UNISA, being the most prestigious university in the sub-Saharan region, has evolved and created innovative ways to tackle students’ problems.
UNISA admits over 455,000 students every academic year in all aspects of the degree, whether diploma, master’s, undergraduate, etc.
Considering the high volume of admissions, there may be issues that require immediate attention.
As the number increases, so do the problems; hence, UNISA needs to improvise and create temporary measures to solve the problem of students.
As we know, exams are part of the process of assessing a student over a period of time. In educational institutions, tests or exams are impossible unless an issue is beyond control. Even with that, there are certain supplementary supports that the university will create to support students across campus.
Since students may find themselves in tough circumstances while studying at UNISA, especially with exams, there was a need to introduce a more practical approach to help students who may miss exams due to illness or health issues.
With this, UNISA introduced special exams, which were meant to give students who may be sick another chance to write their exams.
In this article, we will take you through the application for special exams at UNISA, the qualifications, the cost, and how special exams work at UNISA.
How do special exams work?
The question of how special exams work concerns the process and the procedure. It is important for students at UNISA to understand what special exams are and how they work within the institution. There is always a positive rationale behind a new initiative, though some students may abuse it. And this is one more reason why UNISA indicated how special exams work.
By and large, special exams are just normal exams at UNISA. The phrase “special exams” does not mean the exams at the end of the academic period differ from what the masses wrote. Or, in some cases, the special exams being discussed are quite strange to the students and made for special people. But there, it is named special exams because of the special circumstances relating to the health condition of the student.
UNISA has a strict policy against discrimination and will not introduce exams by naming them special for students to take advantage of them. The whole special exam is considered an aegrotat exam that can be granted to students who may be ill or have serious medical conditions that prevent them from taking their main exams. With this, the special exams grant must come with a certified medical report stating your condition or illness that has prevented you from writing your main exams. In some cases, work commitments or the death of a close relative can be considered for these special exams.
How to apply for special exams at UNISA
Applying for special education at UNISA is a simple process that any student can follow.
The separate exams are to ensure students who may find themselves in uncomfortable situations can have access to rewrite their exams within a specific period of time.
To apply for the special exams, follow these simple steps:
- Log into my UNISA platform with your credentials.
- Once logged in, go to the administrative section for the examination timetable.
- View the timetable to look at the courses needed to write
- Submit your application online and provide all details about your reason for not participating in the initial exams.
Remember that the justification must be truthful and accompanied by a medical certificate.
How do you qualify for a special exam?
As much as there may be prerequisites for special exams, they are not designed for individuals to regularly apply. The purpose of the special exams is to provide room for students who may have missed the initial exams due to illness or health issues.
Qualifying for the special exams means your medical certificate or report must be within the time range during which your exams were going on. Your reason should be valid enough to qualify you for the special exams.
To qualify for special exams, you must have registered for all the modules within that academic period, and your state of illness, whether before or during the exam period, with proof of a medical report, can qualify you for special exams.
How much is the UNISA special exam?
Special exam at UNISA is not a common thing, as many students do not find themselves in this type of situation. Having to pay for your own module exams means it will cost extra to pay for special exams at UNISA.
These payments are to make new arrangements for students who may have missed their academic exams within the proposed exam period or before that.
The cost of special exams at UNISA is currently R300. The R300, which is the cost of the special exams, does not cover the whole academic work but specifically each of the modules that the student could not write within that period due to illness or a health condition. Students who wish to know how much UNISA special exams cost should keep in mind that the cost is per module or course, not for the whole exam to be written.
