Reasons and documentation
Assessment Adjustments are one of several possible adjustments to assessments available at La Trobe University.
Documentation
All applications for Assessment Adjustments must be accompanied by official and verifiable supporting evidence.
All supporting evidence must clearly demonstrate the impact the circumstances had on your ability to undertake the assessment task. Documentation must indicate the date of the exceptional or unforeseen circumstances and the duration/dates of impact.
All supplied supporting documents must be:
- on official letterhead (where applicable), signed and dated
- in English or translated by an accredited translation service
Certified copies are not required for Assessment Adjustments.
Fraudulent or misleading information
Falsifying documents is considered fraud under the Victorian Crimes Act 1958 and is treated very seriously. This includes:
- creating (or allowing another person to create) and providing forged or falsified documents (both medical and non-medical)
- changing a supporting document provided by another person
- purchasing fraudulent documents from websites
If you’re having problems getting a suitable document, please contact us as soon as possible at ASK La Trobe to discuss your situation and options.
The consequences for providing false or misleading information in an application or supporting documentation include, but are not limited to, failure for all or any part of an assessment task, failure of a subject, suspension and expulsion.
You must be aware of your obligations and responsibilities as a La Trobe student under the La Trobe Student Academic Misconduct Policy.
Examples of acceptable grounds for Assessment Adjustments and documentation
| Example Circumstance | Acceptable Evidence |
|---|---|
| Artistic or elite sporting commitments |
|
| Exam or assessment clash at other institution |
|
| Emergency services duty or jury service |
|
| Religious or cultural commitments |
|
| Example Circumstance | Acceptable Evidence |
|---|---|
| Compassionate grounds (Carer Responsibilities) |
|
| Compassionate grounds (death or illness of a close family member) |
|
| Compassionate grounds (victim of crime) |
|
| Exam/assessment issue (technical or timed assessment) |
|
Incident of abuse (e.g. impacted by family violence or impacted by sexual harm) |
Note: If the listed evidence cannot be provided or would cause further distress due to the nature of the circumstances, a personal statement can be submitted instead. A support letter from Wellbeing Services may also be provided to assist with your application. To make an appointment with someone from the Wellbeing Services team, please use this link Submit an Enquiry |
| Loss of income or employment |
|
Medical and/or mental health condition including
|
|
| Other exceptional circumstance (e.g. severe weather event, critical incident) |
|
For further examples, please read the Assessment Procedure - Adjustments (including Special Consideration) policy.
As always, where there are special circumstances, these will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
If you are having difficulties with your studies or don’t think that you can submit your assessment task by the due date, speak to your Subject Coordinator in the first instance.
Unavoidable commitments known in advance are not handled via Special Consideration and are managed instead through an application for a Replacement Examination Date. For example:
- armed services duty
- artistic commitments
- elite athlete commitments
- emergency services employee or volunteer
- exam or assessment clash at other institution
- jury duty or court appearance
- religious or cultural obligations
Privacy statement
La Trobe University respects the privacy of your personal information. We collect personal information in order to assess your eligibility for special consideration. Documentation that you provide as part of a special consideration application is strictly confidential and is subject to the protections of relevant privacy laws. Your confidential information is only made available to authorised staff as part of the special consideration process. You may have the right to access the personal information that we hold about you subject to any exemptions in relevant laws by contacting ASK La Trobe.