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Mitigating Circumstances

Mitigating circumstances are unseen situations or events beyond a candidate’s control which may adversely affect their ability to perform well in an exam.

You cannot apply for mitigating circumstances prior to the exam taking place. If you are experiencing disruption to your revision before your exam you should think carefully as to whether or not you should attempt it. You may wish to discuss this with the Member Services Team to see what your options are depending on the circumstances. By sitting an exam you are confirming that you are in a position to do so.

You cannot apply for mitigating circumstances for an exam you did not sit. If you have read the mitigating circumstances policy and believe that your situation falls within the reasonable grounds for applying but you have concerns about providing appropriate documentation within the timeframes allowed then please contact us via the email address listed on the policy so we can advise any appropriate action.

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Recent changes to the mitigating circumstances policy:

Application deadline

To simplify the process the deadline to both the application and the supporting documentation are now required 28 days after the last assessment date of the exam session.

Online exam incidents

If you encountered any issues whilst sitting your online exam that prevented you from doing your best (for example fire alarms or power shortages), you can apply for this to be taken into consideration.

Sending in your application

The IFoA do not require supporting photographs or medical documentation with detailed information about the condition. What is important is a detailed explanation from you as to how the situation affected your performance with some independent confirmation of this situation. It should be noted that it is rare during any part of the consideration that further evidence will be requested. The IFoA reserves the right to reject applications if they do not meet the criteria set out in the Policy.

All candidates who apply and provide the required supporting documentation in time will receive an outcome email following the release of the exam results.

Mitigating circumstances FAQs

If your final awarded mark was within 3 marks of the pass mark your application will have been presented to the panel for review. Successful applicants will be notified.

Once your application and supporting documentation has been reviewed by the panel they will decide if an extra allocation of marks is deemed appropriate. If your mark has not been adjusted then it was decided an extra allocation of marks was not appropriate.

Applications and supporting documentation must be submitted within 28 calendars days after the last assessment date of the exam session. Failure to do so may result in your application not being presented to the panel.

Resources

Mitigating circumstances application form

DOCX, 40 KB
View form

Mitigating circumstances policy and procedure

This policy and procedure provides candidates with a formal means for applying for mitigating circumstances. PDF, 270 KB
Read policy

Qualification handbook

The IFoA qualification handbook, previously the ‘student handbook’, is an essential document for all our members working towards qualification.

Read handbook
Contact us

Contact us

If you have any questions about membership please email us or call us on +44 (0) 131 240 1325. Response times can be found in our membership FAQs.

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