Special consideration

Special consideration is an adjustment to assessment/s which takes into account unexpected circumstances outside your control that have a significant impact on your performance in assessment or which prevented you from attempting or submitting the assessment.

You can apply for special consideration for a range of medical, non-medical or compassionate grounds if you experience unexpected circumstances outside your control, during or at the end of a semester that:

•  prevented you from submitting assessable tasks or

•  prevented you from attending an examination or

•  substantially affected your performance in the above.

Examples of circumstances for which extensions may be considered include serious physical or mental illness; carer responsibility for a member of your immediate family; an unexpected, unavoidable employment commitment; death of a close family member,  having been the victim of a serious crime.

You can submit the application with Student Connect or via email to VN Assessment Support at assessment.support@rmit.edu.vn.

Applications made on medical or psychological grounds should include an RMIT University impact assessment statement completed by a health practitioner who is registered with a recognised professional accreditation body (for example, a doctor, psychologist or social worker). The practitioner must be a type of practitioner with expertise in diagnosis and treatment of your condition. Supporting documentation from a health practitioner who is a member of your family will not be considered.

Applications made on non-medical grounds should include supporting documents such as a death notice or certificate, a funeral notice or letter from a funeral home, signed letter on employer’s letterhead, a police report or an insurance claim.

Applications must be submitted within five (05) working days after the assessment task deadline or scheduled examination. You should not wait to obtain supporting documentation before applying. Supporting documentation can be added to an application up to five (05) working days after the date the application is lodged.

A late application may only be considered in exceptional circumstances by approval of the Academic Registrar's Group (ARG) or nominee. Such applications must contain a detailed explanation of the reasons for being late, supported by valid documented evidence.

Applications for special consideration are considered by specialist staff within the Academic Registrar’s Group (ARG). Applications are considered on the basis of the impact of the documented circumstances on your performance in the assessment task.

Possible outcomes of a special consideration application are:

• an equivalent assessment (your course coordinator decides the form of equivalent assessment task)
• an extension of time (if you have applied for an extension, continue to work on the assessment and submit it as soon as you can, even if you have not yet received your outcome)
• a deferred assessment (a further opportunity to sit the assessment)
• other arrangements deemed appropriate to your circumstances and the course concerned
• a late course withdrawal without academic penalty
• denial of an consideration
• cancellation of an application for lateness or incompleteness.
• withdrawal of an application

You can seek a review of the cancellation of an application for lateness or incompleteness by writing to VN Assessment Support at assessment.support@rmit.edu.vn within five (05) working days after the cancelled outcome notification has been sent.

For an extension of seven (07) calendar days or less (from the original due date) you must complete an Application for Extension of Time for Submission of Assessable work and lodge it with your course coordinator no later than one (01) day prior to the deadline. If you have already reached the due date, a special consideration application must be lodged.

If you have received a denied special consideration outcome you may be eligible to appeal against this decision. You must lodge your appeal to the University Appeals Committee within ten (10) working days from the date of the email informing you of the outcome was sent by submitting your appeal application with Student Connect or via email to VN Assessment Support at assessment.support@rmit.edu.vn. It is important to note that late appeal applications cannot be accepted. Only appeals that are deemed to meet the selected grounds of appeal will be granted a hearing of the University Appeals Committee.

Yes, if you again experience unexpected circumstances in relation to other assessments or courses.

Note that in instances where a student is seeking special consideration for the same assessment for a third time, where eligibility has been established, the granted special consideration outcome will be restricted to ‘Late Course Withdrawal Without Academic Penalty’ only. No fourth opportunity will be provided for the student to complete the assessment. 

Yes. You should retain a copy of your application and supporting documentation.

Deferred exams are held in the last week of each semester. The timetable of deferred exams are posted on the intranet five (05) working days before the exam date.

A deferred assessment tests the same areas of skill and depth of knowledge as the original assessment. It is not intended to be easier or harder.

No. If you apply to resit an assessment, no mark will be recorded for the first assessment. You will have to resit the assessment to gain a mark; otherwise you will receive a fail mark for that assessment.

If you are granted special consideration for a further deferment of an assessment that has already been deferred, the outcome available is an ungraded pass (PX).