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What is Special Consideration?

If you have experienced circumstances that you believe have adversely affected your performance in a unit, then you may apply for Special Consideration, as described in the Handbook of Undergraduate Studies 2009. You may apply for Special Consideration for assignments as well as for the final examination.

Special Consideration for the Final Examination

To be eligible for Special Consideration for the final examination you must have:

1. satisfactorily completed all compulsory requirements of the
2. attached the required Forms to your request
3. provided valid documentary evidence to substantiate your circumstances
4. submitted your request in accordance with the University's Regulations

Note that you must satisfy all of these criteria for your request to be considered.

What happens if my request is approved?

Where, in the view of the Division, you request is considered valid and you are to be granted Special Consideration for the final examination, you should note the following:

1. you will normally be required to sit a Special Examination
2. your performance in the (original) final examination, if you sat it, will not be considered
3. your final grade will be based on your assignment marks and your performance in a Special Examination

Failure to undertake a Special Examination will result in a grade of FA being recorded.

Note that in some cases, although your request may be valid, if unit requirements relating to minimum assignment marks/submissions make it impossible for your final grade to be improved by a special examination, your original grade will stand. In such cases a Special Examination will not be given.

In rare cases, the department may judge that the circumstances of your Special Consideration case are ongoing so that a supplementary examination would not be able to resolve the issue of assigning a grade to you. In these cases the department will not require you to sit a supplementary examination, but will put in place appropriate alternate arrangements for assigning a grade.

What happens if my request is not valid?

Your original grade will stand.

When will the Special Examination be held?

When you request Special Consideration, you are telling us that your performance has not reflected your true ability. In advising us of these circumstances, you must hold yourself available to sit for a Special Examination, at short notice on the day and time we set. The format of a special examination is at each unit convenor's discretion.

The purpose of a special examination is to resolve the temporary difficulty caused by your illness or misadventure, and is not to give you an advantage over other students by allowing you extra time to study. We will, therefore, hold special examinations as soon as possible after the final examination, and in determining your grade, we will take into account the possibility of extra study time available to you.

The date for the Computing mid-year supplementary exams is the 8 July 2009 (Wed) and 9 July 2009(Thu).

* the examination may be in a form agreed by the individual unit convenor

How will I be notified?

The outcome of all special consideration requests will be posted on the Computing Department's web-site on Fri, 3 July 2009 after 3pm and on the E6A Level 1 noticeboard. It is each student's responsibility to check either site for details.

Further Information

Handbook of Undergraduate Studies 2009

Special Consideration Forms

You are expected you to read, understand and comply with these regulations.