Special consideration is available to students who have had their studies significantly impacted by short-term circumstances reasonably beyond their control. This is not limited to medical or physical issues, however the disruption, problem or illness must have severely impacted your studies, and be supported by independent documentation outlining the extent of this impact.

Alternatives to Special Consideration

Under some circumstances, it may be more appropriate to seek adjustments for issues that arise during the semester through the Extensions Procedure or the Consideration for shorter assessments section of the Special Consideration Procedure. Extensions of up to two weeks (10 working days) can be authorised by your subject coordinator without you needing to apply for special consideration.

For ongoing circumstances, or circumstances that could reasonably be predicted or anticipated, students may seek appropriate adjustments through one of several other avenues, including:

If you have an ongoing medical condition, you may be able to access assistance from Disability Liaison, Counselling and Psychological Services or the Health Service.

How to apply

To apply for special consideration, you will need to complete an online application form accessed through the Student Portal. You will receive automatic acknowledgment of your application via your University email address. Keep a record of this as it will include the receipt number of your application. If you need help filling out the online form, please contact us for advice.

To support your application, you must provide appropriate documentation. You should either include a Health Professional Report (HPR), or provide other documentary evidence of the circumstances and their impact on your studies. The HPR can be downloaded from the Portal when you make your application online.

A HPR should be completed by an appropriate professional who is familiar with your application for special consideration and is able to provide an evaluation of the severity of the circumstances that may have caused disadvantage.

An appropriate professional could include:

  • a medical practitioner or psychiatrist;
  • another health care professional (dentist, psychologist, physiotherapist, social worker, or similar professional);
  • your counsellor;
  • a minister of religion;
  • a member of the police force or a legal professional;
  • another responsible person, depending on the circumstances.

As a general guide, if the professional filling out the HPR does not indicate that the impact on your studies was severe, then the application is unlikely to result in any action.

Under certain circumstances, where there is no appropriate professional or other person who can verify your circumstances, a Statutory Declaration can be submitted instead of a HPR.

A Statutory Declaration has to be witnessed by an authorised witness, for example, a Pharmacist, a Police Officer or a Justice of the Peace.

The Justice of the Peace service is available by appointment Monday to Friday 12.30–2.20pm. Appointments can be made in person at the Information Centre, Ground floor, Union House, or by phone on 8344 5415. Maximum of 10 pages, signed at anyone appointment, copies can only be certified if accompanied by their original. Original documents that are double sided (i.e. Academic transcripts, etc.), need to be also presented with a double sided copy in order to be certified. Identification cards must have both sides presented on the same sheet of paper (e.g. drivers licences, student cards).

Timing

You must submit your online application for special consideration no later than 5pm on the third working day after the submission or sitting date for the relevant assessment component. You then have five working days from this to submit the HPR and/or other supporting documentation.

If you are applying for special consideration for a component of assessment like an exam, your application must be submitted within three working days (before or after) the exam has taken place. This is similar for other pieces of assessment such as essays, assignments or practical work. It’s also helpful to inform your lecturers and tutors that you are applying for special consideration.

If you submit an application for special consideration late, in addition to explaining the circumstances for which you are applying for special consideration, you must also explain why you could not submit the application in a timely manner. The Academic Registrar or nominee (currently Managers of Student Centres and/or Graduate Schools) will determine whether your late application can be considered, based on the explanation (and supporting documentation) you provide.

Outcomes and appeals

There are several outcomes available following special consideration applications. Depending on your circumstances and the nature of the assessment task, you may receive an opportunity to complete additional assessment or a special exam, or receive an extension for your assignment.

The possible outcomes following a special consideration application are as follows:

Ineligible
If your application is assessed as ‘ineligible’, it means one of three things:

  • You have already failed a hurdle requirement prior to application, deeming you ineligible to apply for special consideration.
  • The application was not submitted on time (within three working days of the assessment due date) and failed to address the reason why it was late.
  • The HPR and/or other supporting documentation was not received on time (within five working days of the application being submitted).

Insufficient grounds
The application does not meet guidelines for severe impact.

Special Assessment/Examination
Special assessment is usually a formally supervised written exam, however this depends on each set of circumstances. Special assessment will be assigned the same weighting and with the same range of available grades as the assessment it replaces.
If a special exam is awarded and the student chooses to attend it, the mark from the special exam will supersede the mark from the first examination (even if the mark in the first examination is higher than the mark in the second examination).

Extension
Additional time granted to submit the relevant component of assessment.

Exemption
The relevant assessment will be waived and other components of assessment in the subject will be re-weighted. Exemption should only be considered when it is possible to demonstrate appropriately the satisfactory completion of all subject objectives within the assessment that has been completed. Exemption only applies for within-semester assessment tasks, and the tasks must be worth no more than 25% of the total assessment for the subject.

Ineligible – SEAP recommended
Adjustments should be applied outside the Special Consideration Procedure (i.e. through Student Equitable Adjustment Procedure or Extensions Procedure.

No appropriate action
If it is deemed that there is ‘no appropriate action’ for your application, it means one of the following:

  • The application relates to shorter assessments which are dealt with under the Consideration for shorter assessments section of the Special Consideration Procedure.
  • There are technical inconsistencies with the application. You should be advised to resubmit the application within five working days.
  • Additional assessment is not appropriate where assessors or clinical arrangements cannot be reorganised, or for a group where the group cannot be reformed to repeat the task.

Late withdrawal recommended
You may be advised to withdraw from a subject (without academic penalty) and repeat it if:

  • your circumstance is considered likely to prevent you from completing additional assessment;
  • additional assessment is not appropriate where assessors or clinical arrangements cannot be reorganised; or
  • for a group task, the group cannot be reformed to complete the task.
    If you are advised to withdraw, you may also be advised to apply for remission of fee liability. (See our page on Refund or Remission of Fees for more information).

For information on an existing special consideration application or to obtain more information as to why an application you lodged was rejected, please contact your Student Centre or the University’s Contact Centre via 13 MELB (13 6352), or + 61 3 9035 5511 if you are overseas. Student Equity Officers in each Student Centre can provide information on the special consideration process as well as assist you in organising alternative arrangements through the Student Equitable Adjustment Procedure.

Advice and assistance

For help lodging an application or to get more information and advice about appealing a decision made by the University, feel free to contact us. Depending on the nature of the appeal, it may fall within the scope of the Student Complaints and Grievances Policy and Procedure, and we can assist you through this process. For more information about this, please see our advice on Complaints and Grievances.

University Policy and Procedures

Bookmark and Share Bookmark & Share. Posted Thursday 15 November, 2012. Updated Monday 13 May, 2013.