Special consideration and special arrangements
Special consideration or special arrangements may be granted where a student's preparation or performance in an assessment is affected by an illness, injury or misadventure, or essential commitment beyond their control. Refer to the universities policies and procedures for more information.
The university webpages contain information for students about applying for a special consideration and simple extensions.
Page overview
On this page you will find information about:
- Process overview
- Classification – standard/non-standard and what they mean
- Not examinable grades
- Role of the Special considerations team
- Role of the Unit Coordinator
- Role of the Faculty Champion/Admin
- Information for Unit of study coordinators
- Assistance with Special considerations applications
- Simple Extensions
- Help and Support
Process overview
Students apply for special consideration and special arrangements via the Services Portal. The special considerations team receives and processs these applications, record academic decisions and notify students of the outcome.
| Process step | Responsible |
|---|---|
| 1. Apply online | Student |
| 2. Assess and validate application, including supporting documentation | Special considerations team / Division of the Academic Registrar |
| 3. Determine appropriate form of consideration (standard or non-standard) | Special considerations team / Division of the Academic Registrar (standard) Faculty or school (non-standard) |
| 4. Notify student of outcome | Special consideration system |
| 5. Implement consideration | UoS coordinators Faculty professional staff |
Classification: standard and non-standard and what they mean.
All special consideration applications are assessed and approved or declined centrally by the special considerations team.
If it is determined to be a standard application, special considerations team will select an outcome as per the Decision Matrix approved by the Academic Board.
Standard decisions - default consideration applied unless Alternate consideration provided
| Assessment category | Assessment type | Default consideration selected by the Spec Con Team | Alternative consideration (can be specified by UoSC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final Exam - secure | Written exam | Replacement exam | N/A |
| Practical exam | |||
| Oral exam | |||
| In-semester test – secure | Written test | Replacement test | N/A |
| Practical test | |||
| Oral test | |||
| In-class - secure | Interactive oral | Replacement interactive oral unless AFoC provided | Alternative assessment/Mark adjustment |
| In-person practical, skills, or performance task or test | Replacement practical, skills or performance task unless AFoC provided | ||
| In-person written or creative task | Replacement written or creative task unless AFoC provided | ||
| Q&A following presentation, submission or placement | Replacement Q&A unless AFoC provided | ||
| Placement, internship, or supervision - secure | Peer or expert observation or supervision | Replacement peer or expert observation or supervision | N/A |
| In-person practical or creative task | Replacement in person practical or creative task | ||
| Clinical exam | Replacement clinical exam | ||
| Practice or application - open | In-class quiz | New or varied assessment | Mark adjustment |
| Out-of-class quiz | |||
| Practical skill | |||
| Inquiry or investigation - open | Experimental design | Extension of time up until closing date. After closing date alternative form of consideration required. Application will be sent non standard if no alternative form of consideration provided. |
Alternative assessment/Mark adjustment if extension exceeds closing date/14 days if no closing date provided. |
| Data analysis | |||
| Case studies | |||
| Research analysis | |||
| Production and creation - open | Portfolio or journal | Extension of time up until closing date. After closing date alternative form of consideration required. Application will be sent non standard if no alternative form of consideration provided. |
Alternative assessment/Mark adjustment if extension exceeds closing date/14 days if no closing date provided. |
| Performance | |||
| Presentation | |||
| Creative work | |||
| Written work | |||
| Dissertation or thesis | Non-standard | N/A | |
| Discussion - open | Debate | New or varied participation | Mark adjustment |
| Contribution | |||
| Conversation | |||
| Evaluation | |||
| Attendance - accreditation or faculty requirement | Attendance - accreditation or faculty requirement | Absence noted | N/A |
If is determined to be a non-standard application, the Special Considerations team will classify it as non-standard and will assign it to the Unit Coordinator to select an outcome.
The below criteria is used to classify an application as non-standard.
| Non-Standard Application (form of consideration determined by the UOS Coordinator) |
|---|
|
For Submitted Work Assessments that do not have an alternate form of consideration
|
|
|
|
|
Not Examinable grades
As of Semester 1 2024, a student can now obtain an NE (not examinable) grade if they are unable to attempt further assessments or examinations as a result of ongoing injury, illness or misadventure, approved exchange or study abroad commitments, or compulsory placement. Please see - 17 Special consideration due to illness, injury or misadventure – Principle 3, (16) (d) (i) Not examinable under extenuating circumstances from the Assessment Procedures 2024 policy.
Please email [email protected] if you require any information on this process.
What’s the role of the special considerations team?
- Assess and validate all applications and supporting documents.
- Determine if application is to be classified as standard or non-standard.
- If Standard: Apply an outcome with explanatory outcome notes.
- If non-standard: Classify as non-standard for Unit Coordinator to apply an outcome with explanatory outcome notes.
- Manage and respond to special consideration enquiries via the Services Portal, email [email protected] and internal phone line, responding to faculty queries.
- Manage the process for Informal Resolution and Review by the Academic Panel.
- Respond to fraud and/or misconduct identified in relation to spec Con applications.
- Refer students to relevant Student Support Services when appropriate.
What's the role of the Unit Coordinator in the special consideration process?
- Ensure assessment details are up to date in Sydney Curriculum (Akari) along with any assessment due dates.
- Apply an outcome type along with outcome notes on a non-standard application including non-standard appeals. (see Unit Coordinator dashboard for any outstanding unactioned applications)
- Assess withdrawal requests and apply a decision. (accept or reject withdrawal (see Unit Coordinator dashboard for any outstanding unactioned withdrawal Requests)
- If the default consideration is not applicable as per the Decision Matrix, ensure an Alternate Form of Consideration is selected as needed. (URL on the Coordinator Dashboard)
- Include an Additional coordinator if you, the Unit Coordinator would like to have a second faculty member assist with your applications. (URL on the Coordinator Dashboard)
- Implement consideration once granted.
What’s the role of the Faculty Champion/Admin in the special considerations process?
Faculty/school managers have responsibilities in ensuring requests assigned to Unit of Study coordinators are completed within the required timeframes.
| Responsibility | Service level / performance indicators |
|---|---|
| Ensure unit of study coordinator details are correct and up to date in Sydney Student at all times and leave periods are covered. | Immediate with changes |
| Monitor and manage completion of overdue non-standard applications assigned to unit of study coordinators. | Daily/weekly |
| Schedule and manage replacement exams with non-written elements or outside of the centralised replacement exam period, and new or varied placements across a faculty, school or program. | Daily/weekly/during exam periods |
| Manage potential progression issues for students referred by SAS. | Weekly |
| Provide input to any periodic review and update of the Decisions Matrix. | As required |
Other faculty responsibilities
- Determine the form of consideration for non-standard applications (academic)
- Assess withdrawal requests and apply a decision (academic)
- Support PSU with investigating appeal related activities (professional/academic)
- Provide input when contacted by PSU regarding appeals of special consideration decisions (academic)
- Assist in the resolution of complex and sensitive cases
- Notify PSU via the services portal, over the phone: x71456 or email: [email protected] if you detected an administrative error in the process of application or incorrect assessment details entered by student
- Act as an escalation point for outstanding applications (professional/academic)
- Before the start of each semester, Faculties and Schools ensure that the alternate form of consideration, consistent with the Decision Matrix, are updated in system.
The special considerations portal
The system:
- recognises them, their courses, and assessments
- allows students to check the status of their application at any time
- can save draft applications
- enables a new case management approach with in-application communication.
In addition, if an issue impacts multiple students or a large cohort, the special considerations team can create a ‘bulk’ application on behalf of students.
Information for unit of study coordinators
How does a student apply?
Students apply for special consideration and special arrangements through the services portal. Links for accessing this system are provided from the student website.
Student applications will be determined by Division of the Academic Registrar where a standard decision can be applied as outlined in the Decisions Matrix (pg. 35). Non-standard requests will be referred to unit of study coordinators for the form of consideration.
What forms of special consideration are available for me to determine online?
Division of the Academic Registrar assess applications for completeness and appropriate documents. If an application is approved by Division of the Academic Registrar, a standard decision approved by the Academic Board in the Decisions Matrix is applied. Where the application is not covered by the Decisions Matrix the request becomes non-standard and is sent to the unit of study coordinator for the form of consideration.
The following table outlines the types of standard versus non-standard requests:
- standard requests are assessed and determined centrally by Division of the Academic Registrar
- non-standard requests are assessed centrally and then assigned to unit of study coordinators for the form of consideration.
| Standard requests | Non-standard requests |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Any group work |
Informal extensions are not part of the University special consideration and special arrangements process.
When do I process applications?
You will be notified by email that you have a non-standard request that you need to assess. You will also be notified by email regarding considerations that have been granted as standard decisions (email copy of student outcome notification). Unit of Study coordinators and Faculty or School professional staff may also run reports containing request details related to your Unit of Study, which are available via the Services Portal.
If you take leave please ensure you assign an additional Unit of Study coordinator for your unit of study coordinator responsibilities.
How do I process an application?
Applications are processed in ServiceNow and can be accessed using the Unit of study Coordinator Dashboard at the top of this page.
Read more about how to process applications.
How to view decisions?
- Unit of study coordinators will receive an email when a standard decision has been made by the spec con team.
- Unit of study coordinators and faculty Champions/admin can view decisions by running reports in ServiceNow at any time.
- Faculties can run reports at any time
- Display all application statuses including approved, declined, withdrawn and in progress. This report can be filtered by faculty, unit of study and student for a selected date range.
- Display requests that are waiting on a decision and/or have been completed, by a unit of study coordinator. This report can be filtered by faculty, unit of study and UoS coordinator for a selected date range.
If you have concerns around the decision determined by Division of the Academic Registrar, contact the Special Considerations Team
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 8627 1456
Academic appeals
Student appeals against special consideration and special arrangements decisions are managed centrally by Division of the Academic Registrar. There are three levels of appeal:
- Resolution with the original decision-maker
- for standard decisions – reviewed by Division of the Academic Registrar
- for non-standard decisions – reviewed by the unit of study coordinator
- Application for Review by the Faculty/Academic Panel– reviewed by the Academic Panel made up of representatives from all faculties.
- Formal Student Appeals Body (SAB).
Further information is available on our student website.
For assistance with Special Considerations Applications contact your Faculty Champion or Faculty Admin
All Faculty Champions
Speccon Champions | ServiceNow (service-now.com)
Note: To add or remove a Faculty Champion use the ServiceNow Access form and select group FA-SpecCon Faculty Champion.
Faculty Admins list by Faculty
Faculty Admin - Architecture Design & Planning | ServiceNow (service-now.com)
To add or remove a Faculty Admin from this list, use the ServiceNow Access form and select group FA - spccon ARCH.
Faculty Admin - Faculty of Arts | ServiceNow (service-now.com)
To add or remove a Faculty Admin from this list, use the ServiceNow Access form and select group FA - spccon ARTS.
Faculty Admin - Business School | ServiceNow (service-now.com)
To add or remove a Faculty Admin from this list, use the ServiceNow Access form and select group FA - spccon BUSI.
Faculty Admin - Sydney Conservatorium of Music | ServiceNow (service-now.com)
To add or remove a Faculty Admin from this list, use the ServiceNow Access form and select group FA - spccon CONS.
Faculty Admin - Faculty of Engineering | ServiceNow (service-now.com)
To add or remove a Faculty Admin from this list, use the ServiceNow Access form and select group FA - spccon ENGI.
Faculty Admin - University of Sydney Law School | ServiceNow (service-now.com)
To add or remove a Faculty Admin from this list, use the ServiceNow Access form and select group FA - spccon LAWS.
Faculty Admin - Faculty of Medicine and Health | ServiceNow (service-now.com)
To add or remove a Faculty Admin from this list, use the ServiceNow Access form and select group FA - spccon MEDH.
Faculty Admin - Faculty of Science | ServiceNow (service-now.com)
To add or remove a Faculty Admin from this list, use the ServiceNow Access form and select group FA - spccon SCIE.
Simple extensions
Simple extensions of up to five days for individual assignments can be applied for through the special considerations system. Students need to apply prior to the assignment due date and will need to attach a student declaration.
Changes can be viewed in Part 14, Clause 81A of the Coursework Policy 2021.
Students can access information on simple extensions on the student website.
All simple extensions for individual assessments are applied for via the special considerations system. Simple extensions for group work and other assessment tasks (such as out of class quiz, practical skills, and the like) are still managed by the coordinator.
Students who apply for a simple extension for an applicable assessment type for injury, illness or misadventure and attach their student declaration, will be granted a 5-day simple extension. That is, an additional 5 days after the assignment due date.
The simple extension function went live in the special consideration system on 18 August 2022.
Any special consideration applications received between the start of Semester 2, 2022 and 18 August 2022 that met the simple extensions criteria have been prioritised and approved.
Any assessment tasks assigned in Akari applicable for a simple extension, that is not group work, will be available for simple extension in the special considerations system.
Simple extensions for individual submitted work are entered in the special considerations system and are the responsibility of the special consideration team to monitor and approve. The application and approval process is rules based and automated. Providing the application is completed correctly and correct supporting documents are attached the approval will be immediate.
Simple extensions have been added to the Unit of Study coordinator dashboard in the special considerations system. When you go to your Dashboard, as with all other categories, click on the bar graph to see a full list of students applying for simple extension .
Dashboard example
Click through to simple extensions
If you’d like to download the list go to the ‘hamburger’ or list menu to the left of any of the column headers. Then, right click and select the file type you would like to export to.
If a student applies for a further extension via special consideration, the information will appear on the Unit of Study coordinator dashboard. As per the process above, simply click on the graph for the 'UoS approved outcomes’ and the list will become visible.
Any changes to the due date of assignments you set are subject to the late change process with Educational Innovation.
Students have received information about the new policy and the information is posted on the relevant student facing web pages. Certain assessment types (as per the coursework policy 2021 clause 81A) are subject to a simple extension via the special consideration system. Simple extensions for all other assessment types are at the discretion of the UoSC and can be given up to five days. It is recommended that Canvas is updated to read the following:
“If you require a simple extension for applicable assessment types (see coursework policy 2021 clause 81A) you are advised to apply via the special considerations system. For all other assessment types, please refer to your Unit of Study Coordinator for an informal arrangement.”
Canvas sites will not be updated automatically.
Simple extensions will not be granted through the central portal for group work where the assessment has been categorised as group work in Sydney Curriculum. Simple extension of five days applies to all other individual assignments for submitted work.
Educational Innovation will update all due dates listed a week to be due at 23:59 on the Sunday at the end of the relevant week.
Yes, student communications will prompt students to check the closing date in their Unit of Study outline.
Yes, it is possible to change the assessment type via the change process, noting these will go through the usual approval process.
When 'assignment' is selected, the coordinator can select 'individual' (the default), 'Group' or 'Group with individual component'. Only the first of these is included in the policy. Simple extensions for 'Group with individual component', provided they are coded correctly, will be at the discretion of the UoSC.
Unless marked as group work in Akari these assignments would be subject to the 5-day simple extension.
Faculties remain responsible for ensuring the due dates in Canvas are correct.
If following a simple extension, a student wishes to apply for a further time to complete their assessment task, they must provide documentation to support their application.
No, all other simple extensions are at the discretion of the UoSC. Students will apply directly with UoSC.
Students must apply for simple extensions before the due date for their application to be considered.
Students must submit their application within three working days of the simple extension due date. Additionally, their affected period must include at least the due date of the simple extension itself, or prior to it.
Yes, simple extensions will be spot checked and all documentation, student declarations and email communication remains on file.
Help and Support
Accessibility
If you have vision impairment our online system may not be compatible with your screen reader. For assistance with managing an application, contact SAS at [email protected] or call extension 71456 (staff only).
Students with vision impairments who are unable to access the online system are encouraged to contact the Student Centre for support with making an application.
If your student is experiencing circumstances where they are unable to complete a special consideration or special arrangements application online, please encourage them to contact the Student Centre in the first instance to get help in submitting an application.
Technical support
If you are having technical issues with processing an application online, contact the ICT Helpdesk (UniKey required).
Knowledge articles - staff resources
- Unit of Study coordinator: Action a non-standard assessment in Platform view
- Unit of Study coordinator: Review and action a request for withdrawal of a submitted assessment
- Adding and Assigning additional Unit of Study Coordinators
- Provide an Alternate Form of Consideration (AFoC)
- Save search filters in Platform View
- Add notes and supporting documents to special consideration application via email
- How to assign due dates to Canvas assignments
Contact us
Contact Division of the Academic Registrar staff
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 8627 1456
Knowledge articles - staff resources
- Unit of Study coordinator: Action a non-standard assessment in Platform view
- Unit of Study coordinator: Review and action a request for withdrawal of a submitted assessment
- Adding and Assigning additional Unit of Study Coordinators
- Provide an Alternate Form of Consideration (AFoC)
- Save search filters in Platform View
- Add notes and supporting documents to special consideration application via email
- How to assign due dates to Canvas assignments
Contact us
Contact Division of the Academic Registrar staff
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 8627 1456