It is a process a student can apply for where they have either:

• Been unable to complete an assessment due to unforeseen circumstances; or
• Had their performance in an assessment affected and impaired by unforeseen circumstances, e.g., by interfering with preparation, or affecting their ability to concentrate and perform well in an assessment.

You may apply for Special Consideration for Assessment if:

• You have been impaired by a significant acute or temporary illness or injury or other exceptional and/or unforeseen circumstances beyond your control;
• You have been selected to perform, compete , adjudicate or officiate as a national sporting representative at national or international competitions;
• You are a member of a national cultural group on tour nationally or internationally; or
• You are fasting for religious observance. Fasting will be assessed as “moderate impairment” and is only allowed for afternoon tests and examinations.

You cannot apply for Special Consideration for Assessment for the following:

• Essays, assignments, or quizzes where an extension of time is available to complete the assessment item;
• Missed lectures during the semester;
• Experiencing examination anxiety;
• Having several examinations or assessments close together;
• Known impairment, such as chronic illness, injury, or disability unless there is medical evidence confirming that the circumstances made worse, despite appropriate management, at the time of assessment;
• Mistaking the date or time of an examination;
• Failing to turn up to an examination or test because of sleeping in;
• Where applications are repeatedly made for the same or similar reason;
• Where the application is made at the time of the assessment, but the supporting documentation is received significantly after this date, or after the results were released; or
• The application is made following the release of results (unless under exceptional circumstances).

You also cannot apply for Special Consideration for Assessment if your circumstances have prevented you from learning the course’s material. In this case, a Special Consideration for Late Discontinuation application may be more appropriate if you are unable to withdraw by the published withdrawal dates.

Please note:

Special Consideration is more complicated for assessment items worth more than 50% of your grade, as you are likely to be required to complete an alternative assessment item.

There are also some courses that have specific assessments which you cannot apply Special Consideration for. This should be stated in the relevant Course Outline.

Applications for Special Consideration are made through the Special Consideration Hub (SC Hub).

Applications must be submitted no later than 5 working days after the assessment date.

Late applications are only accepted in exceptional circumstances where the delay in the application is adequately explained.

You will need to provide details of the course and the assessment you are applying Special Consideration for. You will also need to provide an explanation of the circumstances that are affecting you along with any supporting evidence.

Please note that you can apply for Special Consideration for multiple courses using one application. All you need to do is click “Add assessment” or "Add course" tab to add additional course or assessment items.

If your application is based on medical grounds, you will need to submit a UC Medical Certificate completed by a registered medical practitioner.

For applications for Missed Assessment (i.e., not attending or submitting an assessment), the medical evidence must be dated within 48 hours of the date of the assessment item.

For applications for Impaired Performance (i.e., attended or submitted the assessment but performance was impaired), the medical evidence should be dated within 10 working days (but preferably earlier) of the date of the assessment item.

Please note, the UC Health Centre has their own electronic version of the Medical Form, which they will complete and email to you. This UC Health Centre Special Consideration Medical Form is accepted by the Special Consideration Team and must be uploaded to the application by you.

If you are submitting an application which is related to a bereavement, the evidence that will be accepted by the Special Consideration Team is a death notice from a newspaper or a letter from a medical practitioner, funeral director, minister of religion, religious leader, kaumatua or the police.

Please note, if the notice or letter does not indicate the relationship between the deceased and the student, you should include as evidence a letter stating the relationship. This letter must be supplied by a third party.

If you do not receive email confirmation of your Special Consideration request within 3 hours of submitting the application, please contact Special Consideration Team.

Please also note that an application for Special Consideration does not guarantee that your grade will change or that you will pass your course.

If you are not sure what to do or you have done it correctly, please contact us and we can help you.

After you have submitted your Special Consideration application and the relevant supporting evidence, you will be able to access the following in the SC Hub:

• receive and respond to requests for further information,
• monitor the progress of your application,
• receive notification of the decision on the grounds of your application, and
• receive notification of the academic remedies applied if your application is approved on grounds.

If your application is accepted, your application will be forwarded to the appropriate Head of Department/School to decide what the appropriate academic remedy should be.

Possible outcomes from a Special Consideration application are:

• Aegrotat grade / derived grade;
• Alternative special assessment;
• Test or examination with special facilities; or
• No change in grade.

If your application for Special Consideration has been declined on grounds – i.e. the Special Consideration Committee have decided that your circumstances do not meet the criteria for Special Consideration or that your evidence is insufficient – then there is a specific process to appeal this decision. The process is the same regardless of whether your application is for Assessment or for Late Discontinuation, as the decision on grounds for both these applications is made by the Special Consideration Committee.

You need to write an appeal letter, addressed to the Dean of Academic Governance, and sent through the Special Consideration team. What you need to discuss in your letter will depend on the reasons given for your application being declined, but in general you will need to provide:

• Additional information about the circumstances that affected you, and led to you applying for Special Consideration;
• Full details of the way your circumstances either impaired your performance, prevented you from completing your assessment, or prevented you from completing the course; and
• Details of any additional evidence that you are providing to support your appeal.

Most importantly, in order to succeed with an appeal of a declined Special Consideration application, you must provide additional evidence to support your circumstances and your impairment.

If you would like some assistance with this, please contact us and we can support you.

If the Dean of Academic Governance still declines your application after your appeal, then you can appeal the Dean’s decision if you wish. This type of appeal is made to the Academic Appeals Committee. Please see our page on Academic Appeals for more information about this process.

If your application for Special Consideration for Assessment was approved by the Special Consideration Committee on grounds, but you are unhappy with the remedy that your Department/School have provided, or if you are simply told that there will be no change in grade, you are able to appeal this decision.

Such an appeal is addressed to the Dean of the relevant Faculty, but is submitted through the Special Consideration team. This is so that the Special Consideration team can provide the relevant Dean with all the information they need about the Special Consideration application and process.

Again, what you put in your letter will depend on the specifics of your situation. In general though, you will need to explain why you believe the remedy that has been provided is inappropriate or unfair, and what remedy you believe should be provided instead.

If you would like some assistance with this, please contact us and we can support you.

If you are still unhappy with the outcome of the Dean’s review, then you can appeal this further if you wish. Such an appeal is made to the Academic Appeals Committee, the same as the decision of any other Dean. Please see our page on Academic Appeals for more information about this process.

If your application for Late Discontinuation was approved by the Special Consideration Committee on grounds, but the Dean of the relevant Faculty decides that you should not be permitted to withdraw from the course (usually because you have engaged with the course until the end of the course, thereby ‘completing’ it), then you are able to appeal this decision.

Such an appeal is made to the Academic Appeals Committee, the same as the decision of any other Dean. Please see our page on Academic Appeals for more information about this process.