In the last 24 hours, more than 2,000 university students have signed a petition on change.org for the University of Newcastle to consider further relaxing course requirements, with a number of students unable to participate in practical subjects and face-to-face learning.
The petition calls on the university to void Semester 1, award a pass mark to all students, make assessment criteria more lenient for students that make a valid attempt at exams or assessments, and allow students to re-attempt exams unconditionally.
The university maintains students who fail a subject in Semester 1 or Trimester 1 will not have a ‘fail’ recorded on their academic transcript.
Additionally, students are not required to submit health certification when applying for Adverse Circumstances on health grounds.
The university has extend the 2020 Easter recess to give students and staff more time to manage matters impacted by recent changes.
The university will be closed from April 13, will reopen on April 27, and there will be limited services including Security and Library Services during that time.
An additional non-teaching week has been added to the semester from April 27 to May 1, so that students can study and catch up on assessments without classes.
This will extend Semester 1 to June 12, with exams to commence on July 6.
