I think the element of 'choice' that determines whether or not 
a circumstance is mitigating may, in the context of financial 
pressures, come down to the choice to be a student in those 
circumstances.  If a person chooses to start, or continue, as 
a student and work a significant number of hours a week they 
are 'choosing' to not commit fully to their academic work and 
therefore, by implication, choosing to accept a possibly lower 
outcome, achievable within the limitations of work.  The 
alternatives that may gain them a higher degree may not be 
 attractive but they are there: to intermit and 
earn money, to postpone higher education, to find a different 
way of getting their degree etc.
When the student has chosen, in this narrow sense, to be a 
student in those circumstances, they should not be considered 
mitigating.
Externally caused, and unpredictable, financial problems e.g. 
sudden withdrawal of parental support, collapse of home 
country economy, are, quite obviously not the students' choice 
and could be considered mitigating whilst a solution was being 
sought.  If the long term solution the student chooses is to 
continue the degree whilst starting to work long paid hours 
then, again, the circumstances might not be considered 
mitigating.


Susan Rhodes
Academic Section 
University of Essex




%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%