Special and supplementary assessment

What to do if you've been offered special or supplementary assessment.

Special assessment (including special exams)

Special assessment (which may be a special exam) is awarded as a special consideration outcome. You will know if you have been offered special assessment as:

  • This will be stated in the email that advises you of your special consideration application outcome, and
  • One of the following interim results will be recorded for that subject:
    • ‘S’ grade - this indicates you have been offered a special exam which will be during the special and supplementary exam period, or
    • 'WAF' grade - this indicates that a different type of special assessment will be offered. This could be a special exam offered at a different time, or a different type of assessment (eg a take-home essay). You will receive details via email.

Do I have to complete a special assessment?

If you are offered special assessment, you have two options:

  1. Decline the special assessment and accept your original mark.
  2. Undertake special assessment.
    • The mark from the special assessment will supersede the mark from the first assessment (even if the original mark is higher than the second mark).
    • If you initially passed your subject, but subsequently failed after completing special assessment, you will be ineligible to apply for fee remission.
    • If you attend your exam or open your online exam, this counts as an official exam attempt and you must complete it. Your mark from the supplementary exam will replace your previous exam mark.

What happens if I attend or open my exam then don’t complete it?

Attending your on-campus exam or opening your online exam (even for a few seconds) counts as an official exam attempt. This means that your mark from the special exam will replace your previous exam mark.

If you don’t wish to sit the exam, do not open it. If you open a digital special exam and immediately close it, your original exam mark will be replaced with a fail.

Can I graduate if I have been offered special assessment?

If you take up special assessment you will not be able to graduate in the current graduation round. This is because your results will not be finalised in time. You will instead be invited to graduate in the next graduation period you are eligible for.

If you have been invited to graduate, and been offered special assessment for a subject that you have passed (i.e. an 'S' or 'WAF' grade is recorded with a mark of at least 50%), you can still graduate if you decline the special assessment before the deadline communicated via email.

The due date is usually four working days before the results release date, however you should be able to view your results seven days before then to help make your decision.

Supplementary assessment (including supplementary exams)

Supplementary assessment is a form of further assessment, which is often a second, additional formal exam.

Supplementary assessment is usually offered only if:

If you have been offered supplementary assessment, the maximum mark you can obtain for the subject is 50%.

You will know if you have been offered supplementary assessment as:

  • You will receive an email to advise that you have been offered a FSA or supplementary assessment.
  • If a an 'S' interim grade recorded, the supplementary assessment will be an exam offered in the special and supplementary exam period.