At its meeting
of 13 August 2003, the Academic Board approved amendments to the University's
policies and procedures regarding special consideration due to illness and
misadventure which came into effect on 1 January 2004. The following procedures
are in accordance with the University policy.
The
University's assessment practices are designed to ensure that conditions are
fair to all students, as consistent as possible and that individual students
are not disadvantaged by adverse personal circumstances beyond their control or
by the activities of other students.
Students who
have a serious illness or who have experienced a misadventure which may affect
their academic performance in a course or units of study, may request that they
be given special consideration in relation to the determination of their
results. Applications for special consideration may be made in respect of any
or all factors which contribute to assessment in a unit of study, including
assessment tasks, examinations, recitals and attendance requirements.
It is
essential that students note that they have a responsibility and obligation to:
·
act in
accordance with the principles of special consideration as set out in the
Academic Board Resolutions relating to assessment and examination of coursework
·
become
familiar with University policy and Faculty procedures relating to special
consideration
·
provide the
relevant information to their Faculty offices as soon as practicable and
certainly within one week from the end of the appropriate semester so that an
academic judgment of the circumstances and severity of their experiences can be
made; and
·
act honestly
when applying for special consideration.
1. The student must obtain a request for special
consideration form from one of the following locations:
o
The Student
Administration Office of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) (Level 4 of
the Greenway Building)
o
The
Conservatorium website at www.usyd.edu.au/conmusic/
o
The Student
Centre located in the Carslaw Building on the Camperdown campus
Any requests in respect to a unit of study being completed through
another Faculty must be submitted to that Faculty Office.
Students are reminded that when completing the special consideration
application form that they must also attach the following supporting
documentation:
o
For consideration
due to serious illness have a registered medical practitioner or
counsellor complete the Professional Practitioner's Certificate (available from
any of the three abovementioned locations), or
o
For
consideration due to misadventure attach the appropriate documentation.
2. The student must lodge the application with the
Faculty's Student Administration Office. All original documentation in support
of the application should also be submitted at that time. The only documents
that the Student Administration Office will accept in copied form are those for
some types of supporting documentation e.g. death certificate, police report.
All other forms submitted must be original copies, including Professional
Practitioner Certificates.
3. The Student Administration Office will check the
application to ensure that a student's documentation is adequate and if so,
will endorse both the original application form as well as the student's own
copy to confirm lodgment of the application at the office. Please note that the
onus is on the student to make a copy of his/her application before submitting
it as the Student Administration Office will is not able to make copies for
students. The student must retain the receipt (bottom of the application form)
that will be given upon lodgment of the form at the Student Administration
Office.
4. The Student Administration Office will forward the
student's application form and supporting documentation to the relevant Unit of
Study Co-ordinator(s).
5. The Unit of Study Co-ordinator, in association with
the Head of School, will assess the application and supporting documentation
and will record a recommendation. The Co-ordinator will also take appropriate
action in regard to the student's examination or recital results (if
appropriate). If further examination or recital is recommended, the Coordinator
will contact the student directly to make appropriate arrangements.
6. The Unit of Study Coordinator will return the
application and supporting documentation to the Student Administration Office.
Within seven working days from the date of submission the Student
Administration Office then will inform the student of the outcome of his/her
application via her/his University email account.
1. Applications must be submitted to the Student
Administration Office as soon as practicable and certainly within one week from
the end of the period for which consideration is sought (i.e. assignment due
date or date of examination or recital).
2. Students should note that the University recognizes
that there is a clear distinction between longstanding illness or difficulties
which prevent students from attending classes or completing required work or
which seriously interfere with their capacity to study for long periods and
short-term serious illness or misadventure which may prevent a well-prepared
student from sitting for an examination or recital or completing or completing
a particular assignment. Only well-attested serious illness or misadventure
during a semester or occurring at the time of an examination or recital will
warrant special consideration for academic performance.
3. Occasional, brief or trivial illness is regarded as
insufficient in explaining a student's absence or poor performance and students
are discouraged from submitting certificates for absences totaling less than
one week, although frequently recurrent short absences would need
documentation. The exact nature of misadventure will vary, but serious illness
or death of a close family member, particularly at the time of the
examinations, would clearly warrant consideration.Students who, because of
serious illness or misadventure, are prevented from attending classes for
prolonged periods should seek an interview with the relevant Associate Dean.
Even if they do not exceed any specified permitted period of absence, they may
need to consider whether their best academic interests are served by
discontinuing with permission from the course until they are able to resume
their studies effectively. International students may need to seek advice
regarding visa requirements prior to making any changes to enrolments.
Assistance can be sought from the International Office.Special consideration
can only be granted when satisfactory documentation is provided. This is apart
from the student's own submission. Professional Practitioner Certificates
signed by family members are not acceptable.
4. Special consideration will not be given in the
circumstances of:
o
Occasional,
brief or trivial illness of a one or two days duration that occur one week or
more before an assessment is due or exam undertaken
o
Workloads from
other units of study, disciplines and faculties, except where the request for
special consideration is made within the first three weeks of semester
o
Employment
where the request for special consideration is made less than four weeks before
the date of assessment
o
Illnesses and
misadventures that have prevented students from acquiring a Pass level of
knowledge/skills (including all illnesses/misadventures resulting in the student
missing six weeks or more of lectures or tutorials)
o
Adequate
standards of documentation and processes have not been met
o
Requests for
extensions for assignments made after the assignment is due or an assessment
has taken place (except where the circumstances prevented earlier provision; no
special consideration requests shall be processed if submitted more than one
week after the assessment)
o
The supporting
documentation post-dates the period for which special consideration was sought;
o
The
performance of the student was equivalent or superior to that demonstrated in
other assessments in the unit of study; and they pertain to planned
commitments, such as elective surgery, holiday or work, where the student could
reasonably be expected to have scheduled the commitment or their studies to not
adversely affect their studies
o
Computer-related
problems, except where a police report is provided indicating that burglary or
calamity has resulted in the loss of a computer and backups from the students'
place of residence (NB: it is assumed that students keep regular back-ups of
their work, so theft of a laptop is not grounds for special consideration).
o
Jury service,
military service, national sporting and religious or cultural commitments which
prevent a student from attending scheduled examinations would not normally be
considered as cases of misadventure. Whilst faculties are encouraged to
consider significant religious and cultural events when scheduling examination
and recital dates they may make allowances for these circumstances and consider
these applications on a case by case basis.
5. If a request for special consideration is recommended,
the Faculty can apply this in a number of ways including:
o
Offer further
examination (In the case of a performance examination, it is not possible to
give a compensatory adjustment to the mark Ü the student will be permitted to
re-take the recital.
o
Aggregating
and averaging marks already obtained when examinations or assignments have not
been completed
o
Extending
deadlines for assignments
o
Comparing
relevant exam or essay performance with other assessment in the course and
making an adjustment.
6. Students who require up to one week extra for the
completion of a particular assignment owing to brief or minor illness, should
apply directly to the Unit of Study Coordinator for an extension of the
submission date and are not required to complete a special consideration
application.
7. Students should be aware that the Unit of Study
Coordinator and a second member of Unit academic staff evaluate the reasons
presented for special consideration and how they may have impacted on a
student's performance or attendance. If an application is not supported, the
penalties for failure to complete a piece of assessment or for late submission
must be applied as indicated in the Unit of Study outline.
8. Where a request for special consideration is not
supported, the student may lodge a written appeal to the Assistant Principal.
9. Students are required to act honestly when applying
for special consideration. Submitting a fraudulent application may be
considered a form of academic dishonesty. If so, the request will not be
considered further and the matter will be referred to the Assistant Principal.
March 2004