If unexpected circumstances beyond your control have affected your ability to complete an assessment, you may be eligible to apply for special consideration.
If unexpected circumstances beyond your control have affected your ability to complete an assessment, you may be eligible to apply for special consideration.
If unexpected circumstances beyond your control have affected your ability to complete an assessment, you may be eligible to apply for special consideration.
If unexpected circumstances outside your control have affected your ability to complete an assessment, you may be eligible to apply for special consideration. Special consideration is made available by the University on the understanding that students will use it sparingly and only in cases of proven genuine need.
Outcomes of applications for special consideration include (but are not limited to) the following. All outcomes are detailed in Section 46 of the Assessment and Assessment Flexibility Policy.
Note: While an application may be approved, outcomes provided are subject to change. If we receive relevant information that leads to the outcome being changed, we will notify you of a revised outcome.
If your application for special consideration relates to the last assessment task necessary for the completion of your program and you are granted special consideration (such as a deferred assessment or extension of time), you may need to apply for a leave of absence for the following study period/semester to ensure that you are not discontinued before you have the opportunity to complete/submit that assessment.
RMIT handles all personal information in accordance with the Privacy Policy. Special consideration applications often contain sensitive personal and/or health information. Your information will kept in confidence in a secure database that is only accessed by members of the special consideration team in the Academic Registrar’s Group, for assessing your application and related purposes.
Emails in relation to your application may be copied to School or College staff as part of the process, but will not include details of the circumstances for which you have sought special consideration.
Where your application raises concerns about your health or wellbeing, or if you apply repeatedly for special consideration in the same teaching period, the special consideration team may ask another support area of the University such as RMIT Counselling and Psychological Services, Equitable Learning Services or Student Wellbeing (as appropriate) to contact you offering support. This process does not include access to your special consideration documentation.
If unexpected circumstances outside your control have affected your ability to complete an assessment, then you may be eligible to apply for special consideration.
Most students can apply for special consideration online (see exceptions below). Please ensure you include a personal statement and supporting documentation with your application.
You must apply within five working days after the assessment date or due date. You can submit your application even if you don’t have the necessary supporting documentation ready – you have up to five working days to provide supporting documents after submitting your application. However, we recommend students gather supporting documents as soon as possible in case there are delays in obtaining them. Be mindful that if you’re applying because of a health condition, your health practitioner may be unwilling to provide supporting documents once you no longer have symptoms.
Your application will be assessed by specialist staff based on your evidence of the unexpected circumstances outside your control and its impact on your performance in an assessment task.
All communication will be via your RMIT student email account, so it's important that you check your email often, read your messages carefully and respond to any requests by the specified date. You can expect at least two emails to:
If your application is incomplete when submitted (e.g. you have not included supporting documentation or a personal statement), we'll email you asking for further information and/or documentation to support your application. If you're having difficulties obtaining supporting documentation, email special.consideration@rmit.edu.au. If you don’t respond to a request for more information or documents, we may have to cancel your application.
You’ll receive an outcome email up to 10 working days after the notification that your application is complete. The email will state the outcome for each assessment task listed in your application. The standard outcomes are ‘granted’, ‘denied’, ‘cancelled’ and ‘withdrawn’.
If you’re granted special consideration, it’s important that you follow any instructions and recommendations in your outcome email. Where an outcome requires you to contact the course coordinator by a given date, you must do so otherwise the outcome may be deemed to have lapsed.
Find out why an application might be cancelled, denied or withdrawn.
If you're applying for special consideration, you will need to provide formal, independent documentation to support your application.
If you don't supply supporting documents, it's unlikely your application will be considered complete. If this happens, we'll contact you by email to advise what documents you need to provide. If you don’t submit the documents within five working days from the date of application submission, your application may be cancelled.
RMIT provides for timely and trauma-informed responses to sexual harm. RMIT is committed to demonstrating compassion and empathy to victim-survivors, and to minimising the trauma which can be associated with disclosing or reporting sexual harm, as well as with the processes which can follow, such as investigation. For more information, please view the Sexual Harm Prevention and Response Policy.
You're required to provide formal, independent supporting documents to evidence the unexpected circumstances outside your control and their impact on your performance in an assessment task.
You have five working days after submitting your application to upload your supporting documents.
Each document must:
Providing RMIT with false documents is a crime under the Victorian Crimes Act 1958. This is fraud and will likely result in a student being expelled from the University.
Fraud includes:
If a student submits false or misleading information for any reason, they may:
You must be aware of your obligations and responsibilities as an RMIT student under the RMIT Student Conduct Policy.
We know that studying can at times be stressful. There are services and staff at RMIT to help you throughout your program. Please always talk to someone if you are feeling overwhelmed – this can be your teacher, a peer supporter, RUSU, a welfare advisor or a staff member at Student Connect. Find your support.
Reason | Supporting documents |
---|---|
An unexpected short-term physical or mental health condition | It’s recommended you download, complete and include an Impact Assessment Statement (PDF, 45KB) completed by your treating health practitioner. A medical certificate may also be considered if it states the dates and severity of the impact of your condition. The formal medical documentation you provide in support of your application must be completed by the registered medical/health practitioner who treated you. The public register of practitioners is available from Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. If someone's name appears on this register, you can be assured they are registered in Australia and can practise within the scope of their registration. Supporting documentation from a health practitioner who is also a member of your family will not be considered. |
Difficult personal circumstances/significant emotional disturbance such as:
|
Depending on your reason for applying for special consideration, you may submit:
|
Carer responsibility for an immediate family member | Submit a formal carer’s certificate or Impact Assessment Statement (PDF, 45KB) completed by the patient’s treating health practitioner, naming you as their carer. Supporting documentation from a health practitioner who is also a member of your family will not be considered. |
Bereavement | Submit one or more of the following:
If you’ve lost someone in your immediate family, we understand that you are likely to continue to be significantly impacted by grief for some time. In your first application for a bereavement, you’ll need to provide the relevant evidence. You can submit further applications in relation to the loss of the same family member for up to six months without having to provide those same supporting documents. If you need to apply for special consideration after six months, you’ll need to provide an Impact Assessment Statement (PDF, 45KB) completed by your treating health practitioner. Additional supporting documentation may be requested from you at the discretion of staff managing the special consideration process to assist in the assessment of your application. |
An unavoidable employment, family, cultural, religious or elite sporting commitment known in advance | Submit a formal letter from a relevant person or organisation, e.g. a religious or community leader, employer or sporting body. The letter must be from someone who is qualified to comment on your circumstances. |
Other unexpected circumstances outside your control Including Army, Army Reserve, CFA and voluntary CFA commitments |
Submit a formal letter and/or official documents to support your application. Depending on your circumstances, these might be from government agencies, employers, the police and courts, real estate or volunteer organisations. |
Major/sustained technical or connection problem during an online assessment | Submit screenshots (which include the date and time of the incident/issue/communication) of the following as relevant:
Where relevant, obtain documentation from your electricity or internet service provider, or IT Service Connect, confirming the sudden and unexpected prolonged internet or system outage/problem you experienced. This may include phone logs, chat transcripts or emails. If you have experienced a submission issue with Canvas, please contact Canvas Support (contact details are listed at the bottom of the linked page) who may be able to assist you with providing formal documentation to evidence those circumstances. Find out more about technical issues during online assessments. |
Major or sustained technical disruption, failure or connection problems beyond your control during an online assessment may be grounds for special consideration, if it's proven they prevented you from successfully completing and submitting your assessment.
Examples of technical issues that are not grounds for special consideration include but are not limited to:
If any of the above situations impact your assessments, contact your course coordinator as soon as possible to discuss your options.
To apply for special consideration due to a major and unexpected technical issue, please follow these steps:
Take screenshots (which must include the date and time of the incident/issue/communication) of as many of the following as possible:
Where relevant, obtain documentation from your electricity or internet service provider, or IT Service Connect, confirming the sudden and unexpected prolonged internet or system outage/problem you experienced. This may include phone logs, chat transcripts or emails.
If you have experienced a submission issue with Canvas, contact Canvas Support (see contact details at the bottom of the linked page) who may be able to assist you with providing formal documentation to evidence those circumstances.
Contact your course coordinator or tutor immediately and advise them of the issue in writing.
Where appropriate, we also recommend that you immediately email your course coordinator or tutor a copy of your work as evidence that you completed the assessment task but were unable to submit it because of a technical issue.
Submit a special consideration application immediately and upload your screenshots, evidence of contact made with your course coordinator or tutor and all other relevant supporting documentation/communications.
In your self-statement please tell us specifically how this technical issue affected your completion/submission of the assessment and include the date and time this issue occurred.
Email the special consideration team at special.consideration@rmit.edu.au if you:
The Ngarara Willim Centre at RMIT directly supports Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students with a range of services relating to academic, cultural, social, and emotional wellbeing. Whether it's assisting with your application, gathering relevant documents or connecting students with various services and activities, contact the team at Ngarara Willim.
Contact one of our personal support services for free and confidential advice, including financial and health support.
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.