Where illness or other reason prevents you from studying for more than three working days, you should complete an Absence Request Form via your Student Self Service Portal (S3P).

The Absence request form should be used to report sickness or absence to your school for any periods of absence. Although it is not compulsory to complete the form, if a teaching event is monitored and there is no authorised absence request, your absence will be recorded on your record as unauthorised. The Student Engagement Policy refers.

If illness prevents you from studying for more than seven calendar days, you should obtain a medical certificate from your doctor and forward it to your academic school or tutor/supervisor as soon as possible. In addition, an application for an adjustment to an assessment as a result of personal extenuating circumstances (PEC) can be made, if appropriate.

The Absence Request Form is also used for absences other than for sickness, e.g. time away from the University for personal reasons or masters student summer vacation. You should note that these absence reasons will also require evidence 

Completing the form

The form is available on S3P and should be used by all students except Medical and Dental students. See absence request for advice on completing the form via S3P.

Medical and Dental students should use the Student Absence Request (PDF) form and send it to their academic units. If you’re using a MAC please complete the PDF form using Acrobat Reader for Mac which is a free download. If you use a different PDF reader you may experience some problems completing or submitting the form.

Personal Extenuating Circumstances (PEC)

The Personal Extenuating Policy & Procedure explains how to seek a reasonable adjustment to assessment, such as, extension, deferral etc. You may submit a self-certification PEC on up to two occasions per Semester (1 & 2), totalling four in an academic year to request a short extension (up to 7 days) to an assessment deadline submission for minor illnesses or distress, without needing to provide medical evidence. Please note, a self-certification PEC cannot be used for examinations, repeat attempts, deferrals or extraordinary assessments.

Confidential Circumstances

If you are reluctant for details of your illness to be made known, even to your tutor, you can provide your tutor a confidential letter in a sealed envelope for the Chair of the PEC Committee or Board of Examiners. This can be addressed as appropriate for the Chair’s eyes only.

Absence Request Process

To submit an absence request, please follow the steps below: 

• login to S3P and select 'Absence Request' 
• to add a new request click '+Add new request'
• select the reason for your absence from the 'absence reason' drop down
• enter the details of your absence
• attach documents or select ‘I will submit evidence later’
• tick the declaration and submit 

Your new request will appear in the Absence Request Overview in you S3P. You can change or cancel your request from this screen. Any comments from your school will appear in the absence request.