Special Cases

A request for special consideration should be forwarded by the student’s Director of Studies or Tutor to the Secretary of the Faculty Board (departmental.administrator@ast.cam.ac.uk copying in undergraduate.admin@ast.ac.uk) using the pro forma provided, at the earliest opportunity and, at the latest, within two weeks of the results being announced.

The Director of Studies or Tutor should state the reasons for requesting dispensation, confirm that the College supports the request and is able to support the student, and believes that the student will be capable of undertaking the Part III course successfully. The application must be accompanied by copies of supervision reports, and a detailed breakdown of the student’s marks, year by year and subject by subject. The Committee nominated by the Faculty Board to consider special cases is not expected to consider circumstances of a nature on which the Examinations Access and Mitigation Committee (EAMC) would normally make a judgement. In such instances, the DoS should submit the application to both the Committee nominated by the Faculty Board and the EAMC in parallel to avoid delays in the outcome.

As laid out in section 2.1 of the Guidance notes for Examination Allowances, it is not within the remit of the EAMC to put a student in standing for a Part III course, however the Committee can consider the evidence and offer an opinion whether there are mitigating circumstances which would warrant reconsideration of the case by an Ad Hoc Committee of the Faculty Board (Stage 2).

Should the Ad Hoc Committee of the Faculty Board reject your application, you will be given the option to to escalate the appeal to Office of Student Conduct, Complaints and Appeals (OSCCA).