Special Consideration

Eligibility for Extensions and Special Consideration

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Circumstances that may be considered*	Circumstances that are not considered (Routine Life Events)
Health issues (physical or psychological), including illness or injury	Routine work demands or employment-related travel
Hospitalisation or medical treatment	Adjusting to university life or academic workload
Unplanned carer responsibilities	Stress or anxiety related to exams or assessments (unless supported by clinical evidence)
Crisis or trauma (e.g. crime, Domestic and Family Violence, accident)	Lack of understanding of assessment requirements or due dates, misreading a subject outline or timetable
Natural disasters or major public disruptions (e.g. flood, bushfire)	Difficulty with English language skills
Compassionate reasons (e.g. death or serious illness of a close family member)	Visa issues that could reasonably have been anticipated
Legal or court commitments	Planned relocation, change of address or moving house, planned travel
Participation in national or international cultural or sporting events	Everyday impacts already supported through an Academic Reasonable Adjustment Plan (ARAP)/Carers Verification Statement (CVS)

*The type of support provided depends on how significantly the circumstances have impacted your ability to complete the assessment or demonstrate learning, whilst also maintaining academic integrity for your learning and our programs.

Extensions

Students are eligible for one (1) automatic extension per subject, per teaching period.

• Western Sydney University students will receive an automatic 3-calendar day extension
• Western Sydney – The College students will receive an automatic 2-calendar day extension.
• Students with Academic Reasonable Adjustment Plan’s (ARAP)/Carers Verification Statements (CVS) are eligible for their 7-day extension and are also eligible to apply for the automatic 3-day extension, if required, in addition to their 7-day extension.

Additional extension requests require approval from your Subject Coordinator.

Activities that are not eligible for automatic extensions and will require approval from your Subject Coordinator. These include:

• assessment items that are delivered in class during term, or that must be completed within a specified timeframe (for example, exams, online quiz with a set window, presentations, practicals, simulations and viva voces)

  • If you miss one of the above activities, please select “Missed Compulsory Teaching Activity”

• Group assessments

• End of term examinations delivered in the formal examination period

  • In the first instance please submit a deferred exam application.

Requests for deferred final or end-of-session exams must be made under the Deferred Exams process. Refer to the Examinations Policy for more information.

Extensions and Academic Reasonable Adjustment Plan (ARAP) or Carers Verification Statement (CVS)

If you have an Academic Reasonable Adjustment Plan (ARAP) or a Carers Verification Statement (CVS), please see the related knowledge article here for information on how to apply for your extension entitlements.

Special Consideration

Special Consideration refers to mechanisms that help minimise the impact of Compassionate and Compelling Circumstances on student learning.

Possible Outcomes:

1. An extension of time to participate or complete an assessment task

2. Being excused from a compulsory teaching activity

3. Being offered an opportunity to complete a different, academically equivalent assessment task

4. Being offered a deferred or supplementary examination or assessment

5. Being exempted from an assessment and:

   1. Provided average marks for the task based on previously completed assessment tasks; or
   2. Having no marks applied for that assessment task

6. Noting the Compassionate and Compelling Circumstances but not providing an adjustment.

The outcome will depend on the extent of the impact on a student’s learning or ability to demonstrate their learning and must not compromise the program or disadvantage the student or any other student in achieving expected learning outcomes.

Special Consideration and Academic Reasonable Adjustment Plan (ARAP) or Carers Verification Statement (CVS)

If you have an ARAP or CVS, you are eligible for Special Consideration only if your circumstances go beyond what is already accommodated in your ARAP.

This may include:

• A sudden serious illness, injury, or personal hardship unrelated to your ARAP/CVS
• A significant worsening of impacts not reasonably managed through your ARAP/CVS adjustments

Note: Submitting your ARAP/CVS alone is not sufficient evidence for Special Consideration. Additional supporting documentation is required.

To obtain your 7-calendar day extension please submit an extension request in the first instance.

If Your Request Is Not Approved:

• You may lose marks for each calendar day your assessment is late if it’s not submitted on time.
• You may receive a Fail grade if you miss a compulsory class or activity that is required to pass the subject.

Make sure to review the Assessment Policy for full details on how late penalties and attendance requirements are applied.

How to apply

• You must submit your application within five (5) working days of the assessment due date, missed compulsory activity or when your circumstances began via the Special Consideration Application Form.
• You must provide appropriate supporting documentation as outlined on the supporting documentation web page. Failure to do so may result in your application being declined.
• You may submit a late application; however, your supporting documentation must cover the late submission

For more information, please see the Special Consideration policy.

Final Examinations

Special Consideration does not apply for missed final or end-of-session exams. Requests for these must be made through the Deferred Exams process. See the Examinations policy for more information.

If you have commenced an examination and experience a compassionate or compelling event (eg became unwell during the exam), then you may apply for special consideration, noting that submissions must still be made with 5 working days and have supporting documentation provided.

Please familiarise yourself with the student responsibilities in the Examinations policy as instances where these responsibilities have not been met may result in your application being declined.