Suggested amendments to the Assessment Policy for Students who have a Disability

The amendments detailed below are suggested as a reposnse to requests from academic departments seeking clarification on certain aspects of the original policy and in order to clarify the university procedures in this area for legislative purposes (i.e. in response to the Disability Discrimination Act (part 4)

Students with Specific Learning Difficulties (e.g. Dyslexia)

Examinations

Where additional time is indicated in the student’s Educational Psychology report 25% additional time is the standard allocation at Loughborough. Exceptionally, more time, in addition to the 25%, may be recommended and arranged for individuals. This should be discussed by the student with DANS and then with the academic department. Students requiring extra time should ordinarily sit their examinations in a separate room to the main body of students. Where more than 25% additional time is recommended for a student, the Department that the student is based in will make the arrangements for the examination room. Students who have 25% additional time will sit their examinations in the central extra-time venue.

It is important that departments remember that where extra time is a recommendation for students this should be allocated for class tests as well as more formal examinations. Where possible the use of a separate room is recommended in these circumstances.

Where the recommendation is that students be permitted to use a scribe, a computer, or a reader, the standard allocation of extra time should still apply. Students identified as having a Specific Learning Difficulty should be permitted to use coloured overlays in examinations where this is a recommendation in their assessment of support needs.

Examinations and coursework

The use of sub-headings and bullet points should be permissible for all students, and this fact should be brought to the attention of students. Where the ability to structure an essay or report is part of the assessment, and thus the use of bullet points would not be acceptable, this should be clearly detailed in the information given to students when the work is set.

Students who have been identified by DANS as having a Specific Learning Difficulty should have the option of using a sticker, or some other way of identifying themselves. It is accepted that such students would have to waive their right to anonymity.

For students who have Specific Learning Difficulty , spelling and grammar that does not affect the clarity of the writing should not be penalised. Departments should consider how this can be achieved within their marking scheme and submit a suitable proposal to the University Examinations Office for approval. A suggested scheme is detailed below:

Departments should specify the maximum that any student should lose for poor spelling and grammar that does not affect the clarity of the writing – 5% is a possible figure. Students who have dyslexia should have their work marked out of 95% (i.e. 100 minus the figure chosen by the department) and then their mark should be scaled up to produce a mark out of 100%.

(Where students have used a scribe in the examination, allowances for poor spelling and grammar should not apply.)

Spelling and grammar that does affect the clarity of the writing should be treated in the same way for all students.

Coursework

All students should meet the specified deadlines. However, exceptionally, the academic department may allow an extension to a deadline. This should be done in conjunction with DANS and approved by the Head of the Academic Department concerned.

Early identification of students who are experiencing difficulties that may be dyslexia-related is desirable and academic departments should endeavour to refer students to DANS/ELSU at the earliest opportunity. All students should be made aware of the demands of work required in subsequent years of the programme (e.g. dissertation, final year project) so that any student who has difficulty with the written/organisational element of their studies has ample time to seek support.

Use of calculators

Due to difficulties with short term memory, students who have a Specific Learning Difficulty may become reliant on using a particular calculator that they are familiar with, and may find it difficult to adapt to using a different calculator at short notice. It is helpful, therefore, for departments that stipulate the use of particular models of calculator, to inform students of this as early as possible, preferably in the pre-course information sent to students. Changes of specified equipment at short notice should be avoided.

BSL users

People who are prelingually deaf will not acquire language at the same rate, or in the same way, as a non-deaf person, and will often have difficulties in the use of spoken and written language into adulthood. It will therefore be appropriate for exam questions to be re-written by a qualified teacher of the deaf (or similar) and for the student to be given both altered and unaltered papers to use in the exam.

For both coursework and exams such students should be treated the same as students with dyslexia in relation to poor spelling and grammar that does not affect the clarity of the writing. Students should, therefore, use a sticker on their work, as outlined above.