Topic

Special Consideration

28 October 2026

Unforeseen circumstances can get in the way of your studies and 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.

Applications for special consideration can be made in the Special Consideration Hub (SC Hub), which can be accessed from the 'Apply here' button below.

HOW TO APPLY

The SC process for students is managed through the Special Consideration Hub (SC Hub). In the SC Hub students will be able to:

submit special consideration applications;
upload supporting documentation;
receive and respond to requests for further information;
monitor the progress of their applications; and
receive notifications of decisions on the grounds of the application and academic remedies applied to grounds approved applications.

You can apply for special consideration for

impaired/missed assessment if the assessment item is worth 10% or more but illness, bereavement, or other critical circumstances prevented you from performing at your usual level or from attending/submitting the assessment; or
late discontinuation if you could not complete a course or courses due to circumstances beyond your control and you were unable to submit a change of enrolment by the published final withdrawal deadline.

Apply here

Student Quick Guide

This guide provides information about the SC Hub.

Download (application/pdf, 100 KB)

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Applications for impaired/missed assessment must be submitted no later than 5 working days after the assessment due date, and should include suitable supporting documentation.

Applications for late discontinuation must be made as soon as possible after the final date to withdraw has passed but no later than 5 working days after the relevant examination period has ended and before results for the course(s) are released.

Applications should be submitted within these timeframes even if you do not have your supporting documentation at that time. The supporting documentation can then be added within 10 working days of submitting the application.

The grounds of applications submitted outside of these timeframes or without suitable supporting documentation will usually be declined.

Special Consideration is not available for:

missed lectures during the semester;
test/examination anxiety;
mistaking the date and/or time of a test/examination;
missing a test/examination 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 coordinator;
when the application is submitted after the release of results (unless under exceptional circumstances);
when supporting documents are submitted a significant time after the application and outside of the required timeframe for documents to be received (refer to the SC Regulations);
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 missed an assessment item 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.

The Special Consideration process for assessment involves two steps:

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

Second, the application is considered by the Department/School to determine if an academic remedy is appropriate. The academic remedy outcome will be notified to the student by the Department/School if they are required to take a re-sit test or alternative assessment. The academic remedy outcome will be notified to the student when results are released at the end of the relevant semester if they receive a derived grade (e.g. AEG grade, or AEG Pass) or there is to be No Change of Grade.

Please note: having the grounds approved for a Special Consideration application does not mean that your grade for the course will change. The academic remedy decision is made by the Department/School and is not something the SC Team are involved with.

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 for an assessment

A special consideration application is not the process to apply for an extension of time to complete an essay, assignment, test, or quiz. You should instead contact the Course Coordinator as soon as possible, with your supporting documentation, to request 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 were not reasonably foreseeable, and they were unable to withdraw from the course(s) by the published withdrawal deadline.

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

An approved application for late discontinuation does not provide a partial refund of fees for the course(s). It only removes the relevant course(s) from your transcript. More information about any applicable partial 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 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 must be prepared to provide an explanation of why the late discontinuation was required with any future visa applications. It is the student’s responsibility to check with Immigration New Zealand if they have any questions or concerns.

Your application must include supporting documentation that is dated close to the assessment due date. Suitable documentation will depend on the grounds of your application.

Supporting evidence for applications made on medical grounds

If your application is based on medical grounds a completed Special Consideration Medical Form, or other detailed medical certificate, must be provided. This SC Medical Form must be 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 SC Medical Form which they will complete and email to you so you can upload the form with your application. A copy will be sent to the SC Team to verify it is as an original. It is, however, your responsibility to upload a Health Centre SC Medical Form with your application (or add it later) via the SC Hub.

You must see your Health Practitioner close to the assessment date. For a test/exam 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 as soon as possible but no later than ten working days of the assessment due date.

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

You must upload your supporting documentation yourself with your application or if needing to add it to an existing application, via the SC Hub. Any medical documents sent directly to the SC Team by other Health Practitioners will not be accepted.

Supporting documentation made in relation to bereavement

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

Medical Practitioner
Funeral Director
Minister of Religion
Religious Leader
Kaumātua
Police
Family member (must detail their relationship with the student).

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.

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 on Learn for more information.

You have the right to appeal the outcome of a Special Consideration application. An appeal can be made regarding the decision made by the SC Team in relation to the validity of the grounds of the application, or regarding the decision made by the Department/School or Faculty in relation to the academic remedy applied to your application.

If you wish to appeal an application grounds decision made by the SC Team, the appeal needs to be addressed to the Dean (Academic Governance) and emailed to specialconsideration@canterbury.ac.nz.

If you wish to appeal an academic remedy decisoin made by the Department/School or Faculty, the appeal needs to be addressed to the Dean of the relevant Faculty and emailed to specialconsideration@canterbury.ac.nz.

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

Check the appeal regulations for more information.