This page is still being updated for the academic year 25/26. Students will be informed when the Handbook update is complete.
What are Reasonable Adjustments?
Reasonable adjustments refer to modifications or accommodations made to ensure that disabled students have equal access to education and an inclusive learning environment. These adjustments are considered on an individual basis and are intended to level the playing field, mitigate the impact of your condition, and support you in your academic pursuits.
How can I arrange Reasonable Adjustments?
Schedule a meeting with a Disability AdviserLink opens in a new window to discuss your individual needs; they will then contact us on your behalf.
You can also find more details about Reasonable Adjustments on the Disability Services websiteLink opens in a new window.
Once you have spoken with a Disability Advisor, they will create an adjustment plan for you that will be communicated to certain people within the maths department – namely those within the Taught Programmes Office. However, it is worth noting that, due to how the University systems are currently set up, lecturers and teaching assistants will not automatically be notified or made aware of your adjustment plan.
To communicate your adjustment plan to your teaching staff, you should speak to someone in the Taught Programmes Office and let them know who you would like it to be sent to.
What sort of Reasonable Adjustments are available?
The university can work with you to arrange adjustments for both your week-to-week teaching experience, and for exams and assessments. Examples of support include:
Flexible deadlines
Across the University, some departments might offer flexible deadlines for disabled students, depending on their condition and circumstances. Certain learning differences may mean that people find time management and organisation of multiple tasks more challenging. It is helpful if students can concentrate on individual tasks. Any flexibility request for these reasons tends to be recommended where a student has more than one deadline very close together. Extensions are not automatic and should not be used as a matter of course as they tend to create additional problems later in the year.
In maths, the availability of flexible deadlines depends on the type of assignment and assessment. For your small, weekly assignments the department does not provide flexible deadlines. This is because of the quick turnaround for those marking and the immediate release of mark schemes, as well as how frequently the assignments are set– the risk of falling too far behind is too great. This is a useful example of the ‘reasonable’ part of reasonable adjustments.
However, the Maths department offers all students a best 3 out of 4 rule – i.e. the top three scores from any four assessments are the ones used to calculate your mark. For students with flexible deadlines as a reasonable adjustment, a further assignment for each module can be waived to give the best 2 out of 3.To apply for an assignment to be waived, you will need to submit a mitigating circumstances case in Tabula, state the module and assignment you wish to be waived and provide your reasonable adjustment letter as your evidence. Similarly to applying for an extension request, a request to waive an assignment must be submitted before the assignment deadline has passed.
Please note, flexible deadlines are not automatic for all disabled students, and you would need to speak to Disability Services to access these.
It is also worth noting that:
- You can still hand in assignments late to be marked for feedback only, to help with your ongoing development and learning.
- Flexible deadlines still apply to eligible students for high-credit coursework (worth 2 CATS or more), such as projects or essays.
Considerate marking adjustment sheet
A considerate marking adjustment sheet can be issued by Disability Services to students with conditions that may affect their written work, such as specific learning difficulties, to attach to their coursework and exams. This is to ensure that students are not penalised for errors made due to their specific learning difficulties, such as poor spelling, punctuation, grammar or structure, if those do not form part of the course criteria or competency standards.
It can be attached to any assignment, but this might be something particularly relevant for the essay-based modules in the second, third and fourth year. A considerate marking adjustment sheet can be used for any assignments or exams you have, including for modules which are not based in Maths. Disability Services will provide a PDF of the considerate marking adjustment sheet for students to print and attach to any assignments submitted in person or to upload with their assignments if submission is online.
Alternative exam arrangements
One part of reasonable adjustments is the ability to make alternative arrangements for any exams you’re taking. Examples of these may include:
- extra writing time
- use of a PC
- a scribe or amanuensis
- stop-the-clock rest breaks
- a separate or smaller room
- a reader
Please note, this is not an exhaustive list. If you require alternative exam arrangements, please contact Disability Services and they will come up with solutions that work for you. Also, be aware that there are deadlines for getting alternative exam arrangements in place – these can be found on the Disability Services website. If your alternative exam arrangements are only sorted after the deadline, the department will do what they can to try and implement them, but they cannot guarantee it because of a potential lack of resources.
When it comes to alternative exam arrangements, it is worth noting that you do not need to have had exam arrangements at school to be able to access them at university, as Disability Services will assess individuals and make specific plans for you.
Exam arrangements for students with Reasonable Adjustments
In-department exams
Students with alternative exam arrangements typically sit their exams in a different location to the main exam halls, such as in their home department or in a centrally timetabled room like LIB2 (near the Library). Where your exams will be depends on the exam period and what alternative exam arrangements you have.
Outside of the main Summer exam period, all students with alternative exam arrangements take their exams in their home department, and this is reflected on your personalised timetables as “INDEPT”. This includes any exams for modules you take outside of the Maths department. Whilst it may say something different on your personalised exam timetable, the exam start times for in-department exams will be in line with the main exam halls, e.g. 9:30am or 2pm for standard exams without reading time.
Some students will be in-department for all of their exams. However, for the main Summer exam period, some students will take their exams in a central venue, e.g. where only the use of a PC is required. These exams typically start earlier than the main exam halls. Sometimes the process of allocating these rooms for the Summer exam period can overwrite “INDEPT” on the April personalised timetables, but it is important to note that the exams remain in-department for all students with alternative exam arrangements for the entire April exam period.
The Taught Programmes Office will email all students with alternative exam arrangements ahead of the start of the exam periods to remind students of this and confirm what arrangements are in place.
Invigilators for in-department exams should have been trained on alternative exam arrangements and how to implement them, but if you believe that your adjustments are not being applied correctly (e.g. rest breaks being added as extra time instead of being taken as and when needed), you can speak to your invigilator during the exam or raise it with the Taught Programmes Office after the exam.
Students sitting in-department exams should still receive any announcements or corrections from the main exam halls, as someone from the Taught Programmes Office will be contacted and go to each in-department venue to pass it on. You can also raise queries with the lecturer yourself. The usual procedure for raising a query in an in-department exam is to speak to your invigilator and they will ring the lecturer to ask your question and get back to you with the answer. Note that you may need to write down your question, as the invigilator may not have a mathematical background.
If you have any queries or concerns about how your exams have been run or about the conduct of your invigilators, please speak to the Taught Programmes Office.
Arrangement for modules outside of maths
Due to how the University systems are currently set up, your reasonable adjustments will not be automatically communicated when you are taking modules outside of your home department.
For alternative exam arrangements relating to centrally timetabled exams, these will be automatically implemented, as your home department administers the exams. However, for internally scheduled tests such as Moodle quizzes or Language Centre exams, the information may not be automatically communicated. You can either contact your module leaders yourself to pass on your adjustment plan or the Taught Programmes Office are happy to sort it out for you if you let them know which modules are affected.
This also applies to any reasonable adjustments you may have for classes or assignments.