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Reasonable Adjustments to Assessment Policy

 

Document Control Grid
Policy/Procedure Title Reasonable Adjustments to Assessment Policy
Date Approved 7 May 2025
Approving Body Taught Student Education Board
Implementation Date September 2025
Version 1.1
Revisions Amendments to reflect the development of competence standards and the recommendations of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Advice Note for the Higher Education Sector (July 2024)
Supersedes Version 1.0
Previous Review Dates N/A
Next Review Date June 2026
Related Statutes, Ordinances, General Regulations Academic Regulations for Taught Programmes
Related Policies Assessment Policy and Procedures

Mitigating Circumstances Policy
Related Procedures and Guidance
Policy Owner Student Support and Experience Directorate
Lead Contact Director of Student Experience and Support

 

 

Policy on Reasonable Adjustments to Assessment

  1. The University will provide reasonable adjustments in the assessments of disabled students to ensure that disabled students have the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers and are not substantially disadvantaged in demonstrating competency through the chosen assessment method.
  2. The legal definition of disability is set out in Annexe 1
  3. The University will comply with the principles of the Equality Act 2010 (see Annexe 2) in appropriately acting to accommodate the needs of disabled students following shared information about disability by making reasonable adjustments to assessments.
  4. The authority for identifying reasonable adjustments to assessments resides with the specialist Disability Practitioners in Disability Services. Disability Practitioners assess the student’s individual circumstances, in conjunction with the nature of their programme of study, to identify where reasonable adjustments to assessment are necessary.
  5. Disability Practitioners in Disability Services will determine the most appropriate reasonable adjustments to assessment, with support from academic colleagues in the School. This may include discussion with the student to establish effectiveness.
  6. There is a duty to make reasonable adjustments before a full assessment by Disability Services has taken place, and without a diagnosis or medical expert evidence, in urgent or serious situations.
  7. Reasonable adjustments (for the definition of a reasonable adjustment see Annexe 2) must be made even where a student has not engaged with Disability Services if there is an urgent or severe need to do so or the circumstances of the case demand it. In this situation the adjustments will be signed off by the Head of School, or their nominee, and communicated to the student using their University email. With the student’s consent the information relating to the situation will also be shared with Disability Services.
  8. School Disability Contacts are responsible for sharing disability information given to them by Disability Services with those staff responsible for teaching, assessing, and supporting disabled students within the School.
  9. The Head of School is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the reasonable adjustments to assessment identified by Disability Services for all disabled students within the School. They may devolve this responsibility to other members of the School, such as the Director of Student Education or the School Academic Lead on Inclusive Pedagogies.
  10. Under the Equality Act, there is no legal requirement to make reasonable adjustments to genuine and legitimate competence standards which meet the legal measure (see Annexe 3). However, there is a legal requirement to make reasonable adjustments to the ways in which competence standards are assessed. Competence standards are defined as that set out in Annexe 3.
  11. The University will publish the competence standards required for the programme of study and the associated award as part of the programme specifications within the University’s catalogues.
  12. Where students or staff believe that reasonable adjustments have either not been agreed, implemented, or made effective, Disability Services should be informed, in order to escalate the issue.
  13. Where, after due consideration by the School and Disability Services, it is not possible to agree a reasonable adjustment to an assessment, the reasons for declining the request must be clearly stated, with reference to the competence standards of the course and the two tests of reasonableness (effectiveness and practicability). This will form part of the legal basis for declining an adjustment and therefore requires accompanying robust evidence.
  14. A list of common reasonable adjustments is available on the Key Documents from Disability Services.
  15. A list of ways to adjust assessments, along with ideas for alternative assessments, is available on the Key Documents from Disability Services.
  16. Should adjustments not be put in place in a timely way, students will be allowed to resit or resubmit assessments as first attempts.

 

 

Annexe 1

Definition of Disability

  1. The Equality Act 2010 defines disability as follows:

“A person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”

  • Normal day-to-day activities include mobility, manual dexterity, physical coordination, continence, ability to lift, carry and move everyday objects, sensory perception, speech, hearing, eyesight, memory, or ability to concentrate, learn or understand, and perception of risk or physical danger. For a student, 'normal day to day activities' might include taking notes, writing, researching, reading large amounts of text, and moving between multiple locations.
  • Substantial means more than minor or trivial e.g., it takes much longer than it usually would to complete a daily task like getting dressed, or to find and process information.
  • Long term means has lasted or is likely to last for 12 months or more.
  1. This definition includes, but is not limited to, people who:
    • are D/deaf or hearing impaired
    • are blind or visually impaired
    • have a physical disability, and/or mobility difficulties
    • have a specific learning difficulty (e.g., dyslexia or dyspraxia)
    • have a neurodevelopmental condition (e.g., AD(H)D)
    • have a neurological condition (e.g., Multiple Sclerosis, epilepsy, Tourette Syndrome, stammer)
    • are autistic
    • have a long-term mental health condition (e.g., depression, an eating disorder, schizophrenia)
    • have a long-term medical condition (e.g., chronic fatigue syndrome, asthma, diabetes, cancer, HIV)
    • have a developmental condition not listed above which affects motor, cognitive, social, and emotional skills, and speech and language (e.g., some people with cerebral palsy or spina bifida)
    • have a combination of these

It is also important to note that:

  • Any terminal condition is included in this definition, regardless of time frames involved.
  • Progressive conditions are covered from the point of diagnosis, regardless of symptoms.
  • Conditions that are intermittent, or which fluctuate over time, will always entitle the person to protection under the Act, even if the condition is in remission at a particular point in time.
  1. The law stipulates that once a student has shared information about their disability to one part of the University, they are deemed to have shared this information to all parts of the University(see Judgement of Abrahart vs University of Bristol). This means that the University, and individual staff members, are legally required to act on any disclosure of disability information, in accordance with the guidance on what to do if a student tells you about something that may be a disability.
  2. Students are expected to provide supporting information in accordance with the guidance on providing supporting information.

Annexe 2

Reasonable Adjustments to Assessment

  1. In responding to this duty, the Act requires HEIs to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled students in relation to:
    • a provision, criterion, or practice (for example, teaching practices, assessment methods and standard processes)
    • physical features (for example, access to teaching spaces, laboratories, and libraries)
    • auxiliary aids, including auxiliary services (for example, hearing loop systems, providing information in accessible formats, and the provision of professional support workers)
  2. A ‘reasonable adjustment’ is defined within the Equality Act. It is an adjustment that prevents substantial disadvantage, including:
    • The time and effort expended by a disabled student
    • The inconvenience, indignity or discomfort suffered
    • The loss of opportunity or diminished progress experienced
  3. What is considered reasonable is decided by law, not by individual academics, programmes, schools or faculties. There are two key tests of reasonableness that should be considered:
    • Is the adjustment effective in achieving its aim (will it work)?
    • Is the adjustment practicable in its application (is it possible)?
  4. HEIs can take the following into account when considering reasonableness
    • Health and safety, including the management of genuine risk
    • The effect on other students
    • The availability of resources
    • The financial cost to the institution (considering the total income of the University)

These factors alone will not usually prevent the application of a reasonable adjustment to assessment.

 

 

Annexe 3

Competence Standards

  1. The Equality Act defines a competence standard as: ‘An academic, medical or other standard applied for the purposes of determining whether or not a person has a particular level of competence or ability’.
  2. A competence standard must not be unlawfully discriminatory. It must be applied equally to all students, and it must be objectively justifiable, i.e., the competence standard must be a proportionate means to a legitimate aim, and genuinely relevant to the course. The Equality & Human Rights Commission’s technical guidance on the Equality Act describes proportionate as ‘appropriate and necessary’. For example, it would not be legitimate to insist on an oral presentation to a group for a degree in biomedical sciences, while it might be legitimate for an initial teacher training degree.
  1. Competence standards must be explicit, written down, clearly published, and made available to applicants and students at the earliest opportunity in order that they may make informed choices around programmes of study (see AdvanceHE’s Competence Standards and Reasonable Adjustments). They cannot be applied after the fact and cannot cover pedagogic ‘preferences’ or ‘norms’ of practice unless there is an objectively justifiable reason for including these competencies. Arguments relating to established practice, assumptions around the content or standard assessment of a ‘good’ degree or reputational concerns may not be justifiable. In most cases, the mode of assessment itself is unlikely to constitute a competence standard, except in some practice- or performance-based programmes.