Not waving but drowning: Using extension requests as the opportunity to uncover intersectional needs and support progression

Data from a Level 1 Law module at the OU, evidences the complex circumstances underlying a ‘simple’ extension request. Limited scholarship exists on the impact of extensions on student progression. (Doye &Hassan, 2021) Often extensions are misconceived as merely an administrative task, (Abery & Gunson 2016) when it is crucial in detecting unseen inequalities. This conference presentation aims to raise awareness of how extension requests can mask deeper needs that require more targeted support. (Halliwell & Brown 2021) It will provide the opportunity to challenge the assumption that academic rigour requires fixed deadlines, (Macinta 2019) and the impact this assumption has on maintaining inequalities.