Medical Certificates are official documentation signed by particular healthcare professionals to attest to the abilities of an individual.
These are required when applying for Special Consideration from a university exam or assignment due to a health related exemption.
Falsified Medical Certificates are forged documents that misrepresent an individual's health. These false certificates are often used by university students to delay sitting an exam or get an extension on an assignment.
These certificates can range from creating an entire certificate, to changing small details on an existing medical certificate an individual has received in the past.
In all instances, these actions go against university policy.
The Uni is cracking down
The University Administration has been looking to crack down on cases of falsified medical certificates and, including the consequences listed, will:
- Consider reporting cases to the Western Australian Police, as falsifying medical certificates is a crime (forging and uttering).
- Extensively review all special consideration applications; flagging and investigating all past suspected cases of falsified medical certificates.
- Maintain consistency across punishments for students, meaning they are unlikely to grant leniency for individual students.
If found to have submitted a fraudulent medical certificate, consequences include:
- Failure of assessment for one or more units.
- Where misconduct is proven, students may completely fail the unit/s for which the falsified medical certificate was used for.
- Disruption of course progression, including having to retake classes and extending degree length.
- Expulsion from the university or exclusion from degree when severe, persisting cases have been identified.
- Students in the past have had their degrees revoked after graduation when their misconduct was flagged and proven.
Support Services
Falsifying a medical certificate may feel like a last resort, but there are many resources to help:
- UWA's StudySmarter Resources
- UWA's Academic Skills Workshop
- UWA's Mental Health & Wellbeing Services
- The Guild's Student Assist
- Talk to your tutors or lecturers about extension, or your student representatives for guidance in seeking help.
University can be hard and life can get in the way. As a Student Guild we are here to help.
Find out more about do's and don'ts for Special Consideration at UWA!
