This policy sets out the principles which Birkbeck, University of London applies to the late submission of coursework, with the aim of ensuring consistent practice across the College.
This policy applies to all undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes of study. Exceptions to the policy can be applied and approved on a narrow basis by Faculty Education Committees or, where appropriate, delegated to school teaching committees but must be clearly detailed in module guides.
No individual academic member of staff should allow extensions.
Work to be considered for formal assessment that is submitted late is given two marks: a late penalty mark / late capped penalty mark, assuming it is of a pass standard, and the ‘real’ mark that would have been awarded if the work had not been late. Both marks must be reported to the student. If the work is not of a pass standard a single mark is given.
Work that is submitted up to seven calendar days late will be subject to a late penalty representing a 10% deduction of the original mark awarded. A calendar day is defined as a 24-hour period including Saturday and Sunday, as well as bank holidays and College closure days. If an assessment deadline is at noon on a Friday and the student submits it just before noon on the following Monday, their work would be late by three calendar days/72 hours. Where the original mark awarded was above the pass mark (above 40% for undergraduate level; above 50% for postgraduate level) the deduction will reduce the mark to no less than the pass mark. No penalty should be applied if the original mark for the late work was at or below a pass.
Any work that is submitted more than seven calendar days late will receive a late capped penalty mark according to the respective pass threshold (40% (undergraduate modules) and 50% (postgraduate modules)).
Students submitting work late, that is to be considered for assessment, should be afforded the opportunity to provide written evidence, medical or otherwise, as to why their work was submitted late. This should be submitted on your MyBirkbeck profile, using the procedure outlined in the Mitigating Circumstances Policy and the Guidance on the Mitigating Circumstances Procedure. Claims should be submitted no earlier than two weeks prior to the assessment deadline and no later than two weeks after the assessment deadline, with evidentiary documentation provided for second claims submitted within an academic year. All valid submitted mitigating circumstances forms will be considered by the appropriate Sub-Board of Examiners or its designated Mitigating Circumstances Sub-Board. If no such documentation is received by the deadline, the ‘real’ mark will not be considered and the penalty mark will stand.
The absolute cut-off deadline for late submission and accompanying documentation across the College is two weeks. Work from this point on will be treated as a non-submission.
All requests are collected and considered by the Sub-Board of Examiners or Mitigating Circumstances Sub-Board prior to a meeting of the full Board. The results of this consideration should be presented to the full Sub-Board of Examiners.
Appropriate procedures should be put in place for students on interdisciplinary programmes. This should normally involve submission of evidence to the school of their ‘home’ programme, and the evidence will be considered by the Sub-Board of Examiners of the ‘home’ programme. Any decisions made that relate to modules overseen by other Sub-Boards will be communicated to those Sub-Boards by the ‘home’ Sub-Board.
Policy Review
Created: June 2016
Latest update: May 2020
Date of next review: 2025-26 academic year
Owner: Quality and Regulations Manager
SLT owner: DVC Education and Student Experience
Committee oversight: Education and Student Experience Committee for Academic Board