All I want for Christmas... is an effective PEC system

A large portion of students will have likely submitted a Personal Extenuating Circumstance request via s3p at some point during their time at Newcastle University, and whether the request is granted or not is another question. The PEC system has its pros and cons but is rarely discussed, and as such I will be sharing my thoughts. 

My flatmate's opinion on submitting a PEC has nothing to do with the process itself but rather with the S3p website where the request is submitted. In her wise words, the website is comically outdated compared to other university sites such as Canvas, stating that ‘it's giving 2003 realness’. Maybe Newcastle University’s expansive budget, annually funded by the nine or twenty-two thousand pounds paid respectively by home and international students just couldn’t be stretched out to bring the software out of the digital dark ages and into the modern day - but what do I know about university budgeting? 

This faux pas of the PEC submitting process can easily be forgiven, as the university's expectation of students to pour out their personal circumstances in a 400-word text box is arguably much worse. It results in much greater anxiety around the ability to request an extension for your assessed work, something which the PEC process ironically aims to minimize.  

The PEC system feels so impersonal and clinical, submitting your personal information into a void and then waiting anxiously for an email telling you of your fate. In my opinion, this contradicts the university's notion of it being a safe space for struggling students. However, this impersonal approach may be beneficial for some, for whom the thought of oversharing your personal situation face-to-face with a personal tutor or welfare officer is much more daunting that to an online void. As the thought of in person rejection following the sharing of problems – perhaps deeply personal is much worse than rejection in email form. 

Circling back to the 400-word description box, this requirement of a description to accompany the PEC can cause more problems. This is a necessary precaution for the university to take, as they need to know that students aren’t abusing the virtues of the PEC system. However, you can argue that students may be likely to overcompensate with their description, even if their situation is already deeply personal or sensitive to discuss, in order to secure an extension that they are in need of. Resulting in some students putting themselves through even more stress and worry about if their circumstances are valid and if their request will be granted. 

The PEC system is a double-edged sword- it is a virtue that creates a relatively safe environment for some students to request an extension, allowing them to thrive in their studies. But for many others, especially those who need to request an extension for more sensitive reasons, whether it be personal or medical, it can still be dauting despite not being intended as such by the university.