Replacement Assessment

Please refer to the IIE009 Assessment Policy for a full and detailed explanation of the policy
Section 10.2, 10.3, 11.2, 12 in IIE009

The seven key general permitted exceptions for which an application on the Student Hub, with evidence, is required, are:

1. Death of an immediate family member;
2. Own serious illness or injury;
3. Serious illness or injury of an immediate family member;
4. Official representation in recognised provincial/national/international competitions;
5. Court appearances and study or resident visa renewal appointments;
6. Serious crime and motor vehicle accidents; and
7. National or Regional Unrests, Protests, Strikes or Vandalism.

Twice a year, for formative assessments under examination conditions only, a student may, after application on the Hub and without evidence, qualify for a concession to accommodate additional life events beyond the control of the student.

For instances relating to summative assessment where no documentary proof is required, one opportunity is afforded to students

There are special exceptions for a missed assessment under exam conditions (summative only) for work-related reasons, motivated by an employer as unavoidable, for students registered part-time in either contact or distance mode and for Short Learning Programme Students

Two Opportunities per Academic year (no documentary proof required)

Formative Assessments under Examination Conditions only

• This concession accommodates life-events beyond the control of the student which falls outside the seven general permitted exceptions in the policy which allows students an opportunity of a replacement assessment without any documentary proof required.
• This application must be submitted via the Student Hub within five working days of the missed assessment. If no application is submitted, a mark of 0% is entered after five working days.
• Students still have to complete the required assessment and the concession relates only to the timing.
• For applications related to the formative assessments, a replacement assessment is written in the next available sitting/opportunity.

One Opportunity per Academic year (no documentary proof required)

Summative Assessments only

• This concession accommodates students who have gained entry to the summative assessment but have failed to present themselves for a sitting of a summative examination for reasons other than the seven reasons above and for reasons which may be beyond the control of the student.
• This application must be submitted via the Student Hub by close of business (17:00) on the same day as the missed sitting. If no application is made by the close of business on the same day as the missed assessment, a result of 0% is entered for the summative and the student will need to repeat the module
• For Summative Assessments not submitted under exam conditions the application must be made within 24 hours after the deadline for submission. If no application has been made, a mark of zero will be entered.
• Students still have to complete the required assessment and the concession relates only to the timing.
• For applications related to summative assessments, if the missed assessment is in sitting 1 or 2, the student may write the missed summative in the next available sitting. If the missed assessment is in sitting 3, the student will be required to write a replacement assessment within seven working days. In these cases, a fee for the setting of an additional paper may be charged.
• For Summative Assessments not submitted under exam conditions, the submission itself must be made within 48 hours after the deadline for the original submission. The work will however only be marked when the student provides proof of the application having been approved.

Death of an Immediate Family Member

Immediate family means:

• Spouse or life partner,
• Parents (biological, legal or de facto),
• Grandparents (biological, legal or de facto),
• Sibling (brother or sister),
• Children,
• In-laws (father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law; and
• Any other relatives who are financially supported by the person concerned.

In addition, an immediate family is one in which there are not more than two steps in the kinship relationship. (e.g. a biological aunt is thus immediate family while the biological aunt of one’s spouse or life partner is not considered to be immediate family.)

The following documents are required for an exception based on the death of an immediate family member:

• An affidavit confirming the kinship relationship signed by both the student and one other immediate family member; and
• A copy of the death certificate:
• Where the death certificate is not available on the new deadline or when the assessment is rewritten under examination conditions the assessment will not be marked until the certificate is provided.
• The onus is on the student to provide the death certificate for the work to be marked, and
• If a death certificate is not provided within three weeks of the death concerned, a mark of 0% will be entered.

Own Serious Illness or Injury

A student may apply for an exception based on own serious illness or injury.

• Serious illness or injury is an illness defined by a medical practitioner as making it impossible or unwise (for reasons such as further health risks to the student or other students) for a student to attend on the day concerned.

The following documents are required for an exception based on own serious illness or injury:

• A medical certificate (which may include a certificate from a clinic) from a registered health care professional within whose scope of practice a diagnosis is permitted, valid for the day of the assessment.
• The onus is on the student to ensure that:
1. Any medical certificate submitted for purposes of an assessment exception makes the severity of the illness or injury clear.
2. Practitioners know that they may be contacted to verify the severity of the illness or injury and the time that the student has been booked off (but not the details of the diagnosis) and should therefore have provided the appropriate consent to the practitioner to do so.

Serious Illness or Injury of an Immediate Family Member

A serious illness or injury of an immediate family member defined would be:

• An illness that requires the student to be absent in order to attend to the support of the person concerned;
• For a short period of time.

The following documents are required for an exception based on serious illness or injury of an immediate family member:

• An affidavit or other form of proof of the kinship relationship.
• A medical certificate (which may include a certificate from a clinic) from a registered health care professional within whose scope of practice a diagnosis is permitted, valid for the day of the assessment.
• The onus is on students to ensure that practitioners know that they may be contacted to verify the severity of the illness or injury of the immediate family member concerned. The student should therefore have ensured that their immediate family member provided the appropriate consent to the practitioner to do so.

Official Representation in Recognised National/ International Competitions

• A student who is participating in a recognised national/ international competition as an official representative of a province/ South Africa, or has been appointed as an official at such an event by a recognised sporting body (supported by documentation from the sports body/ team manager / event organiser confirming details of the event) may apply for a concession.
• This concession is only available for assessments written under exam conditions.

Court Appearance and Visa Renewal Appointments

• A student not able to attend an assessment due to a court appearance must provide a certified copy of the subpoena requiring them to attend court on the day in question.
• A student not able to attend an assessment due to an appointment to renew a study visa or residence visa must provide proof of such appointment in respect for visa renewal requiring them to attend the visa renewal offices on the day in question. No concessions are granted for appointments related to other visas.

Serious Crime and Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA)

• A student not able to attend an assessment due to a motor vehicle accident in which someone was injured must provide the details of the accident and a police case number as well as an affidavit completed at a police station confirming that they were not permitted to leave the scene. A formal accident report would also be useful supporting information.
• A student who has directly been the victim of a crime that involved violence or a serious threat of violence must provide the details of the crime and a police case number as well as an affidavit completed at a police station confirming the crime and their involvement in it.
• A student using this concession is required to provide documentary proof of at least one counselling session attended either with a counsellor employed by The IIE (in person or by phone) or a counsellor in private practice. The concession will not be approved without this evidence.

Special Exceptions for Work Related Reasons for Students Registered Part-time in either Contact or Distance Mode and for Short Learning Programme Students
Section 10.2(5) in IIE 009

• A student who is registered as a contact part-time student or a student studying in the distance mode who is employed and is prevented for reasons associated with employment from attending an assessment under examination conditions may apply for this concession.
• This application must be submitted via the Student Hub at least 48 hours before the scheduled assessment date.
• An original letter is required, with contact details of the signatory, from the employer or place of work is which supports the application.
• When in doubt, an employer can be contacted to verify the details of the supporting documentation. This concession will not be granted if any other assessment concession has already been granted in the SLP or the year of study for full qualifications.

National or Regional Unrests, Protests, Strikes or Vandalism

• Where students are unable to get to their campus to write a test or an examination, or submit an assignment due to a national or regional unrest, such as a protest, taxi/ train/ bus violence or strikes or vandalism, may apply for a replacement assessment via the Student Hub. If the assessment is a submission they are required to submit on the first day that it is possible for students to return to campus from the affected areas.
• The Student Hub Academic Operations Coordinator (AOC) who handled the query may request the student to submit supporting evidence if a specific incident was not widely published. In such instances, the student can write the replacement assessment in the next available opportunity/ sitting – in the case of examinations, the assessment will constitute the same sitting as what the student was originally meant to write with the relevant assessment rules applicable. If it was the student’s first sitting, then no capping of the marks will apply.
• In the case of a missed test, the campus will arrange a replacement assessment accordingly.
• In the case of an assignment deadline the submission is to be done the day immediately after cessation of the civil unrest that made submission impossible if physical submission was required.

Procedure for Assessment Exceptions

• Students submit complete applications on the Student Hub.
• The application must be fully supported with required documentation as additional documentation that was not originally submitted will not be considered in the case of an appeal.
• Students submitting incorrect query details run the risk of having their application declined on that basis.

Assessments under Examination Conditions
Summative or Formative Replacement Assessment

If the reason for missing an assessment is due to one of the seven permitted reasons, an application with supporting documentation needs to be lodged on the Student Hub within five working days of the missed assessment or deadline. The onus is on the student to manage timelines accordingly.

• The application must be fully supported with required documentation as additional documentation that was not originally submitted will not be considered in the case of an appeal.
• If the application is approved, the student will be permitted to write:
  1. A replacement test in the next available scheduled sitting – if this sitting is also missed, a mark of 0% is automatically entered unless the student qualifies for a discretionary reweight; or
  2. A replacement examination in the next examination sitting which may not be in the same academic year depending on the sitting in which the examination was missed.
• If no application is submitted, a mark of 0% is entered after five working days.
• These concessions will normally only be approved twice per year for each reason, except for Death of an Immediate Family member and National or Regional Unrests, Protests, Strikes or Vandalism.
• For Death of an Immediate Family member and National or Regional Unrests, Protests, Strikes or Vandalism, there is no limit to the number of applications per year.
• Where examinations or tests are scheduled in the same period (days close to each other) the concession may apply to more than one actual test or examination but cannot be applied to more than one period.
• Only if the injury or illness (of the student) has made it physically impossible to apply within the five working days such as a result of extended hospitalisation (for which medical evidence is required) will the five-day period be extended.

Assessments with Submission Deadlines – Summative or Formative

• An application for a concession related to a missed submission deadline, with the supporting documentation referencing the reason, needs to be lodged on the Student Hub no later than five working days after the missed deadline.
• The submission itself must be made no later than five working days after the missed deadline. The work will however only be marked when the student provides proof of the application having been approved.
• For applications related to National or Regional Unrest, Protests, Strikes or Vandalism, the submission itself must be made the day immediately after the cessation of the civil unrest that made the submission impossible if the physical submission was required.
• In exceptional circumstances, if supported by the documentation provided, the Student Hub may allow a student a further five working days to submit the work. Additional time may not be granted more than once in an academic year.
• The date of any other assessment that has been scheduled is not impacted and will not be moved because of late submissions.
• These concessions will normally only be approved twice per year for each reason, except for Death of an Immediate Family member and National or Regional Unrests, Protests, Strikes or Vandalism.
• For Death of an Immediate Family member and National or Regional Unrests, Protests, Strikes or Vandalism, there is no limit to the number of applications per year.
• Where examinations or tests are scheduled in the same period (days close to each other) the concession may apply to more than one actual test or examination but cannot be applied to more than one period.