on-demand CBEs?
The mitigating circumstances process is available for all session-based exams.
Mitigating circumstances requests cannot be made for on-demand computer based exams (on-demand CBEs). These exams are highly flexible, so if you plan to take an on-demand CBE and are affected by personal circumstances, you should re-schedule the exam to a more convenient time.
If you have experienced any problems sitting an exam at an on-demand exam centre, you should report this to the CBE centre personnel directly.
What are my options if I don't believe my circumstances have been fully considered when I receive my result?
If you believe that we have not applied our procedures properly when you receive your exam result, you can appeal to the Examinations Appeals Committee.
To appeal:
Contact us via MyAcca
Appeal fee: £30.
To view the mitigating circumstances submission appeal deadline dates for upcoming sessions, visit the important dates section.
When we receive your appeal request, the relevant fee will be raised on your account. You must pay this by the appeal submission deadline.
Once you have paid the fee, we will send you an appeal acknowledgement email. This email will:
- confirm that your appeal has been registered
- advise you of the date that you will receive the outcome of your appeal.
Your request to appeal will then be forwarded to the committee for consideration.
The committee meets once per exam session. Therefore we are unable to consider any appeals made after the submission deadline, or provide you with the outcome any earlier than the date given in your acknowledgement email.
The appeals process is not a re-consideration of your circumstances. The Committee will undertake independent checks to confirm all stages of the mitigating circumstances process were undertaken and the correct mark was in fact issued to you. You will not receive any detail on the consideration given, such as awarded marks. Additional documentation or information on your circumstances cannot be submitted at this time.
