Engineering: the University of Melbourne

Undergraduate Students

Assessment: special consideration

An online form for application for Special Consideration is available from the Student Information System (SIS) website.

Please note that the details on the form MUST be validated at the Faculty of Engineering office and supporting documents, such as medical certificates, have to be lodged at the Faculty of Engineering office.

Application forms for special consideration are NOT available from the Faculty office. See the SIS website

Combined course students must lodge their application at the Engineering Faculty office, except combined Engineering/Law students.

1. Grounds for Special Consideration

Special Consideration is available to you when:

at any time, your work during the academic year has to a substantial degree been hampered by illness or other cause; or
you have been prevented by illness or other cause from preparing or presenting for all or part of a component of assessment; or
you were to a substantial degree adversely affected by illness or other cause during the performance of a component of assessment.

An application will be considered by examiner provided that:

Your Application was lodged within the time limits (see section 2)
The circumstances were beyond your control
The illness or other cause substantially hampered your performance.

Except in unusual circumstances, acute problems - that is, problems involving no more than three (3) consecutive days, or a total of five (5) days, within the teaching period of a semester - are not considered sufficient grounds for Special Consideration.

Note: In the case of illness, medical evidence, or a statutory declaration, is required.

If you are physically capable of sitting an examination, you will be expected to do so even though your studies may have been interrupted.

2. Time Limits

A time limit (check both (a) and (b) below) applies for the submission of special consideration applications.

If your work during the year was hampered by illness or other cause, your application may be made at any time but no later than three (3) working days after the submission date for the final component of assessment in the subject; the final component may be a formal examination.
If, because of illness or other serious cause, either you have been prevented from submitting or preparing for a comment of assessment or your performance in a component of assessment was affected, your application must be lodged no later than three (3) working days after the date of submission for the particular component of assessment.

3. Individual Class

Absence from an individual class, lecture or tutorial for a subject, does not constitute grounds for an application for Special Consideration. In such cases, you should not submit this application to the Faculty Office, but provide the reasons for your absence directly to the subject co-ordinator who will determine an appropriate course of action in regards to the work missed.

4. Combined Course Students

If you are a combined course student you may lodge the application at either one of your faculties. The faculty will send a copy of the form to the other faculty, if necessary.

5. Possible Action

Submitting an application for Special Consideration does not guarantee that additional assessment will be granted, or that your mark for the subject will be upgraded. Generally, the teaching department is responsible for deciding whether the circumstances would have significantly affected your performance in a subject and what action (if any) shall be taken. The examiner of the subject may decide on one of the following options:

To offer additional assessment (a special examination; on a date determined by the department, or during the formal January-February examination period), or
Alter your mark in the assessment of a component, or the whole subject, or
Take no action.

6. Confidentiality

You are assured that the details of all applications for special consideration are treated as strictly confidential.

7. Appeals

There is no formal appeal procedure under the Special Consideration rules. If you are not satisfied that your application has been fairly considered, you may wish to contact the teaching department.

Staff in the Faculty Offices are not able to provide information about the decisions or action of the examiners within the teaching departments.

8. Late Applicants

An application made after the relevant date (see section 2), or not on the approved form, may be accepted by the Academic Registrar only on being satisfied that it was not possible for the application to have been made on the prescribed form or at any earlier date. It should be anticipated that an application made after the publication of results will not normally be accepted.

If you believe that you have good reasons why your application was not lodged by the prescribed date, you may appeal, in writing, to the Academic Registrar, explaining the grounds upon which you are applying and reason/s for the lateness of your application. The letter should be delivered to your Faculty Office. If the Academic Registrar decides to accept your application, a copy of the form will be circulated to the relevant teaching departments for consideration.

9. Statutes

Applications for Special Consideration are made in accordance with Statute 12.4.5. Your attention is drawn to section 9 of the Directions of the Registrar pursuant to Statute 12.2.10(2) which are include in the Student Diary.

An online form for application for Special Consideration is available from the Student Information System (SIS) website. Please note that the details on the form MUST be validated at the Faculty of Engineering office and supporting documents, such as medical certificates, have to be lodged at the Faculty of Engineering office.

Note:

Application forms for Special Consideration are NOT available from the Faculty office. See the SIS website.