(Please note this guidance is for professional placements only for Health and Teacher Education Courses and will take effect from Monday 1st of July 2024)
What are the implications of deferring my placement?
It is important that you understand that requesting to defer your placement due to exceptional circumstances may have the following impact on your study:Course / Studies
- You may not complete your course by the expected end date
- You may have to join a later / different cohort
- Deferring placement could impact on your ability to progress to the next level of your course
Funding
You may need to apply for additional or part year funding from SFE / funding bodies if you are required to complete placement after your expected end date.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you will have the required funding in place to complete your course if your deferred placement requires you to remain on the course longer than expected.
Placement
The length of your deferred placement will be agreed by your course team based on your circumstances. The dates and location of your deferred placement is dependent on placement availability. As a result, deferring your placement could result in:
- you not completing your course by your expected end date
- placement availability determining your deferred placement dates and/or location
What circumstances are not deemed exceptional circumstances?
Examples of situations that are not Exceptional Circumstances:- A long-term or chronic health condition (which is supported by your Learning Contract as appropriate)
- Circumstances which were foreseeable or preventable
- Holidays
- Pressure of academic work (unless this contributes to ill-health)
- Poor time-management
- Lack of awareness of dates or times of assessment submission or examination
- Failures of equipment, including IT systems and computer viruses. These will only be accepted when they occur site-wide, nationally, or internationally and can be verified by an independent source
- Attending an interview for a job or placement (Where an interview for employment or a work placement clash with a scheduled assessment, a student is expected to rearrange the interview for a more appropriate time, if the employer has flexibility to do that)
- Requests relating to group assessment, particularly in relation to the planning and preparation (e.g., intra-group conflict or absence/non-cooperation of one or more group members). Instead, these should be reported directly to the Module Leader at the earliest opportunity
The following reason will not be considered for students who are required to do professional placements as part of their course:
- Travel time to placement within two hours
- Commuting costs
The links below outline the expectations of your course in relation to attending placement:
https://www.shu.ac.uk/health-social-placements
Education placements | Sheffield Hallam University (shu.ac.uk)
Please see the ‘Extensions and Exceptional Circumstances Policy and Procedure for full details: Access policy under 'Assessment support and extenuating circumstances
When do I inform the University that I am experiencing issues impacting my placement?
You must inform a member of your course team or a Student Support Adviser at the point that you are experiencing issues impacting your placement. Failure to notify the University or informing the University late may impact your ability to complete or pass your placement.
When should I speak to someone about deferring my placement and who should I speak to?
Please contact your Student Support Adviser via Hallam Help as soon as your placement is impacted due to exceptional circumstances to discuss the issues you are experiencing, so they can advise you on the options available to you. Click on the following link to find out how to access support from a Student Support Adviser
You should also speak to your course leader to make them aware that you are experiencing difficulties.
If you are experiencing issues that mean you cannot attend some, but not all, of your placement this may not mean that you need to request to defer your placement. Please seek advice from your Student Support Adviser, via Hallam Help, and Course Leader as detailed above to discuss the impact of the issues you are experiencing and the action that you need to take.
Requests which are submitted after publication of provisional and confirmed results will normally result in an automatic refusal.
How do I request to defer my placement due to exceptional circumstances?
When you discuss your circumstances with your Student Support Adviser, they will provide advice and guidance on how to request Extenuating Circumstances. The ‘Submitting Exceptional Circumstances Requests’ information on My Hallam explains how to request Exceptional Circumstances - Submitting Exceptional Circumstances Requests
Will I need to provide evidence of my exceptional circumstances?
When you request consideration for Exceptional Circumstances, you will need to provide evidence which supports your request. Requests without evidence will not normally be approved.Please see the ‘Extensions and Exceptional Circumstances Policy and Procedure for full details - Access policy under 'Assessment support and extenuating circumstances
You will also need to request Student Support Adviser comments to support your request when you request your Exceptional Circumstances. A Student Support Adviser will also contact your Course Leader for comments prior to your Exceptional Circumstances being considered. This is so that the Exceptional Circumstances panel has the details of the placement requirements and your engagement with placement at the point that the request is being considered. Exceptional Circumstances requests without Student Support Adviser and Course Leader comments will not be considered by the panel.
Who considers my request?
Extenuating Circumstances panels will consider requests. Panel members include senior members of staff from Professional Services.When will I receive the outcome of my request?
The complexity of placements means that your request may take longer to process, but you will receive an email to confirm the outcome as soon as possible.What happens if my request is successful?
If your request is successful, you will be advised by email and your placement will be deferred. You may be required to attend a meeting with the relevant member of academic staff and your Student Support Adviser, if necessary, to discuss the arrangements for your deferred placement and any other changes to your assessment deadlines. Your Assessment Statement will be updated with your new assessment dates. Please make sure you are familiar with the changes so you can plan your work accordingly.If you are required to attend a meeting to discuss your deferred placement, the following will be discussed:
- When you will complete your deferred placement
- How long your deferred placement will be
- The dates of your placement and when you will be assessed on placement
- When you will find out the location of your deferred placement
After you have met with your Course Leader and Student Support Adviser your deferred placement details will be confirmed via email.
What happens if my request is unsuccessful?
If your request is unsuccessful, you will be advised by email and encouraged to contact your Student Support Adviser to discuss your options. You will be advised about the right to appeal the refusal, but you must continue to attend your placement, pending the outcome of any appeal. If the appeal is unsuccessful and you stop attending placement this may result in failure of the placement task/module.What happens if I need an Occupational Health referral due to my change in circumstances?
If your circumstances mean that you are required to be referred to occupational health you should still request exceptional circumstances to defer your placement.Your occupational health referral will confirm your fitness to be on the course and indicate where additional support and adjustments are required when you are able to go out on placement. The occupational health policy and procedure can be access via this link: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH POLICY AND PROCEDURE