Usually, census date is the last day you have to withdraw from a unit of study without financial or academic penalty.
If the census date has passed and you have been impacted by circumstances beyond your control, you can apply to discontinue from a unit of study under special circumstances.
If your application is approved, you will receive a DC grade which does not count as a fail on your transcript, and the fees associated with your unit of study will be remitted.
The University offers a range of support services that may make your studies easier during a difficult time. If you are struggling, you should first look into the support services that are available. These services are designed to help you through a rough patch of your studies and should be used before you have to rely on applying for a late DC grade.
If you need further information about the late discontinuation under special circumstances process, including full eligibility criteria, you should read Clause 92 of the Coursework Policy (pdf, 859 KB), and the Late Discontinuation Under Special Circumstances Procedures (pdf, 199 KB).
Special circumstances are circumstances that:
Circumstances are considered beyond your control if they are:
Special circumstances could include major or compelling medical, family/personal, employment or course-related challenges where it would be unreasonable to expect a student to continue their studies. Some examples of special circumstances are:
In addition, special circumstances may apply to domestic students where financial difficulties experienced by you, or your family, prevents you from continuing your studies.
Make sure that you closely follow the instructions for applying for late discontinuation. If you apply without following these steps, your application may not be accepted.
Include as many details as possible so that we can better understand how your circumstances have affected your studies.
The University expects you to act honestly and with integrity in all academic matters, and to uphold our Academic Integrity Policy 2022 (pdf, 350KB). This includes meeting integrity standards when you apply for special consideration or arrangements.
Only submit information that is true, accurate and complete, and provided without the intent to mislead or gain advantage. Find out more about your obligations to act honestly. If you wish to change information or documents once you’ve submitted, you’ll need to withdraw your application and create a new one.
Apply online using the late discontinuation under special circumstances form. You'll need to fill in various details about yourself, including your registration status with Inclusion and Disability Services and whether you're a domestic or international student.
If you're no longer enrolled, confirm that no more than 12 months have passed after the end of the relevant teaching period or since you withdrew from the unit.
If it's been more than 12 months:
Select your reason for applying from the drop-down menu. If your reasons fall into multiple categories, select the 'Other' option.
Provide a short description that oulines why you are applying for late discontinuation under special circumstances.
The description must include reasons why your circumstances:
If you have successfully completed (or remain enrolled in) other units of study in the same teaching period, you'll need to explain why only the affected unit or units were impacted.
Select the units of study you are currently (or were previously) enrolled in and want to discontinue from. You can apply for a late discontinuation for more than one unit of study.
Upload your supporting documents using the 'add documents' button on the form. If you don't include all the relevant documents, we'll be unable to approve your application.
Be aware of unregistered or fraudulent operators who claim to be able to provide the supporting documents you need for your application. There are strict requirements for who can provide you with documents which you can read about in the supporting documents section.
Submitting a fraudulent document or false information is considered misconduct under the University of Sydney (Student Discipline) Rule 2016 (pdf, 389KB) and will be treated seriously. If found guilty the University may initiate civil or criminal proceedings. We may also impose penalties such as:
Find out more about academic integrity.
Any personal or sensitive information submitted as part of your late discontinuation application will be managed carefully by the University as per our Privacy Policy (pdf, 219KB).
You need to attach a statement and original (or certified copies of) supporting documents in your application. Have them ready when you apply.
These documents should demonstrate how the circumstances were out of your control, made it impracticable for you to complete the requirements of your unit, and had full impact until on or after the census date.
Your supporting documents need to:
You’ll need to provide verifiable medical documents from an Australian practitioner registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). We’ll only accept:.
Please be aware that we will no longer accept online medical certificates if there was no face-to-face consultation and pre-existing doctor-patient relationship. .
If you’re an international student with an ongoing condition or impacted by long-term circumstances, we recommend you contact an Australian practitioner who can:.
You may also wish to consider applying to Inclusion and Disability Services to be assessed for adjustments to your studies.
A practitioner should only issue a certificate about an illness for a period of time that is clinically justifiable. The Special Consideration Team is not required to accept backdated medical documents unless sufficient evidence is provided that these are clinically justified.
By submitting an application for a late discontinuation under special circumstances, you indicate that your circumstances will (or did) severely impact successful completion of your unit or units.
If you've submitted an application, and if it is before the last day of teaching, you can either:
If you are a student visa holder, it is a requirement of your visa that you remain enrolled in a full-time study load (24 credit points). You may only discontinue from a unit and receive a DF if your study load will subsequently remain at a full-time load. Make sure you understand the information on dropping units and what it means to receive a DF mark.
There are no extra steps to take if you are not enrolled in the unit. You will simply need to wait for the outcome of your application.
Within about 20 working days we will send the outcome of the application to your University student email account.
You can check the progress of your application by logging in to the Service Portal and selecting 'My applications'. You should check this regularly in case we contact you requesting further information.
If your application is approved you will receive a DC ('Discontinue not to count as failure') for the unit(s) you applied for. A DC does not count as a fail on your transcript, and receiving one means you are not financially liable for the unit.
Any fees for the unit of study that you have already paid upfront will be returned to your fee account. This amount will be recredited to your fee account and automatically allocated to your future enrolment. If you would like to receive the amount in your fee account, you can request a refund in Sydney Student.
If you feel you have genuine grounds to contest any units not approved in your application, you can apply for a review of the decision. You will need to submit your application for review within 20 working days of receiving your outcome.
Log in to the Service Portal to view your application, and select 'review'.
For more information about the process, refer to Clause 8 of the Late Discontinuation Under Special Circumstances Procedures 2022.
