Student Guidelines for Examination Reschedule, Special Provisions and Special Consideration
In the case of exceptional situations or serious circumstances which are beyond your control and are unavoidable, you may be eligible for adjustments to exam conditions, as outlined below. Exceptional situations may include illness, injury and misadventure.Possible adjustments include:
- Reschedule of an examination which may apply if you cannot attend an examination at the scheduled time and or date, due to circumstances outside your control.
- Special Provisions for Acute Circumstances which may apply if you have an acute short-term injury or illness which may impact your performance in the examination.
- Special Consideration which may apply if you consider that circumstances outside your control impacted your performance during your examination.
If your application is approved, we will apply an adjustment to support you and ensure that you receive fair and equal academic treatment. This could be in the form of a different date for the examination, different examination conditions, or an alternative assessment.
It is not guaranteed that your application will be approved. Even if you’re eligible for adjustments, special arrangements are not always possible.
Chronic health condition or ongoing adverse circumstances
What should I do if I have a long-term or chronic health condition or ongoing adverse circumstances?
If you are affected by long-term circumstances, such as a chronic or recurring medical condition, we encourage you to register with the Equity Office.The Equity and Disability Support Officer is available for consultation with students who have a disability, language difficulty or a medical condition who are seeking support.
Applications for Special Provisions through the Equity Office must be made prior to the publication of the draft examination timetable for the relevant semester, in line with the Disability Policy and must be supported by verifiable, appropriate documentation from a relevant professional.
I’m registered with the Equity Office, do I need to apply for Examination attendance adjustments?
If you are registered with the Equity Office, you should only apply for Special Provisions for situations related to your disability if:- you experience an exacerbation of your disability, or
- you have unexpected treatment or hospitalisation, or
- your caring demands for a person with a disability increase.
If you experience illness, misadventure or circumstances beyond your control that has nothing to do with your disability but affects your studies for an examination, you may also be eligible to apply for Special Provisions as per the information above.
Reschedule
What situations may be approved as reasons to Reschedule an examination?
If you experience adverse circumstances outside of your control that may affect your preparation for or ability to attend an examination, you may request a Reschedule.Your reasons for applying to Reschedule your examination may include:
- Health grounds – either physical or psychological
- Non-health grounds such as:
- Compassionate grounds; for example, the death or serious injury of a close family member or friend
- Hardship; for example, sudden loss of employment, family breakdown, or severe disruption to domestic arrangements
- Trauma; for example, impact of crime or accident, impact of natural disasters
- Unavoidable commitments including wedding of a close friend or family member, cultural or religious commitments
- Commitments within the Australian Defence Forces or similar international bodies
- Commitments as an elite athlete to attend an event
- Obligations to jury duty or court attendance
- Or another official commitment that cannot by its nature be rescheduled
- Time zone issues.
The following situations will not normally be approved as reasons to Reschedule an examination:
- Misreading the Unit Outline, Unit Information or the examination timetable
- Usual work commitments
- Travel or holiday plans
- Attending concerts, sporting events or protests
- Professional experience organised independently by you
- Heavy academic workload
- Two or more assessments due on the same date.
What documents do I need to submit for an application to Reschedule?
The evidence you provide will be used in assessing your application, so it is very important to provide all relevant supporting documents.Eligible supporting documentation may include, but is not limited to:
- a letter or medical certificate from an accepted health professional, which should include the date(s) that the health grounds have adversely affected you and the impact on your health
- in the case of a COVID-19 positive result, a screen shot of the registration confirmation text from the student’s state Health Department.
- evidence demonstrating compassionate grounds – a funeral notice (eg newspaper notification, order of service) or letter from a Counselling Service
- evidence demonstrating hardship – a termination of employment letter or letter from a Counselling Service
- evidence demonstrating trauma – a document from the police, health professional or letter from a Counselling Service
- evidence supporting cultural days or cultural activity - confirmation from a cultural body, wedding invitation
- evidence supporting unavoidable commitments as a student reservist, an elite sportsperson or religious responsibilities – an official notification or letter from a person/s in authority
- evidence supporting jury duty or other court ordered appearance – a court notification or subpoena;
Where obtaining documentary evidence is impossible, a statutory declaration may be acceptable. The appropriate statutory declaration form and information about using a statutory declaration can be obtained from: https://www.jp.nsw.gov.au/Pages/justices-of-the-peace/nsw-statutory-declaration.aspx Statutory Declarations will not be accepted for health grounds.
Can my examination be rescheduled if I am in a different time zone?
If you are studying remotely and have an examination scheduled between 10pm and 7am in your local time, you will be able to apply for it to be rescheduled and held at a time within your local business hours.Special Consideration will not be granted if you fail to realise an examination is being conducted at AEST/AEDT.
When do I need to submit my application to Reschedule?
Applications must be submitted at least 10 working days prior to the commencement of the examination period unless there are extenuating circumstances.What should I do if I am feeling unwell on the day of my examination?
If, before an examination, you feel unwell to the point that you believe you cannot sit it, you should follow these steps:- Immediately inform Student Administration Services via email that you are unable to attend your exam
- You must see a medical practitioner and provide a medical certificate dated within 24 hours of the examination
- The medical certificate must cover the examination date
- You must submit an application to Reschedule within 3 working days of the examination or equivalent to the period covered by your supporting documentation.
Can I Reschedule an examination again if it has already been rescheduled?
No, not unless there are exceptional circumstances.Examination Adjustments Application
Acute Circumstances requiring Special Provisions
What situations may be approved as reasons for Special Provisions in an examination?
If, leading up to an examination, you are injured or experience some other short-term health condition, but still wish to attend the exam, you may apply for Special Provisions during the exam. Special Provisions aim to minimise or eliminate the impact of a recent injury or onset of an illness while maintaining academic standards. Examples of such situations may include, but are not limited to, injury to your writing arm or hand, an inability to sit for a prolonged duration.Special Provisions may include, but are not limited to, additional time, use of scribe or a laptop, separate supervision or rest breaks.
Students who have a disability or chronic medical condition which may impact their ability when attending examinations should apply to the Equity Officer for Special Provisions. Such applications must be made prior to the publication of the draft examination timetable for the relevant semester, in line with the Disability Policy and must be supported by verifiable, appropriate documentation from a relevant professional.
What documents do I need to submit for an application regarding Special Provisions for Acute Circumstances?
The evidence you provide will be used in assessing your application, so it is very important to provide all relevant supporting documents.Eligible supporting documentation must include a letter or medical certificate from an accepted health professional, which must include the dates and duration of the injury or health condition and the extent of possible impairment.
When do I need to submit my application regarding Special Provisions for Acute Circumstances?
Your application must be submitted as soon as possible, normally within 24 hours of the injury or onset of the acute illness, unless there are extenuating circumstances.Examination Adjustments Application
Special Consideration
What situations may be approved as reasons for Special Consideration regarding an examination?
If you experience serious circumstances outside of your control during an examination, which you consider may have impacted on your performance, you may apply for Special Consideration. Reasons for this could be, but are not limited to, if you experience an acute medical issue or if a problem occurs in the examination environment such as an emergency evacuation or power failure. However, applications will only be approved in exceptional circumstances.By sitting an examination on the scheduled date, you are declaring that you are fit to do so and cannot later apply for Special Consideration, unless if during the examination you feel unwell to the point that you cannot continue. If this occurs, you should take the following steps:
- Stop working on the exam and take note of the time
- You must inform your exam supervisor or lecturer immediately and advise them that you are unwell.
- Submit an application for Special Consideration to the Director, Student Administration Services within 24 hours of the conclusion of the exam stating that you felt ill during the exam and were unable to continue. Delayed applications may be considered in extenuating circumstances.
The following situations will not normally be approved as reasons for Special Consideration for an online examination:
- Your computer ran an update
- Your device ran out of battery
- You did not save the work and/or lost the file
- You accidentally uploaded the incorrect file.
What documents do I need to submit for an application for Special Consideration regarding an examination?
The evidence you provide will be used in assessing your application, so it is very important to provide all relevant supporting documents.If your application refers to a medical issue which you experienced during the examination, a letter or medical certificate from an accepted health professional is expected. Unless there are exceptional circumstances this should be dated within 24 hours of the examination.
For any other issue experienced during the examination, if the supervisor does not make a general announcement, you should speak with the supervisor during, or immediately after, the examination. The supervisor will notify the Director, Student Administration Services in writing immediately after the examination has concluded.
When do I need to submit my application for Special Consideration regarding an examination?
All applications must be submitted within 24 hours of the conclusion of the examination, unless there are extenuating circumstances.Submission of application
Examination Adjustments ApplicationHow do I submit my application?
You must submit your application by email to [email protected] from your student email account.Can I apply for Examination attendance adjustments for more than one unit simultaneously?
Yes, just provide details of all relevant units on the same application form and provide one set of supporting documentation.Appeal