Accommodating Special Considerations
This article will covers making grade adjustments to accommodate a student who has been granted special consideration.
What is a special consideration?
Special consideration is an adjustment made to assessment (changed conditions or due date), which must be documented by the student and formally approved through an application process.
Reasons for granting special consideration may include;
- Heath or Compassionate circumstances
- Professional Experience clashes
- Religious observances or celebrations
- Serious unforeseen personal events
- Selection in State, national or international sporting or cultural events
- Emergency Service
What about Inclusion Support?
Special consideration should not be be confused with inclusion support, offered by Student Equity and Inclusion. Students with a disability (or students who are carers of a person with a disability) or medical condition can access this free and confidential service. A range of supports are offered to assist students to engage in their studies on the same basis as a student without a disability in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) (DDA) and the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Cth)
Academics will be notified of students with Learning Access Plans, or who require reasonable adjustments via email from an Inclusion Support Advisor.
Using the Grade Centre to track special considerations
One effective way to track special considerations so all course staff have access to needed details is within the Grade Centre. To do this, make a new column as follows:
- Select Create Column from the Full Grade Centre.
- Under Column Information, set the primary display to text. Make sure to keep the column unavailable to students by selecting No for Show this column to students.
Within this column, you will now have access to write notes for individual students, including extension dates, and need-to-know information for tutors.
Assessment submission and special considerations
Depending on the type of assessment there are different ways to manage special consideration.
Blackboard Assignments and Adaptive Release
Blackboard's adaptive release feature can be used to change the assignment due dates for particular students. The following video covers this process.
Blackboard Tests
Blackboard tests are often used as a low stakes quiz assessment early in the term. Within the Blackboard test options, you can set special consideration rules using the test availability exceptions. For details on how to set up test availability exceptions, see the video walkthrough in Setting up a Blackboard test (quiz) for summative assessment.
Releasing grades and feedback
It is recommended to release grades and feedback at the same time for all students where practicable. However, students who submit assessment on time should still receive their marks within seven days unless exceptional circumstances have been approved by the faculty Associate Dean (see Assessment, Teaching and Learning Procedures Policy: Section 4 (53)).
Partial release of student grades
Sometimes it may be necessary to release student grades in grade centre where one or more students work has not been marked within seven days of the assessment due date.
When releasing student grades in grade centre
Where a mark has not be entered for a student in grade centre - that student will see an exclamation mark. Immediately after their mark has been updated they will be able to see the mark. Exercise caution entering or changing grades where they are already released/visible to students. It is a good idea to notify the impacted student when their mark is updated.
For more information see: Understanding My Grades (student view).
Final Grades and Special Consideration
It may be necessary to provide an interim result of Incomplete (I) in the Final Grades column, where special consideration has been granted to a student beyond the due date for submission of final grades.