Special Examinations, Arrangements and Consideration

Special Examinations
Special Consideration
Special Examination Arrangements

Students are expected to be available for examination and further examination during the designated examination period. Unless physically unable to do so a student must attend and attempt all scheduled examinations.

The College follows the Examinations (The Faculties) Rules 2005 published in the ANU Rules of the University.

Special Examinations
1. The College permits special examinations under Rule 9(1) for serious medical conditions and unavoidable circumstances which prevent a student attending the examination. Unavoidable circumstances are those which:

a. could not have reasonably been anticipated, avoided or guarded against by the student, and

b. were beyond the student's control.

Examples of such circumstances are:

• a member of the armed forces involved in compulsory exercises;
• a person in full-time employment required to be overseas by his or her employer;
• a person representing Australia at an international sporting or cultural event;
• a person on jury duty;
• religious obligations which are not covered by special arrangement.
• Relevant educational purpose (eg commencement of northern hemisphere course).

Appropriate documentation must be submitted with the request. Requests falling within this category may be submitted prior to the examination date.

Circumstances, routinely encountered by students, which will not normally be acceptable as grounds for special examination are:

a. routine demands of employment;

b. routine family problems such as domestic tension with or between parents, spouses, and other people closely involved with the student;

c. difficulties adjusting to university life, and the demands of academic work;

d. stress or anxiety associated with examinations or any aspect of academic work;

e. routine need for financial support;

f. demands of sports, clubs, and social or extra-curricula activities;

g. family, personal and travel arrangements.

h. Examinations scheduled consecutively or close to one another.

2. Special examinations for medical reasons are designed to cover serious medical conditions and emergencies and a special examination must be requested within 72 hours. Rule 9(2).

3. Students are reminded that if possible they should attend the examination and follow the procedures laid out in Rule 10(1), 10(2), 10(3)) in respect of notification and special consideration.

4. Students must provide appropriate evidence of any medical condition being cited as the reason for non-attendance. In the case of illness or accident students must attend a doctor or medical clinic on the day of the examination, unless there are special and documented circumstances.

5. Medical or other evidence presented in respect of a request for a special examination must be submitted on the special College of Science Medical Form which may be obtained from the examinations section. The student must request the doctor to provide all information.

6. Students should not assume that non-attendance at the examination and an application will lead to a special examination being given. The College will judge the severity based on the medical report.

7. A special examination cannot be held until the College approves the student's request.

8. Misreading, misunderstanding or failure to read an examination timetable will not be considered as grounds for justifying the granting of a special examination, unless the Dean is satisfied that the timetable is in some way at fault.

Special Consideration
Rule 10 provides for a student to request special consideration where a student considers their academic performance may have been affected by circumstances during preparation for the examination or during the period of taking the examination. For circumstances during preparation the student must submit the request with appropriate evidence before the examination is held. If during the examination a candidate is ill or where there is a disruption or other condition which affects the examination process this should be reported to the invigilator. The invigilator will then provide a report which will be sent to the examining department

Special Examination Arrangements
Students may request a range of special examination arrangements. Such arrangements include being able to sit the examination in another location and arrangements in respect of language difficulties. Students are referred to Rule 5A.

The College of Science will approve an extension of time as a special arrangement in accordance with the principles outlined in the policy "Assessment Arrangements for Linguistic Diverse Background Students" * if:

a. a student comes from a non-English language background, and/or

b. has a mix of both linguistic and cultural factors, which disadvantage them in time assessment tasks conducted in English.

They may be granted up to one-third extra writing and/or reading time in the first year and a reduced or nil allowance beyond the transitional year. Students are expected to self-identify as a Linguistically Diverse Background student and the College of Science would expect them to be taking appropriate steps to correct the situation (i.e. attendance at Academic English courses or seeking study skills assistance).

Religious obligations fall within the category of special arrangements. Students should discuss this with the Examination Section.

* Note that an application for a special arrangement in this category must be made at least four (4) weeks prior to the examination.

Students requiring changed examination conditions under the Assessment Arrangements for Students from Language Backgrounds Other Than English policy need to fill out the form available for download here (doc - 100KB)

Teaching and Learning Course Evaluation Policy

The diverse natures of the disciplines within the College are such that appropriate methods for the evaluation of teaching and learning can be found only by each Department/School developing its own policy in accordance with the broad guidelines below. Evaluation is primarily a departmental/school responsibility.

Coursework

At a minimum, every course taught in the College of Science will be thoroughly evaluated by at least one of the following means every 2nd time it is taught:

• CEDAM survey (see CEDAM site for details) or equivalent in-house surveys
• Mid-course or end of course externally facilitated focus group discussions (e.g. CEDAM focus groups)
• A peer sitting in on key aspects of the course and providing feedback aimed at enhancing teaching and learning outcomes in that course

The use made of the results of evaluation should be determined by the individual Department/School with the agreement of the staff concerned. Departments/Schools should conduct a comprehensive review of their curricula on a regular basis.

Research
Methods of evaluation of supervision arrangements for research students should be in accordance with the policies determined by the Graduate School.