Apply for a reasonable adjustment

If your online exam is scheduled over a 24 hour period, in most cases you will not receive reasonable adjustments such as extra time or rest breaks for these assessments.

For online and on campus exams reasonable adjustments will be applied, unless learning outcomes would be compromised.

Types of reasonable adjustments that we can consider are:

• extra time
• rest breaks
• use of PC
• ergonomic furniture
• separate room
• prompt/reader/scribe.

To apply for reasonable adjustments, please email your medical evidence to disability@uwe.ac.uk as soon as possible and we will get in touch with you about reasonable adjustments.

The deadline for submitting your reasonable adjustment request and evidence to the Disability Services for exams taking place between Monday 16 and Friday 27 January 2023 is Friday 16 December. Please note that if you don’t get your medical evidence to the Disability Service before the relevant deadline it may not be possible to put your exam reasonable adjustments in place for the upcoming exams. However, if you become disabled, receive a diagnosis or become injured after this deadline please send your medical evidence as soon as possible to disability@uwe.ac.uk to explore whether it is possible for reasonable adjustments to be put in place for this exam period.

Once you are aware of the assessment method being used, if you have concerns about being able to access the assessment please liaise with the academic team to explore whether there is an appropriate alternative assessment. Where you are unable to find a solution, your teaching team can contact the Disability Service or you can make a Disability Advice appointment via an Information Point, to explore this further. Read the reasonable adjustments policy (PDF) and exams reasonable adjustment factsheet (PDF) for further information.

Emergency support

If you need emergency additional support arrangements because you've been injured or have a serious infectious illness, the University will make every effort to put adjustments in. You need to email disability@uwe.ac.uk with your medical evidence, stating the urgent need as soon as possible and we will get in touch with you.

Ad-hoc exams

If you have any exams taking place outside of the dates mentioned above, the deadline to submit your medical evidence for exam reasonable adjustments is three weeks before the exam date.

How long reasonable adjustments will be in place for

Your adjustments will be in place for the duration of your course unless we tell you otherwise. If there are any discrepancies, please contact an Information Point and you can check MyUWE at any time.

Eligibility

You may be eligible* for a reasonable adjustment to deadline for coursework submissions if you meet the following criteria.

For disabled students:

• Where you have engaged with the Disability Service and are being provided with reasonable adjustments, and
• Where your disability is fluctuating or episodic, or
• You have a sensory or physical impairment which is a significant barrier to meeting deadlines, or
• Where other illnesses or events impact you disproportionately, because of your disability.

For other students:

• Where you are providing regular, unpaid and ongoing care to an ill or disabled family member, cohabiting partner, friend or neighbour and have engaged with UWE Cares
• Where you are pregnant or a parent with a baby under six months old and have engaged with the Student Support Advisers.

A reasonable adjustment to deadline will provide you with an additional 14 days in which to submit your work, except for assessments contributing to the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship, which are eligible for a 7-day reasonable adjustment to deadline.

*You will not be able to use the reasonable adjustment to deadline for the following types of work:

• Resit submissions, where only the five-day late submission window is applicable
• Group work
• Assessments submitted for marking in a studio by a group of staff at a fixed time (including work for an end of term degree show)
• Practice elements of professional practice modules
• Practical skills-based work
• Where assessments are set up as timed assignments, for example computer-based examinations
• Any assessments contributing to the Graduate Diploma in Law
• Assessments limited by logical constraints such as assessments to be completed whilst on a field trip
• Assessments with a submission date which falls after the Friday before the relevant Field Board (You can view the field board dates on the academic year calendar).

There may be other cases where a reasonable adjustment cannot be accommodated due to the nature of an assignment. You can check whether your assignment is exempt on the module Blackboard page or the assignment brief.

Request to use the reasonable adjustment to deadline

We ask that wherever possible you request to use the reasonable adjustment to deadline at least 48 hours before your assignment submission date. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to process requests that come in later than this by the deadline. If you submit after your deadline, your request will not be granted.

Complete the request form (InfoHub login required).

Postgraduate researchers

If you are a postgraduate researcher (PhD, DPhil, MPhil) and you are looking to use the reasonable adjustment to deadline, please go ahead and complete the form. If you are looking to discuss a reasonable adjustment to a progress review or final assessment, please contact the Graduate School.

If your request to use the reasonable adjustment to deadline is denied

Please double check that you meet the criteria above and have engaged with the relevant service. If you have only recently become eligible, the system may not have been updated in time for your request. In this case, please contact the relevant service and let them know.

If you don’t meet the reasonable adjustment to deadline criteria

There are other options if you do not meet the above criteria but have experienced something significant that affects your ability to submit a piece of coursework. Please find out more about the assessment support options available to you.

Resits

Reasonable adjustments to deadlines are not available for resit submissions, where only the five-day late submission window is applicable.

Types of adjustments that we can put in place are:

• teaching materials in advance 
• permission to record lectures
• additional library support
• transcripts or subtitling
• teaching room layout
• ergonomic furniture in teaching rooms.

To apply for reasonable adjustments, please email your medical evidence to disability@uwe.ac.uk as soon as possible and we will get in touch with you. There is no deadline for this but please do this as soon as possible to give us the best chance of being able to get things in place for you.

An Access to Placement Plan is a document that recommends adjustments, support and strategies for students on professional practice placements. It is put together following a meeting between a Disability Adviser and student, and occasionally attended by a programme and/or a placement or Trust representative.

Your tutor will need to complete an Access to Placement Plan request, and the Disability Service will be in touch if a meeting is needed.

Please note that we do not carry out Access to Placement Plan meetings for students with Specific Learning Difficulties. Instead, please refer to the placement guidance (PDF) which provides guidance to support discussion between the placement and the student in identifying reasonable adjustments and strategies.