Academic life

Everything you need to know about assessments, grades and academic standing

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Received your results and not sure what they mean, or dealing with an assessment and unsure how to proceed?

At UNSW, you receive your final academic results at the end of each academic term through your student email by 12pm and myUNSW after 5pm on Release of Results day. Find out what each grade means and where you can find support. 

Support for assessment & academic standing

  • Special Consideration

    When illness or circumstances beyond your control interfere with your assessment or exam performance, you may be eligible to apply for Special Consideration. It aims to provide concessions to you in these situations to help you complete your assessments. 

    You should apply for Special Consideration as soon as possible and at the latest you must apply is within 3 working days of the assessment due date.

    Short Extension

    Short Extension is a new process that allows you to apply for an extended deadline on your assessment without the need to provide supporting documentation, offering immediate approval during brief, life-disrupting events.

    This service is currently available for select courses. Check your course outline or Moodle to see if it is offered. 

  • Your academic standing is simply a way that we monitor your progress at the end of each term or semester, based on units of credit attempted and passed. It exists to help us help you.

    If you are on a risk, suspension or exclusion level, book an appointment with your academic advisor from your faculty to receive support and personalised advice and plan on how to improve your academic standing. 

    Appeal against suspension or exclusion

    If your academic standing has moved to suspension or exclusion, you have one opportunity to appeal to the Committee for readmission to your program. 

    Once the Committee have made a decision after the process, there is no further opportunity for you to update your appeal or to have it reconsidered. Their decision will be final.

  • Review of results is a rigorous process that allows you to appeal your grade for a specific course assessment after the Release of Results day. You must submit your application no later than 5 working days after the return of the assessment or, in the case of an exam, 5 working days from the date of release of results.

    You can apply for Review of Results for any of your assessment tasks. However, note that a review of your results is not automatically approved and may lead to your grade either going up or down.

  • Instead of using a Grade Point Average (GPA), your overall academic performance is measured by your Weighted Average Mark (WAM), which goes up to 100. Your WAM is calculated based on the numerical grades for your courses and the total units of credits you've completed.

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Assessment & exams resources

Guide for assessments

Explore the various types of assessments that could be assigned to you in a course, and read through the UNSW assessment policy. 

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Guide for examinations

Everything you need to know about UNSW exams, from timetables to exam locations, approved calculators, all the way to the guide on AI usage. 

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Key dates for examinations

Exams are held from Monday to Saturday and are held across 3 sessions a day (morning, afternoon and evening). Find out when the upcoming exam period is.

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Have a question?

Contact us for advice on all things UNSW, including faculty-specific questions, essential services, and even support and development. We’re here to help.