Special Consideration

Are you physically unwell, suffering from the loss or illness of a loved one, or experiencing family relationship breakdown?  Are you experiencing mental health issues, hardship or trauma, or other exceptional circumstances which are impacting your ability to sit your exams?  Then you should know that you may be eligible to apply for Special Consideration to sit your exam at a later date (this is called a Deferred Exam), as long as you have supporting documents to substantiate your condition (see below for more on this).  The deadline to apply for SpecCon is within 2 Uni working days after your exam (or for early approval you can apply within 5 University working days before) and your application must contain supporting documentation obtained either on or before the day of your exam.

Please read carefully through all the information on the Uni’s Special Consideration webpage and reach out to an Advocate for any further guidance you may need.

Deferred Exams

If you can’t complete your exam on the day due to immediate and exceptional circumstances beyond your control, you may be eligible to apply for a deferred exam through the Special Consideration procedure (as mentioned above).

• Do not attend your exam if you are unwell and unable to sit it.

• Make sure you get a medical certificate written on or before the day of your exams that includes the health professional stating that 'you are totally unable to sit your examination on x date.'  Certificates written after the date of the exam will not usually be accepted by the University. Telehealth is widely available for same day appointments in Melbourne so saying you could not get an appointment will not be an accepted excuse for not obtaining a certificate.

• If you cannot see your mental health professional on the same day as your exam see a GP instead and kindly request the wording above.

If you attend the exam and see/attempt to answer the exam questions, you most likely won’t be eligible for a deferred exam. For this reason, if you start the exam we recommend always attempting to answer all the exam questions. However, if you become too unwell to complete the exam, you should alert your invigilator who may arrange for you to speak with a nurse before you leave the exam venue. If the nurse believes you are too unwell to complete the exam, they may write you a certificate that you must submit with any Special Consideration Application.  You should also reach out to Monash Uni Health or your local GP to secure additional supporting documentation on that day.  It may be tricky to get an appointment at such late notice, however telehealth appointments are available if you ring around.

If you cannot obtain Special Consideration and consequently fail the unit, you may be eligible for a Withdrawn Incomplete (WI) grade. Contact MSA Student Advocacy & Support (SAS) immediately for advice in this situation.

What if you test positive to COVID-19 and can’t attend your on-campus eExam?

If you test positive to COVID-19 but are feeling well enough to complete your exam (however due to isolation requirements you can’t come to campus), you may be able to apply to sit your assessment from home via the ‘Special Arrangements’ form, please see this link for more info. If you are feeling too unwell to sit your exam due to contracting COVID-19 then please obtain a medical certificate as per the directions found above under ‘Deferred Exams’.

Supporting Documentation

If you apply for Special Consideration to sit a deferred exam, then you’ll need some supporting documentation to support your case.  There are however strict rules around acceptable and unacceptable kinds of documentation, hence please read the information at the link below thoroughly before seeing a medical professional.  Scroll down to ‘Supporting documents’

Academic Integrity/Misconduct

What if an action of yours was ‘noted’ during the exam and you are worried you’ve breached Academic Integrity standards?  You may have heard the following from your invigilator “I’ll need to note this occurrence and the recording may be reviewed by your faculty.”  First of all, don’t worry – we have been told by the Uni that many of the instances that are ‘noted’ are deemed not to be breaches of Academic Integrity upon further review.  And the last thing you want is for worries about something which may not even end up being an issue, to negatively impact your subsequent exams.

If you have further questions about the Uni’s standards surrounding Academic Integrity/Misconduct you can check out Monash’s relevant webpage here.  Or if you need any assistance with navigating the process or guidance with next steps just reach out to Student Advocacy & Support by booking an appointment to speak with us here.

General Referrals

• Monash Counselling: Counselling can help you with problems like coping with study or university life, stress, anxiety and depression, loneliness, drug and alcohol abuse and addictions, negative feelings and suicidal thoughts, relationship and family issues. No issue is too big, or too small.

• Disability Support Services: Monash promotes access and equity for students who have a disability, ongoing medical or mental health condition.  If this is you then DSS have a range of ways to support you through your study journey.

• LearnHQ: We are here to support you through one-on-one consultations, learning resources and engaging workshops that address all your learning and language needs.

• Student Academic Success: When you need help with general study, assessment or academic writing, or academic English, visit us at Student Academic Success. Book in with one of our learning advisers.

If you have any questions, please make an appointment with Student Advocacy and Support.