Coursework and Examinations

There are a range of adjustments available for formal written timed exams, such as extra time (usually 25%, so for each hour of exam, and additional 15 minutes would be added), rest breaks (usually 5 mins per hour, with the clock stopped to pause for  rest), use of a computer, specialist software or use of a reader pen or human reader  or scribe.

We may also offer separate rooms if needed, either sole occupancy or with a few other students from your course and  an invigilator. We offer individual rooms for students with health conditions such as type 1 diabetes, who may need to monitor their condition and access medication during the exam.

All Students with 25% are usually allocated space in a separate ‘extra time’ room, so they are not disturbed by other people leaving at the end of ‘standard’ working time.

We recommend exam adjustments based on the supporting documentation provided, such as Occupational health or Educational psychologist recommendations.

We  hope to offer students support in an exam, to allow as close as possible to their ‘usual way of working’, to enable them to achieve the best outcome. For example, if you usually use a computer with specialist software such a speech to text to write a written assignment, so long as there was sufficient  documentation to support this (such as a recommendation from an Educational Psychologist), we would arrange for you to be able to access this way of working in an exam.

However, we would not recommend trying out new technology or ways of working for the first time in an exam. For example, if have been recommended a reader pen or scribe, we advise that you practice this way of working in advance, well before the exam, to ascertain if it is a suitable method for you.

Please note, the Disability team are able to assist with implementing adjustments in formal written timed exams, run by your academic course team (internal exams). The adjustments described above do not apply to open book assessments over a time frame of 24 hours or more.

Internal University exams are usually in January and May each year. We need plenty of time in advance of exams to make arrangements. Your Support Plan should provide details of the adjustments that we have allocated for you (such as extra time), and we will ensure that these concessions are available for you. If you need to review your adjustments, please contact Disability Services as soon as possible, with a minimum of 3 working week's notice prior to the exam date. We do our best to accommodate requests, but we cannot guarantee to provide adjustments at short notice.

Some courses may have external professional exams, such as the project management PMQ, and have their own criteria i.e. there may be a separate process for arranging reasonable adjustments, which may be beyond the remit of our team. Please speak to your tutor for guidance.

For international applicants, there is a compulsory requirement to undertake an English language competency test before being accepted onto  a course of study. Please note, the Disability team can provide support for international students once they are enrolled, but we are not involved in reasonable adjustments for the pre- entry English test UCPELT.

At the University of Cumbria, we aim to offer students the necessary support and adjustments required to enable them to achieve their full potential and submit assignment work within the set timeframe and meet deadlines given.

Accessing allocated specialist study skills / mentoring sessions and utilising specialist equipment and software is proven to be beneficial in producing written tasks to meet set learning outcomes within the standard time allocation.

For this reason, we do not offer extra time or automatic extensions for coursework / assignments.

If you are struggling to meet a deadline, we advise requesting a student progress review Student Progress Review with your tutor, to discuss the situation and apply for an extension if needed. For more information please see: Assignments

At the University of Cumbria, we do not offer cover sheets or leniency in assessment of spelling, punctuation or grammar. (We hope that the support and adjustments available (such as specialist study skills and software) will enable all students to produce written work with a high standard of spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Many courses also have a policy of anonymous marking, which means that it is not possible for tutors to be aware of spLD when marking.

For professional / vocational courses, correct spelling of key terms and specialist vocabulary may be a professional competency requirement.

We understand that for some students, their disability / health condition may impact them when delivering a presentation or completing a verbal assessment such as a viva. For example, some students with mental health conditions may feel very anxious at the prospect of speaking in front of a group, particularly when being assessed.

One of the adjustments that can be included in the Support is a request for consideration of possible adjustments for presentations and group work e.g., smaller audience/group size, time to prepare answers to set follow up questions etc. Adjustments must be considered “reasonable” whilst still allowing students to demonstrate the professional competencies of the course.

For example, some courses include a presentation, but the main objective is to assess a student’s knowledge of a specific subject. In these cases, it should be feasible to arrange for a reduced audience, without impacting on a   student’s ability to meet the learning outcomes.

However, in some courses, there may be a professional competency requirement to demonstrate certain communication skills, and the learning outcome may relate to ability to speak to a large audience. In these cases, it would not be possible to offer a reduced audience, as this would impact negatively on the students ability to pass the assessment.

Presentation adjustments may need to be discussed on a case by case basis with the module tutor, taking the specific  learning outcomes into account.

We hope that the support and adjustments available, such a study skills and software will enable students to achieve their full potential in verbal assessments and presentations.

If personal circumstances, sudden illness or something serious and beyond your control occurs, which interferes with your attendance or ability to perform in an exam or assessment or which prevents you submitting an assignment or coursework task, students can apply for extenuating circumstances: Extenuating Circumstances.

Please note, having a disability, health condition or SpLD in itself does not constitute valid grounds for extenuating circumstances. Common examples of situations considered include bereavement, accident, sudden severe illness, hospitalisation etc. However, a student with a Disability, health condition or SpLD may have grounds to make an extenuating circumstances claim, if for reasons beyond their control, they are unable to access the support or reasonable adjustments that they require.