Questions on Post Results EC requests (PREC)
This is a specific type of EC provision that supports students who believe that their performance in centrally timetabled examinations has been affected by an exceptional circumstance during either the main examination period or resit period, or if they have missed one or more examinations. You can only submit a Post Results Exceptional Circumstances (PREC) form following publication of your results. You will be asked to provide evidence of your circumstance with your PREC request and therefore should gather this evidence at the time of your circumstance so that it is ready to submit along with that PREC request.
PREC requests MUST be made within 4 working days of the publication of your results. Requests submitted after this time are unlikely to be considered or, if they exceptionally are granted, your progress through your degree will be delayed. For further information, please contact your Student Support Co-ordinator, or Henley Helpdesk or ILSI Admin Office. Information on the PREC deadlines for Summer and Resit Examinations 2024.
Please read the FAQs below for information on how to submit a PREC, the PREC deadlines for this academic year, and information on key academic staff in your School who you should talk to immediately after receipt of your results to provide relevant advice on whether a PREC submission is right for your circumstance.
Outcomes that can be requested by a PREC:
- Deemed not to have sat (DNS) - This outcome means you have been given the chance to have a fresh attempt at your examination during the next examination period. Further Information in the FAQs below
- Repeat Year
- Have online exam marked if submitted late due to an exceptional circumstance.
The Frequently Asked Question (FAQs) below explain a number of important aspects relating to PREC requests:
- How to make a PREC request
- When you need to make a request (i.e. deadlines). These deadlines are very important.
- The potential outcomes if your request is granted
- The implications of these outcomes
- How to appeal a decision
- Where to go for more support and information
- Plus more specific questions you may have
· Login to
· Open the ‘Action’ tab, then select ‘Exceptional Circumstances’ from the list then select ‘Post Results Exceptional Circumstances’
· Please read the guidance and complete the online form, following the instructions provided
· The status/outcome of your request will be displayed on
You have up to 4 working days after your results have been published to submit the relevant PREC request form in RISIS. This is your opportunity to describe the exceptional circumstance, and its impact on you, and to provide any relevant evidence you have for your request. Please note, if you do not provide enough explanation of the circumstance or why mitigation is needed, or sufficient evidence, your request may be rejected. The evidence you supply must cover the timeframe of that circumstance and the assessment submission deadline.
You will be asked to provide evidence of your circumstance along with your PREC request so it is important that you gather this evidence at the time of your circumstance so that it is ready to submit along with that PREC request. If, however, your evidence is not available within those 4 days, you should submit your request anyway and clearly explain why you are unable to provide it. You must then submit it within eight working days of the publication of your results. Evidence for PREC requests presented after that time will be considered but, in such cases, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to sit examinations in the next available assessment period and you may need to suspend your studies to sit examinations in the following academic year.
Please read the results guidance email carefully and if you feel your performance was impacted by exceptional circumstances you should discuss this with your school within these 4 working days to give you enough time to make the best decision: email contacts in your school or department. We want to make sure you receive the best academic advice possible before you make any decisions. Your School/Department will give you personalised, programme-specific advice on the best course of action, including advantages and disadvantages of requesting a PREC to mitigate your circumstances.
Your support centre or the HBS School Office/ISLI Helpdesk as appropriate can assist with your questions.
In instances where you are not able to obtain evidence within those four days, you should submit your request and clearly explain why you are unable to provide it and you must then submit it within eight working days of the publication of your results. Evidence for PREC requests presented after those eight days will be considered but, in such cases, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to sit examinations in the next available assessment period and you may need to suspend your studies to sit examinations in the following academic year.
The information which you provide on your PREC form will normally be held confidentially and will only be shared with those who need to see it. If you are uncomfortable with disclosing information about your circumstances, please discuss the matter with a member of staff (ideally your Academic Tutor or Student Support Coordinator) or a Reading Students' Union adviser.
Key PREC dates for examinations sat in 2024/25:
You must submit your PREC within the four working day window after the publication of your results, the dates of which are listed below.
June/July 2025 POST RESULTS EC (PREC) deadline window:
- UG and PG finalists (excluding BA CDL): 01 to 04 July 2025
- Part 0 and Part 1: 16 to 21 July 2025
- Part 2 and Part 3 non finalists: 15 to 18 July 2025
- Non-finalist PGT students: 17 to 22 July 2025
- International Foundation Programme (ISLI January starters): 11 to 14 August 2025
Resit Examinations 2025 POST RESULTS EC (PREC) deadline window:
- UG non finalist resitters (excluding IFP): 19 to 24 September 2025
- UG and PG finalist resitters: TBC
- International Foundation Programme (ISLI) resitters: 11 to 16 September 2025
PREC requests submitted after the relevant deadlines above will not normally be considered. If, however, you were not able to submit the request due to significant circumstances, for example hospitalisation, incarceration or major physical or mental incapacity then submit a PREC request in the normal way as soon as you are able to. In that late PREC request you must provide ALL of the following things: -
- Provide the relevant supporting evidence for those circumstances detailed in that request.
- Provide a statement which details the reason for the lateness of that EC request.
- Provide additional evidence that supports the reason for lateness of that EC request.
If your late PREC is then considered and granted, you must be aware that there will likely be a delay in when you are able to sit your next attempt. This is because your request will have been received beyond the point where your requirements could have been included in the next natural opportunity to sit your examinations. In such cases we cannot guarantee that you will be able to sit examinations in the next available assessment period and you may need to suspend your studies to sit examinations in the following academic year.
When the outcome of your Academic Misconduct case is known and your revised mark is released, and if you wish to submit a Post Results Exceptional Circumstance request against this mark you should then contact your Student Support Co-ordinator to understand if you are eligible for a DNS in this module.
Please be aware that DNS is not usually granted for other assessments. Outcomes such as extension, alternative assessment or rearrangement are more suitable. However, if you are given the chance to submit coursework by a different agreed deadline, this will not count as a further attempt. New deadlines for submission will be set by your School.
Essentials | Exams will provide more information about how a DNS outcome will impact your studies and results.
PREC requests submitted after the relevant deadlines will not normally be considered. If, however, you were not able to submit the request due to significant circumstances, for example hospitalisation, incarceration or major physical or mental incapacity then submit a PREC request in the normal way as soon as you are able to. In that late PREC request you must provide ALL of the following things:
- Provide the relevant supporting evidence for those circumstances detailed in that request.
- Provide a statement which details the reason for the lateness of that EC request.
- Provide additional evidence that supports the reason for lateness of that EC request.
If your late PREC is then considered and granted, you must be aware that there will most likely be a delay in when you are able to sit your next attempt. This is because your request will have been received beyond the point where your requirements could have been included in the next natural opportunity to sit your examinations.
If your exceptional circumstances have negatively impacted your study for the whole academic year we advise you to apply for a Repeat Year, with relevant evidence to support your request, as soon as your results are published in July.
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Things you need to know:
In most circumstances where a Repeat Year request is granted University regulations require that, before a student can re-enter, they must be medically/psychologically fit to do so. This is known as 鈥榝itness to return conditions鈥� (FtR).
If your Repeat Year request is granted, these FtR conditions will be noted in your Exceptional Circumstances outcome and MUST be met BEFORE you can restart the year.
The Repeat Year return to study process which includes any FtR conditions can take many weeks to process, therefore if you wish to restart your studies in the consecutive academic year, your
Repeat Year request must be submitted no later than the deadline of the Summer PREC window and conditions of return must be met no later than 3 weeks before the start of the semester. Any submissions received after the Summer PREC deadline date will still be considered but your restart date may be delayed until the following academic year (i.e., you will automatically be suspended for an academic year).
Further advice and guidance:
- Seek advice and guidance from Reading Students' Union when submitting a Repeat Year request.
- Do not enter into any financial commitments (e.g. accommodation) until you have a final decision regarding your Repeat Year request and your return to study date has been confirmed.
Useful information:
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IT problems are not accepted as evidence for PREC for those who are registered on campus and can use IT facilities during term time. IT problems can only be a reason for a PREC request when you cannot reasonably access campus, or when you are affected by a University IT failure.
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You are expected to store files securely on OneDrive and this is provided to you as part of your University IT package.
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If you have an IT issue, you are expected to take prompt action to remedy it, for example: email the IT Service Desk; take your technology for repair; contact your School if you need support with the school-provided/recommended software
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If your own device is faulty, central PC labs on campus are available to you (check Essentials for details).
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Failures of the central IT system and the Halls system are logged by DTS 鈥� so can be referred to on your PREC.
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Examples of evidence to support a PREC include:
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Contact with IT Help 鈥� evidenced in the form of the DTS ticket acknowledgment email.
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Confirmation from IT Help that the problem is real and that they have investigated it.
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Evidence of reasonable and timely action taken by you to overcome the problem.
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Evidence of failure by the University to provide services it has committed to provide.
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Evidence from a Blackboard log that this is an assignment submission difficulty. (NB this needs to be obtained from the Support Centre as it is not accessible to students.)
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Evidence of a timely email to the relevant module convenor (only in cases where specialist software/storage or other local solutions are being used).
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Examples of evidence that is not acceptable to support a PREC include:
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A stand-alone screen shot with no date or time; a screenshot could be used in dialogue with DTS to diagnose a problem.
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Save date and time of file.
- Reasonable adjustments have already been put in place regarding your assessment but you are then faced with additional circumstances beyond your control.
- Your examination(s) has/have been impaired by the new circumstances
Please carefully review the grounds for appeal detailed in the Exceptional Circumstances outcome appeal form. You are strongly encouraged to in your Students’ Union. They are professional Reading Students' Union staff with knowledge and experience of the University’s procedures who can offer confidential, independent advice and support you throughout the process.
If you have new evidence which you were not able to submit by the original deadline, you may submit this to the Support Centre, Henley School Office or ISLI (as appropriate) which should normally be within 10 working days from the date that the outcome of your post results exceptional circumstances request is made available to you, together with an explanation as to why the evidence could not be submitted by the original deadline.
1. Submit any appeal before the deadline for appeal. The deadline to appeal is within five working days from the date you were sent the notification outcome of your Post Results Exceptional Circumstances request. Download and complete the
2. Get any official documents or paperwork that you need to support your appeal.
3. Send the form and the documents to the Student Appeals and Academic Misconduct Officer ecfappeals@reading.ac.uk before the deadline for appeal.
Please be aware that an appeal of your PREC outcome will take time to process. Therefore, if your appeal is upheld this will likely create a delay in when you are able to take your next attempt of that/those requested examination(s). This is because the appeals process will be held beyond the point where your requirements could have been included in the next natural opportunity to sit your examinations. Please seek advice from your School about the implications of your appeal should it be upheld.
If you have other questions not covered in this page about making a request, you can contact the following people for advice:
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Your Student Support Coordinator or relevant support staff in ISLI/HBS
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Your Academic Tutor or the School Director Academic Tutoring
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The Advice Service at Reading Students' Union: email advice@rusu.co.uk or call 0118 378 4100
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For students on Henley Greenlands-based programmes contact your Programme Administrator