Need death certificate as proof

This is more of a rant than anything else.

I've recently had a family member pass away. He's part of my extended family and I was very close with him, but I didn't really have anything to do with his parents or siblings. He was like a big brother to me.

Anyway, I have an exam coming up and I'm obviously not in a good mental state right now, I haven't been able to focus since I found out. I've just been sitting staring blankly at my notes. I contacted my lecturer and she was really kind about it and apologised for having to ask, but in order for me to get out of the exam, they need a copy of the death certificate within 72 hours of the exam, otherwise it goes down as a no-show.

How can they do this? For one, death certificates aren't always processed that quickly and two, it's hardly the ideal time for me to contact my aunt and say "before you bury your son, can you just email me a copy of his death certificate so I can send it to my lecturer please?"

I'm so frustrated. I'm going to have to just do the exam because there is no way I'm going to get the death certificate on time, but I'm probably going to fail anyway because I just can't think straight.

Inb4; well they need proof so that you can't just say someone died and miss your exam. I know they need proof, but it's just a crappy situation to be in when you're already grieving.

This is more of a rant than anything else.

I've recently had a family member pass away. He's part of my extended family and I was very close with him, but I didn't really have anything to do with his parents or siblings. He was like a big brother to me.

Anyway, I have an exam coming up and I'm obviously not in a good mental state right now, I haven't been able to focus since I found out. I've just been sitting staring blankly at my notes. I contacted my lecturer and she was really kind about it and apologised for having to ask, but in order for me to get out of the exam, they need a copy of the death certificate within 72 hours of the exam, otherwise it goes down as a no-show.

How can they do this? For one, death certificates aren't always processed that quickly and two, it's hardly the ideal time for me to contact my aunt and say "before you bury your son, can you just email me a copy of his death certificate so I can send it to my lecturer please?"

I'm so frustrated. I'm going to have to just do the exam because there is no way I'm going to get the death certificate on time, but I'm probably going to fail anyway because I just can't think straight.

Inb4; well they need proof so that you can't just say someone died and miss your exam. I know they need proof, but it's just a crappy situation to be in when you're already grieving.

Can you speak to the extenuating circumstances people themselves and ask if you can have longer to get a death certificate, explaining that it wont be possible to get it in the time their asking it for.

How long until the exam?

I've tried getting in touch but I'm not having much luck with getting a response .


48 hours. Or just less actually, it's 3pm on Wednesday.

Like others have said, explain your situation to student services and explain why you can't get it NOW. They should understand.

To be honest (and you have acknowledged this) the university aren't acting unreasonably though. And that's not to take away from it being a ****ty situation but just to say that I don't really see how they can act that differently.

Have you emailed or called? Can you not go and see them in person?

Yeah I totally get it, it's just a bit crappy that their deadline is 3 days. Hopefully I'll get a response soon and can get an extension on when I need to get the certificate in by.

I'd phone or visit as it's so urgent - waiting for a reply to an email in this situation, isn't a great idea. You need to be a bit more proactive. I realise that you don't feel like it, but you need to keep moving forward.

You need to be a pain in the ass, it's the only way. It's that or risk failing your exam and it making the rest of your year harder :/


Posted from TSR Mobile

Damn, I was expecting that they needed yours.

Gosh, that would be fairly amusing.

They emailed back yesterday afternoon and have extended the deadline until mid-January, when the exam board meets to confirm final grades.

To me, this would imply that they still expect you to sit the exam, but will treat your bereavement as Extenuating Circumstances and adjust your mark upwards, to take account of the impact. In your original post, you were seeking permission to not sit the exam at all.

Have you clarified exactly what is expected of you? And do you have that in writing?

I have it all in writing, and have confirmation from student support and my lecturer.
They are giving me the option to sit the exam if I wish, or to postpone it until the resit diet. In both cases, they have allowed me until mid January to provide a death certificate. If I sit the exam, the death certificate will be used as extenuating circumstances. If I choose not to sit the exam then it will be used as proof that I have valid reason to miss the exam and sit it as a first attempt in summer. I have to confirm whether I'll be sitting the exam or not tomorrow.