Reasonable adjustments for assessments

Information about reasonable adjustments for disabled students (including those with mental health conditions) to support you with your assessments.

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We welcome feedback from students and colleagues alike. Please note that any queries you have about your own individual circumstances or adjustments should be raised via the usual methods within your School or with Student Wellbeing and Inclusivity.

How to receive an adjustment

The University's Student Wellbeing and Inclusivity Service (SWAI) offers a range of support for students. If you have a disability, including a mental health difficulty, which may affect your performance in your assessments, please contact SWAI at your earliest opportunity. SWAI will meet with you and discuss the most appropriate reasonable adjustments for your assessments.

How to check your adjustments

You can check your current reasonable adjustments via the Student Self-service portal; once logged in, click on the Disability tab under My Personal Details. This page will also tell you how your adjustment applies to Due Date or Fixed-timed assessments. If the adjustments are not what you are expecting, or do not meet your needs, please contact SWAI as soon as possible to discuss this matter before submitting any claims for mitigating circumstances.

How your adjustments apply to different assessments

All assessments are categorised as either Due Date or Fixed-time. How your adjustment applies to each assessment depends on which of these two categories it falls under.

Due Date Assessments

Due Date Assessments are those which have a set deadline (time and date) by which the work must be submitted. All due-date assessments are listed below:

  • Artefact
  • Case study
  • Computer code
  • Creative work
  • Dissertation
  • Essay
  • Laboratory report
  • Mathematical problems
  • Peer assessment
  • Policy briefs
  • Portfolio
  • Poster
  • Project
  • Proposal
  • Report
  • Technical report

Reasonable adjustments relating to Due Date Assessments apply to the above assessment types as standard. However, please note that there may be times when it is not possible to meet an agreed adjustment due to the particular nature of some assessments. If your adjustment cannot be applied your School will discuss this with you.

Fixed-time Assessments

Fixed-time Assessments are those which have a fixed start- and end-time, or the assessment takes place in a relatively short window (usually no more than 24 hours) which has a fixed start- and end-time. All fixed-time assessments are listed below:

  • In-Class test
  • Laboratory test
  • Learn quiz
  • In-person examination
  • Online long-window examination
  • Online short-window examination
  • Oral language assessment
  • Practical assessment
  • Presentation
  • Time-limited test
  • Tutorial participation*
  • Viva voce

*Special note on Tutorial Participation: If any of your modules include assessment through Tutorial Participation, then your Module Leader will explain to the class what is being assessed and how. You should then meet with SWAI to discuss the applicability of any adjustments for this assessment.

Key to the terms used

Please use the information below to understand how your adjustments will apply to each assessment type.

Please note that there may be times when it is not possible to meet an agreed adjustment (due to the particular nature of some assessments), even though it is indicated as applicable in the information below. If your adjustment cannot be applied your School will discuss this with you.

Yes: The adjustment applies to this assessment type as standard.

Not Applicable: The adjustment is not relevant to this assessment type. This is usually because the nature of the adjustment is addressed through the format of the assessment (for instance, specific room requirements are not relevant to online exams as students can choose their own location).

Alternative: Where reasonable and necessary, an alternative to the adjustment may need to be arranged for this assessment type, as it might not be feasible to accommodate the adjustment in its original format. Your School will discuss with you whether you need the adjustment for this assessment type and what the alternative(s) might be.

Adjustments for each assessment

Extra time

Assessment TypeApplicability of adjustment
In-person Examination Yes
Online Short-window Examination Yes
Online Long-window Examination Not Applicable
Learn Quiz (online exam) Yes
In-Class Test Yes
Time-limited Test Yes
Laboratory Test Not Applicable
Practical Assessment Not Applicable
Oral Language Assessment Yes
Viva Voce Yes
Presentation Alternative

Rest breaks

Assessment TypeApplicability of adjustment
In-person Examination Yes
Online Short-window Examination Yes
Online Long-window Examination Not Applicable
Learn Quiz (online exam) Yes
In-Class Test Yes
Time-limited Test Yes
Laboratory Test Not Applicable
Practical Assessment Not Applicable
Oral Language Assessment Yes
Viva Voce Alternative
Presentation Alternative

Schedule related adjustments

Assessment Type Applicability of adjustment
In-person Examination Yes
Online Short-window Examination Yes
Online Long-window Examination Not Applicable
Learn Quiz (online exam) Yes
In-Class Test Alternative
Time-limited Test Not Applicable
Laboratory Test Alternative
Practical Assessment Alternative
Oral Language Assessment Yes
Viva Voce Alternative
Presentation Alternative

Equipment

Assessment Type Applicability of adjustment
In-person Examination Yes
Online Short-window Examination Not Applicable
Online Long-window Examination Not Applicable
Learn Quiz (online exam) Not Applicable
In-Class Test Yes
Time-limited Test Not Applicable
Laboratory Test Alternative
Practical Assessment Alternative
Oral Language Assessment Yes
Viva Voce* Not Applicable
Presentation* Not Applicable

Exceptions:

* For Viva Voce and Presentation Assessments, the following adjustment is Not Applicable

  • Ergonomic Equipment

Permitted entry with

Assessment Type Applicability of adjustment
In-person Examination Yes
Online Short-window Examination Not Applicable
Online Long-window Examination Not Applicable
Learn Quiz (online exam) Not Applicable
In-Class Test Yes
Time-limited Test Not Applicable
Laboratory Test Alternative
Practical Assessment Alternative
Oral Language Assessment Yes
Viva Voce* Yes
Presentation* Yes

Exceptions:

* For Viva Voce and Presentation assessments, the following adjustments are Not Applicable:

  • English dictionary from the Approved Dictionary List. You need to have your dictionary checked by your department, who will issue you a letter to give to the exam invigilator upon entry to the exam.
  • Non-standard keyboard (e.g. slimline), as loaned via it.services@lboro.ac.uk

Room capacity

Assessment Type Applicability of adjustment
In-person Examination Yes
Online Short-window Examination Not Applicable
Online Long-window Examination Not Applicable
Learn Quiz (online exam) Not Applicable
In-Class Test Yes
Time-limited Test Not Applicable
Laboratory Test Not Applicable
Practical Assessment Not Applicable
Oral Language Assessment* Yes
Viva Voce Not Applicable
Presentation Not Applicable

Exceptions:

For Oral Language assessments, the following adjustment is Not Applicable:

  • Room Capacity: In School

Support Assistants for assessments

To see which assessment types Support Assistants (such as Readers, Prompters etc.) can help you with, please follow the link.

Use of Support Assistants across assessment types →

Assessment of delivery (speed or eye contact)

Assessment Type Applicability of adjustment
In-person Examination Not Applicable
Online Short-window Examination Not Applicable
Online Long-window Examination Not Applicable
Learn Quiz (online exam) Not Applicable
In-Class Test Not Applicable
Time-limited Test Not Applicable
Laboratory Test Yes
Practical Assessment Yes
Oral Language Assessment Yes
Viva Voce Yes
Presentation Yes

Venue

Assessment Type Applicability of adjustment
In-person Examination Yes
Online Short-window Examination Not Applicable
Online Long-window Examination Not Applicable
Learn Quiz (online exam) Not Applicable
In-Class Test Yes
Time-limited Test Not Applicable
Laboratory Test Yes
Practical Assessment Yes
Oral Language Assessment Yes
Viva Voce* Yes
Presentation* Yes

Exceptions:

* Note that the adjustment 'Written information to be given for any spoken announcements' is Not Applicable to Viva Voce assessments, and is Alternative for Presentation assessments.

Viva

Assessment Type Applicability of adjustment
In-person Examination Not Applicable
Online Short-window Examination Not Applicable
Online Long-window Examination Not Applicable
Learn Quiz (online exam) Not Applicable
In-Class Test Not Applicable
Time-limited Test Not Applicable
Laboratory Test Not Applicable
Practical Assessment Not Applicable
Oral Language Assessment* Yes
Viva Voce Yes
Presentation* Yes

Exceptions:

For Oral Language and Presentation Assessments, the following adjustment is Not Applicable:

  • Permitted use of voice recorder for the part of the Viva where corrections are discussed