Petition · past parliament

Require Universities to Extend Coursework Deadlines for the Virus Outbreak

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

Government Should enforce that Universities extend all Coursework and Assessment deadlines until the outbreak of Coronavirus has been contained and is safe for students to return to their University
Certain students do not have the necessary resources available to them at home to carry on with their coursework/assessment work, forcing students to have to do not even the bare minimum of the coursework. Student work will is also impossible to access at home if it was done at the University.

Why it was rejected

It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.

Decisions about university teaching, assessments and exams are a matter for individual universities, and decisions about university admissions are a matter for individual universities and UCAS, not the UK Government or Parliament.

If you have concerns about admissions you should raise these with UCAS, and if you have concerns about your university's arrangements for teaching and assessment you should raise these with your university or the Office for Students, which regulates the higher education sector.

We understand that the current situation is stressful for many people, including students. Student Minds, a mental health charity for students, is collating guidance and developing resources to support students experiencing stress as a result of the current situation, which you may find useful: https://www.studentminds.org.uk/coronavirus.html

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/

Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/

Timeline

23 Mar 2020 Petition opened for signatures
31 Mar 2020 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21
Status Rejected
Rejected 31 Mar 2020

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.