Reasonable Adjustments to Assessment Policy

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 for staff on the Key Documents from Disability Services.
15. A list of ways to adjust assessments, along with ideas for alternative assessments, is available for staff 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.

This is version 1.1 of this policy which is owned by the Student Support and Experience Directorate. Please contact the Director of Student Experience and Support for any matters related to this policy. Information for staff about the definition of disability (Annexe 1), reasonable adjustments to assessment (Annexe 2), and competence standards (Annexe 3) are available on the staff intranet.