Topic

Special Consideration

02 July 2026

Unforeseen circumstances can get in the way of your studies. UC has a range of special consideration options for eligible students. Find out about special consideration for assessment, late discontinuation, teaching qualifications, reviewing or appealing a decision, and providing supporting evidence.

HOW TO APPLY

We are continuing to have intermittent technical difficulties with the Special Consideration application form.

Please submit your application using the online application form - see further instructions under How to Apply.

However, if you do not receive a confirmation email within three hours of submitting the application please email specialconsideration@canterbury.ac.nz for further instructions.

How to Apply

You can apply for special consideration if

you attempted or submitted an assessment worth 10% or more but illness, bereavement, or critical circumstances prevented you from performing at your usual level
you could not sit or submit an assessment worth 10% or more due to serious circumstances
you could not complete a course or courses due to circumstances beyond your control but could not submit a change of enrolment by the published deadline

All applications must be submitted no later than 5 working days after the assessment due date, and should include suitable supporting documentation. Applications submitted outside of this timeframe or without suitable supporting documentation will normally be declined.

Applications will be assessed to determine whether there are sufficient grounds for Special Consideration to be applied, and if approved, will be sent to the relevant Department or Faculty to determine the appropriate remedy. For impaired performance or missed assessment, this may include an opportunity for you to resit a test or submit an alternative assessment, or for a grade to be derived from previous assessments you have completed. For late withdrawal from a course or courses, this will involve the appropriate Dean granting late withdrawal from the relevant course(s). If a late withdrawal is approved, you will not be refunded course fees.

Special Consideration is not available for:

missed lectures during the semester
examination anxiety
mistaking the date and/or time of an examination
missing an examination or test because of sleeping in
having several assessments, tests, and/or examinations close together
work or other external commitments
low-level impairment (eg a cold during the examination period)
known impairment such as chronic illness (medical or psychological), injury, or disability unless medical evidence confirms that the circumstances were exacerbated, despite appropriate management, at the time of assessment
when an extension of time to complete the assessment (eg a test or essay) should instead be sought from the lecturer or course supervisor
when the application is submitted after the release of results (unless under exceptional circumstances)
when supporting documents are submitted significantly after the application
when repeated applications are made for the same or a similar reason (this would then be considered a known or expected reason)

Special Consideration for assessment is for students who have covered the content of a course but have been prevented from demonstrating their knowledge or skills at the time of the assessment due to unforeseen circumstances, such as illness, bereavement or other critical circumstances outside of their control.

If you were impaired or absent for a test or examination worth 10% or more, you may apply for Special Consideration. Your application must be submitted no later than five working days after the assessment due date.

An approved Special Consideration application does not mean that your grade for the course will change. The relevant Department will consider all your marks for the course the application relates to before deciding whether a change of grade is appropriate.

The Special Consideration process for assessment involves two steps:

First, the grounds of your application(s) are considered by the Special Consideration Committee and, if approved, are notified to both the Department/School and student via email.

Second, the application is considered by the Department/School to determine if an academic remedy is appropriate. The outcome of which will be notified by the Department (e.g. a re-sit or alternative assessment) or when results are released (e.g. possibly an AEG grade, AEG Pass or No Change of Grade).

Special arrangements for tests or examinations

If you require special arrangements for tests or examinations due to an ongoing condition, you must be registered with Student Accessibility Services. The Special Consideration Team are not involved in organising special arrangements for tests and exams.

Applying for an extension of time on an assessment

A special consideration application is not the process to apply for an extension of time to complete an essay, assignment or quiz. You should instead contact the Course Supervisor, with your supporting documentation, and apply for an extension of time to complete the assessment.

Special Consideration for Late Discontinuation is for students who have been prevented from completing a course or courses due to circumstances beyond their control, or that were not reasonably foreseeable, and they were unable to withdraw from the course(s) by the published withdrawal deadline.

You must submit your Special Consideration application no later than five working days after the examination period has finished and before the results for the course are released. You must include an explanation with your application as to why you were unable to withdraw from the course(s) by the deadline.

An approved application for special consideration for late discontinuation does not provide a refund of fees for the course(s). It only removes the relevant course(s) from your transcript. More information about any applicable fee refunds can be found her e.

Please note: if you submit an application after the release of results and it is approved, all courses in the relevant semester will normally be withdrawn regardless of whether you have passed them or not (unless exceptional circumstances exist).

International students

If your application for late discontinuation is approved and the change results in your workload reducing below full-time, this may mean you are outside the conditions of your student visa. UC is obligated to advise Immigration NZ of any international student reducing to part-time study during their enrolment, and the student should be prepared to provide an explanation of why the late discontinuation was required with future visa applications. It is the student’s responsibility to check with Immigration New Zealand if they have any questions or concerns.

If you are on a teaching placement or taking courses for any of the following qualifications, you cannot apply for Special Consideration for assessment (impairment) but can apply for Special Consideration for late discontinuation:

Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning (GradDipTchgLn);
Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning (PGDipTchgLn); and
Master of Teaching and Learning (MTchgLn).

Refer to the relevant course page or the Course Outlines you've received for more information.

Your application should include supporting evidence that is dated close to the assessment. Suitable evidence will depend on the grounds of your application.

Supporting evidence for applications made on medical grounds

If your application is on medical grounds (including for Covid-related illness), a completed Special Consideration Medical Form, or other detailed medical certificate, must be provided. This must be fully completed, dated, and hand-signed by a Health Practitioner. It must also have either their Health Practice stamp or Health Registration number.

The UC Health Centre has an electronic version of the Medical Form which they will complete and email to you for you to then upload with your application.

You must see your Health Practitioner close to the assessment date. For an exam or test that you have not attended, or for an assessment item you have not submitted, this should be within 48 hours of the assessment due date. For impaired performance, this should be within 10 working days of the assessment due date.

If you are unable to see your usual Health Practitioner within this timeframe, we recommend seeking an alternative appointment elsewhere, such as 24 Hour Surgery; Riccarton Clinic; Emergency Consult; Practice Plus; Care HQ; TeleHealth. Please ensure you discuss with them the need for them to complete the Medical Form in relation to your impairment and provide them with a copy to fill out.

You must upload the completed form yourself with your application. Any medical documents sent directly to the Special Consideration team by Health Practitioners will not be accepted.

Supporting evidence for applications made on bereavement grounds

Supporting evidence in relation to a bereavement can be a copy of the newspaper death notice where your name is listed OR a letter from one of the following:

Medical Practitioner
Funeral Director
Minister of Religion
Religious Leader
Kaumātua
Police

Please note that if the newspaper death notice does not indicate the relationship of the deceased to you, an additional letter should be provided from a third party (such as one of those listed above) outlining and confirming the relationship.

Read the relevant information, collect all necessary supporting documentation and submit an application for Special Consideration using the online form.

How to apply for Special Consideration

You have the right to appeal the outcome of a Special Consideration application. This can either be an appeal of the decision made by the Special Considerations Committee regarding the validity of your grounds, or an appeal of the decision made by the Department in relation to the proposed academic remedy for your application.

If you wish to request a review of the decision made by the Special Consideration Committee regarding the validity of your grounds, the appeal needs to be addressed to the Dean of Academic Governance and emailed to specialconsideration@canterbury.ac.nz.

If you wish to appeal a Department's decision in relation to the remedy applied to your special consideration application, the appeal needs to be addressed to the Dean of your Faculty and emailed to specialconsideration@canterbury.ac.nz.

Appeals should be made in writing within 10 days of the notification of the decision.

Check the appeal regulations for more information.

Special Application Information

Download (application/pdf, 87 KB)

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