At Swinburne, we understand that sometimes you may face circumstances that mean you need a small amount of extra time to submit your assessment.
Some non-exam assessments in higher education units are eligible for an automatic extension of up to 3 calendar days, including weekends and public holidays.
You do not need to provide supporting documentation, such as a medical certificate, and you do not need to wait for Unit Convenor approval.
Requirements for an automatic extension
You can request an automatic extension:
- up to 14 days before the assessment due date
- a maximum of once per assessment task per teaching period.
If your assessment is eligible, you must request the extension before the assessment is due.
Missed your due date or need more than 3 days?
If the due date has already passed or you need a further extension for the same assessment task, follow the Special Consideration application process.
Check if your assessment is eligible
Eligible assessment tasks
These tasks are normally untimed and written, and may include:
- asynchronous presentations (i.e. recorded and not live or in-class)
- essays
- projects with a written submission.
Ineligible assessment tasks
These tasks are normally timed, and may include:
- exams
- group work assessments
- in-class assessments
- labs
- live or in-class presentations
- performances
- quizzes (online or in-person).
Check your Unit Outline to see if your assessment task is eligible for an automatic extension.
Other options for support
For assessment tasks that are not eligible for an automatic extension of up to 3 calendar days, you can use the Special Consideration application process to request more time.
You may be eligible for Equitable Assessment Arrangements if you have a long-term verified disability, medical or other condition, or you are a carer.
You may be eligible for Alternative Assessment Arrangements if you have special commitments that may affect an assessment deadline or examination date.
How to request an automatic extension
- Check the Unit Outline to see if the assessment task is eligible for an automatic extension.
- Navigate to the left-hand menu in your Canvas unit site and select Assignment Extensions.
- Select the appropriate assessment task and confirm in your Unit Outline that it is eligible for an automatic extension.
If you have an approved Education Access Plan (EAP) that includes additional time as a reasonable adjustment, you should use this first before applying for an automatic extension.
Speak with your Unit Convenor at the beginning of the teaching period about your EAP and discuss any adjustments.
The Unit Convenor will consider your EAP and approve an adjusted due date.
If you need more time after the adjusted due date, check your Unit Outline to see if the assessment task is eligible for an automatic extension. If it is eligible, follow the above steps to submit a request.
If the assessment task is not eligible, you can apply for Special Consideration to request additional time. You can use your EAP as supporting documentation.
If your EAP does not include additional time as a reasonable adjustment, you will need to request an automatic extension or apply for Special Consideration through the normal processes.
Outcomes for extension requests
After you submit an extension request for an eligible assessment, the due date for that assessment will be automatically updated in Canvas within 1 hour.
If the due date is not updated after 1 hour, contact your Unit Convenor.
Need more support due to serious circumstances?
If you’re experiencing severe or compelling circumstances, require multiple extensions or are unable to sit a final assessment or exam, you need to apply for Special Consideration and provide supporting documentation.
Example scenarios
Ashley has an essay due on Monday evening 11:55pm for FTV10005 Sound Design and Acquisition. On Friday afternoon they realise that they need a bit more time because they unexpectedly need to work all day on Saturday. They have completed 70% of the essay and don’t have any special circumstances, like being unwell.
Ashley checks the Unit Outline and sees that the essay is eligible for an automatic extension. They request this through Canvas and the due date is automatically updated to Thursday 11:55pm.
Van Anh is feeling quite unwell on Friday 21 November. She has an essay due on Monday 24 November and realises that she won’t be able to complete the essay by this due date. She isn’t sure how long it will take her to recover but books an appointment to see a doctor on Monday as this is the earliest option.
Van Anh checks the Unit Outline and confirms the essay is eligible for an automatic extension. She requests the extension which pushes her due date out by 3 days to Thursday 27 November.
Van Anh rests over the weekend and attends the doctor’s appointment on Monday, obtaining a medical certificate. She uses this medical certificate to apply for special consideration and requests some more time to complete her essay.
Van Anh continues working on the essay and plans to submit by the extended due date of Thursday 27 November, in case her application is not approved. She informs the Unit Convenor that she has applied for special consideration as she was unwell.
On Thursday, Van Anh’s application for special consideration is approved, providing her with an additional 4 days to submit the essay.
Navinda has an in-class presentation scheduled for Friday 19 September. He finds out on Wednesday 10 September that a close family member has died and he must return to his home country to participate in the cultural rituals. As he is the eldest child, there are certain rituals that he is solely responsible to carry out. Navinda will be away from Swinburne and his studies for at least 15 days.
As Navinda needs more than 3 days’ time to complete this assessment, the automatic extension will not be appropriate. He informs his Unit Convenor about the situation and looks at applying for special consideration. Navinda gathers the appropriate documentation when he has some time and follows the special consideration process.
Juan is enrolled in four units in Semester 2. He is planning his assessments in Week 1 and checks the Unit Outlines for all four units mapping out when each assessment is due. He intends to spend more time working on the assessments that are not eligible for automatic extensions. Across his units he identifies two quizzes and two in-class presentations which are not eligible for automatic extensions. Juan flags these in his plans as top priorities.
Ellie’s assessment due date is Mon 18 Aug. She has an approved EAP with additional time as a reasonable adjustment. Ellie discusses her EAP with the Unit Convenor and requests an additional 7 days to submit the assessment. The Unit Convenor approves her request and manually updates Ellie’s due date in Canvas to Mon 25 Aug.
Ellie realises on Fri 22 Aug that she needs more time to complete the assessment. She requests an automatic 3-day extension as her assessment is eligible. She is automatically approved with a new due date of Thu 28 Aug.
Ellie submits her assessment by this new due date to avoid late penalties.
Chen’s assessment is due on Mon 18 Aug. He has an approved EAP with additional time as an adjustment. Chen discusses this with his Unit Convenor (UC) and requests 4 additional days. The UC approves and manually adjusts the due date to Fri 22 Aug.
On Fri 22 Aug, Chen realises his needs more time so he submits a request for an automatic 3-day extension on Canvas as his assessment is eligible. This is approved so his new due date is Mon 25 Aug.
Chen has a further exacerbation of his medical condition which forms the basis of his EAP. He is unable to submit by Mon 25 Aug. He applies for Special Consideration and submits his EAP approval as supporting documentation.
If Special Consideration is approved – a new due date will be provided.
If Special Consideration is not approved – the adjusted due date remains – Mon 25 Aug. Late Penalties apply after this date if the assessment is not submitted.
Ripley has an assessment due on Mon 20 Oct. They have an approved EAP with the following adjustments:
Consideration of alternative assessment mechanisms, including oral presentation, slide presentation, portfolio or project.
The EAP does not include additional time as a reasonable adjustment which means Ripley can’t use their EAP to request an extension.
Ripley realises on Fri 17 Oct that they need more time to complete the assessment. As they can’t use the EAP for additional time, they submit a request for an automatic 3-day extension through Canvas. This is approved with a new due date of Thu 23 Oct.
Ripley faces further exacerbation of their medical condition which forms the basis of their EAP. They are unable to submit by Thu 23 Oct.
They apply for Special Consideration and submit their EAP approval as supporting documentation.
If Special Consideration is approved – a new due date will be provided.
If Special Consideration is not approved – the adjusted due date remains – Thu 23 Oct. Late Penalties apply after this date if the assessment is not submitted.
Sofia has an assessment due on Mon 26 May and does not currently have an approved EAP. She realises on Fri 23 May that she needs more time to complete the assessment and should really apply for an EAP as she is not coping without one, like she thought she would.
Sofia submits a request for an automatic 3-day extension via Canvas. This is approved with a new due date of Thu 29 May.
Sofia makes an appointment to see AccessAbility services to submit documentation and develop an EAP which includes additional time as a reasonable adjustment.
AccessAbility services generally turn around applications with 2 weeks depending on Adviser availability. Sofia receives her approved EAP by Wed 28 May.
She is unable to submit the assessment by the adjusted due date of Thu 29 May. She discusses her EAP with the Unit Convenor and requests a 7-day extension with their EAP. The Unit Convenor approves the extension in line with the reasonable adjustment allowed.
The Unit Convenor manually updates the due date in Canvas.