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The Department of Psychology aims to provide support, equity and inclusion for all students. This involves providing specific support for Māori students, Pacific students, International students; and students who are experiencing any form of disability (both temporary and permanent situations).

Support includes advice about your programme of study, assistance with enrolment, and ongoing advice throughout the year. This advice is provided within the larger framework of support across the University.

Student support team

Our Pastoral Support Teaching Fellows provide general and academic support for all Psychology students. They can be found in our Student Hub, 93 Union Street.

Find out more about General Psychology Student Support Services

Māori student support

Our Kaiawhina supports, promotes and fosters a culture of inclusiveness, supporting connections between the departmental policy, students, whānau, Psychology staff members, Office of Māori Development, Division of Sciences, and the wider university Kaiawhina community.

Find out more about Māori Student Support Services

Pacific student support

The aim of this position is to foster the success of Pacific students in Psychology by accessing academic guidance and support. Please feel free to contact our adviser to discuss any issues relating to your course.

Find out more about Pacific Student Support Services

International student support

The aim of this position is to provide an initial contact point and ongoing support for International students should you wish to discuss any issues relating to your course.

Find out more about International Student Support Services

Disability information and support

Both the Department of Psychology and the University of Otago are committed to supporting students who experience disability or other difficult circumstances. This support is ongoing rather than one-off. Our aim is to help students with disability plan your studies with the goal of facilitating your success and minimising the need to request extensions.

Find out more about Disability Information and Support

Website Accessibility for the Department of Psychology

A service for website users that are Deaf, Hearing Impaired, Deafblind, Speech Impaired or a standard phone user:

o NZRelay website

Smoking cessation support

The University of Otago is now a smoke-free campus. This policy represents the University's commitment to encouraging the well-being of its students, staff and visitors.

Find out how we can help you stop smoking now

The following map shows in orange and grey, the smoke-free areas around the Psychology buildings.

F622 smoke-free map

Requesting an extension for an assignment

Assignment deadlines

You must take note of assignment deadlines when starting a paper. From that point, it is your responsibility to manage your workload so that you meet those deadlines. Heavy workload is not an acceptable reason to request an extension for an assignment. If you are unsure about the workload associated with a paper, please discuss this with a Course Adviser when enrolling or contact the appropriate Administrator within the Department of Psychology (listed in the Contact section at the end).

Circumstances in which extensions may be granted

Requests for an extension will be considered if there are reasons that legitimately delay you in completing an assignment. These circumstances can include:

  • any disability, including temporary or permanent impairment, illness or injury
  • scheduled surgery (eg, wisdom teeth removal)
  • caregiving for a family member or friend with a serious impairment, illness or injury
  • bereavement
  • roles representing your country (such as in national sports teams).

Assignments cannot be accepted after other students have started receiving feedback on the assignment in question to avoid providing an unfair advantage. Extensions are not granted for smaller assignments such as laboratory questions and weekly homework tasks. Make-up work is available under certain circumstances, as detailed in information for individual papers. Please ask your Demonstrator or the appropriate Administrator if you require further information.

NOTE: Extensions are not granted for PSYC 310. The procedure is that you hand in your thesis when you can, and you write a letter to the course coordinator asking for waiver of the 10% per day penalty. Note that waivers are granted only in exceptional circumstances.

Process for requesting an extension

If you experience any of the above circumstances, it is important to get in touch with the relevant staff member about an extension as soon as possible.

  1. An extension for an assignment must be requested before the deadline has passed. An extension can only be given after the deadline in exceptional circumstances (eg, if you are suddenly hospitalised just before an assignment is due).

    Contact the appropriate Administrator either:
    • In person
    • By email, or
    • Telephone

    It is also acceptable for someone else to get in touch on your behalf. However, requesting an extension does not guarantee you will be granted one, so it is best that you follow up in person or by telephone to ensure your request has been received.
  2. Your Administrator will ask to see any documents supporting your request for an extension (eg, a medical certificate, letter from your doctor, sports team coach etc,) so please bring these with you. Alternatively, let the Administrator know if you have already provided documentation to the University's Disability Information and Support Service.

Failure of electronic equipment

Failure of electronic equipment is not counted as an unexpected circumstance. You must regularly back up any work you are doing and keep your back up separate from the computer you are using. You are also expected to print your assignment before the deadline.

Penalties for late submission of assignments

Penalties are applied to late assignments as described in the course information for each paper.

Contacts

PSYC100

Email psy.psyc100@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 479 7631

PSYC200

Email psy.psyc200@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 479 6542

PSYC300

Email psy.psyc300@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 479 7644

400-level Psychology papers and postgraduate degrees:

The paper coordinator or your supervisor:

Link to 400-level Overview

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