Special consideration - JD/Breadth subject(s) only

These guidelines and procedures should be read in conjunction with, and are subject to, the University's Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326).

The guidelines and procedures below do not apply for Melbourne Law Masters (MLM) subjects. Students should refer to special consideration - MLM subjects.

Students undertaking JD and Breadth subjects who experience acute, short-term circumstances which impact upon their capacity to complete a piece of assessment are advised to apply for special consideration.

Eligibility

Students may be considered eligible for special consideration if they can demonstrate exceptional or extenuating circumstances outside their control that have impacted upon their capacity to complete academic requirements.

Students can apply for special consideration in relation to the following types of assessment:

  • End of semester examinations
  • Interim tests and assessment tasks
  • Essays
  • Take-home examinations
  • Research papers
  • Attendance/participation requirements
  • Oral presentations
  • Any other assessment as outlined in the handbook entry.

Potential circumstances

  • Short-term illness
  • Hardship or trauma, such as (not exhaustive) bereavement, family violence, accident or injury
  • Religious observance
  • Emergency service volunteers

Students will be considered in-eligible for special consideration in the following circumstances:

  • Computer failure
  • Public transport delays
  • Personal events such as weddings or birthdays
  • Minor ailments or illnesses, where you are still capable of completing the assessment
  • Travel plans or delays related to personal travel
  • Conflicting assessments or closely scheduled assessments between elective and compulsory subjects. If there is a direct conflict in assessment dates for compulsory subjects, students should notify the Academic Support Office via law-assessment@unimelb.edu.au.
  • Clerkships or preparation for clerkship applications conflicting with assessments
  • Internship commitments and volunteer positions
  • Employment commitments.

How to apply

Students should not apply for apply for special consideration directly to the Student Academic Adjustment and Wellbeing Officer or to their lecturers/subject coordinators. Lecturers/subject coordinators do not provide outcomes for special consideration applications. Students will be advised to submit a formal application.

Any advice provided by a lecturer/subject coordinator regarding outcomes for special consideration is not considered official and students are advised to await receipt of their formal outcome provided as a result of their special consideration application.

Applications should be submitted within four (4) working days of the assessment due date/time.

Apply for special consideration


Outcomes

Step 1

Special consideration applications are firstly assessed by Student Equity and Disability Support (SEDS) to determine if they are eligible for special consideration based on the supporting documents provided by students.

Step 2

Successful applications are then forwarded to Melbourne Law School to determine the outcome for each piece of assessment.

  • End of semester examination

    If a student is considered eligible for special consideration in relation to an end of semester exam, the usual outcome is the award of a special exam. A special exam takes place in the special/supplementary exam period and is marked to the full value of marks available for that exam.

    Students are advised to attempt exams if it is physically safe to do so. MLS can provide no guarantees about the outcome of a special consideration application.

    Students who apply, and are assessed as eligible for, a second special consideration (‘special on special’) application will receive a late withdrawal from the subject as the normal outcome.

  • Take-home examination

    If a student is considered eligible for special consideration in relation to a take-home exam, the usual outcome is the award of a special take-home exam. Students are advised to consult with the Student Academic Adjustment and Wellbeing Officer (law-wellbeing@unimelb.edu.au) regarding the date of release of the special take-home exam. The special take-home exam is marked to the full value of marks available for that take-home exam.

    Students are advised to attempt take-home exams if it is physically safe to do so. MLS can provide no guarantees about the outcome of a special consideration application.

    Students who apply, and are assessed as eligible for, a second special consideration (‘special on special’) application will receive a late withdrawal from the subject as the normal outcome.

  • Interim assessment

    Where a student is considered eligible for special consideration in relation to an interim assessment task that is:

    • weighted at less than 25% of the total marks available for that subject
      and/or
    • is less than 1,000 words
      and/or
    • is a class test of one hour or less,

    the interim assessment task’s weighting may be re-weighted to the final assessment.

  • Essay/research paper

    Where a student is seeking an extension to the due date of an essay/research paper they have two options:

    • If the student is seeking an extension of 10 days or less, they should apply for an extension.
    • If the student is seeking an extension of 11 or more days, they should submit a special consideration application. Please note that the maximum permissible extension is 20 working days (Monday to Friday, weekends and public holidays excluded) from the original due date/time. Extension requests beyond this period may be considered for alternative outcomes, which may include late withdrawal.

    Pending special consideration outcome

    Extension requests via special consideration are processed within 5 – 7 working days. If a student has not received an outcome by the original due date/time of the assessment, they should email a copy of their work to date to law-assessment@unimelb.edu.au.

    Information to include in the email:

    • Student ID,
    • Subject code and name, and
    • The following statement: “This is a partial submission of my work and I am awaiting an outcome from an extension and/or special consideration application”.

    Students should continue working on their assessment until receiving an outcome from their special consideration application.

    Approved extension outcome

    Students with an approved extension should submit their work via the LMS. The LMS will state the original due date/time, but students should upload their assessment regardless. MLS will note your extension and will not apply late penalties.

    If a student has difficulties uploading their assessment to the LMS, they should email a copy to law-assessment@unimelb.edu.au before the submission due date/time. Students should ensure to attach a copy of their extension approval email.

  • Attendance requirements

    Students are advised to refer to the subject handbook to determine if the subject has an attendance hurdle requirement. If such a hurdle requirement exists and the student feels they are unable meet this, they may apply for special consideration. If the student is considered eligible, the subject coordinator will be consulted to determine if it is possible to waive the hurdle requirement.

    JD students are able to complete an elective subject from within the Melbourne Law Masters. Where a JD student is enrolled in a Master’s elective and is unable to meet the attendance requirement they should refer to the Special consideration - MLM Subject(s) guidelines.

  • Participation requirements

    Where a student is considered eligible for special consideration in relation to graded participation requirements, and the participation requirement is weighted at less than 25% of the total marks available for that subject, participation may be re-weighted to the final assessment.

  • Oral presentations

    If a student is considered eligible for special consideration in relation to an oral presentation they may be given one of the following outcomes:

    • Delay the oral presentation to a later date. The date is at the discretion of the lecturer/subject coordinator.
    • Re-weight final assessment (if the oral presentation is weighted at less than 25% of the total marks available for that subject)
    • If the Oral Presentation is a hurdle requirement and the student can demonstrate that they cannot physically complete the assessment, then the subject coordinator will be consulted to determine if the hurdle may be waived. Please note that this can only happen in very limited circumstances.
  • Late withdrawal

    A late withdrawal is the retrospective withdrawal of a student from a subject. The withdrawal is back dated to the last date to withdraw (for the particular subject) and the student will receive a WD grade on their transcript.

    It is each student’s responsibility to manage their enrolment and promptly seek assistance if they encounter difficulties. Key withdrawal dates are advertised on the University Handbook for each subject.

    Where circumstances have had a significant impact upon the student’s ability to successfully complete the subject, and have occurred or worsened on or after the last date to withdraw, students must firstly submit a special consideration application and be considered eligible by Student Equity and Disability Support (SEDS).

    A late withdrawal is only considered in the most significant of situations which:

    • Are beyond the student’s control
    • Make their full impact on, or after, the last date to withdraw, and
    • Make it impracticable to pass the subject, and
    • Are unusual, uncommon or abnormal.

    All of the above criteria must be met for a late withdrawal to be considered.

    Detailed evidence must be provided which confirms all criteria.

    Evidence must be provided on letterhead from an independent authority, eg doctor, psychologist, social worker. Statutory declarations will not be considered sufficient evidence; however, they can be considered in addition to official supporting documentation.

    Medical reasons

    A statement from a doctor stating:

    • The date the medical condition began or changed
    • How the condition affected the student's capacity to study
    • When it became apparent that the student would not be able to continue with their studies.

    Family/personal reasons

    A statement from a doctor, counsellor or independent member of the community (eg Minister of Religion) stating:

    • The date the personal circumstances began or changed;
    • How the circumstances affected the student's ability to study; and
    • When it became apparent the student could not continue their studies.

    Employment-related reasons

    A statement from the employer, stating:

    • Usual demand of student's role;
    • Demands of the role for the period the student is seeking a late withdrawal;
    • Previous hours of role, and;
    • Hours of work during period for which the student is seeking a late withdrawal.

    Once the Student Academic Adjustment and Wellbeing Officer is satisfied that the circumstances meet the eligibility criteria, the application will be forwarded to the Assistant Dean (Teaching and Learning) for final approval. The Assistant Dean (Teaching and Learning) has overarching responsibility for approving these requests.

    It should be noted that approval for a late withdrawal does not automatically entitle the student to fee remission for that subject. There are additional criteria used in the assessment of fee remission applications.

Availability for examinations

Students must ensure they are available to sit an exam during the advertised examination periods. If a student is applying for special consideration they must also ensure they are available to sit an exam during the special/supplementary examination period.

There are limited circumstances in which MLS will offer flexibility with exam scheduling, including:

  • Where a student is registered as an Elite Athlete and is competing in a national or international level competition taking place during the exam period. In this situation, MLS may consider moving the student’s exam to the special/supplementary exam period. If the competition extends into the special/supplementary exam period then an exam will be scheduled as close as possible to the date of the original exam and take place at the competition location with appropriate supervision.
  • Where a student is registered as an Elite Performer and is required to perform at a national/international level during the exam period. In this situation, MLS may consider moving the student’s exam to the special/supplementary exam period. If the performance period extends into the special/supplementary exam period then an exam will be scheduled as close as possible to the date of the original exam and take place at the performer’s location with appropriate supervision.
  • Where a student is participating in a competition for which the student has been selected by MLS to represent MLS. In these instances, students will be offered the opportunity to move their exams to the special exam period. Where the competition extends into the special/supplementary exam period then an exam will be scheduled as close as possible to the date of the original exam and take place at the competition location with appropriate supervision.
  • Where a student is awarded a special exam and is enrolled in an MLS approved and sponsored international subject, eg Law and Legal Practice in Asia. If the official dates of the study tour overlap with the special exam period, then student may be granted permission to sit the exam while on the study tour under the supervision of an academic supervisor.

Appealing/reviewing outcome

If a student feels there are grounds for a review of the outcome provided, they may seek a review within five (5) working days of their formal outcome.

Request review of outcome

Students should continue to work on their assessment until receiving an outcome from their review request, and they should email a copy of their work to date to law-assessment@unimelb.edu.au by the original due date/time.

Information to include in the email:

  • Student ID,
  • Subject code and name, and
  • The following statement: “This is a partial submission of my work and I am awaiting an outcome from an extension and/or special consideration review”.