Guidelines for Alternative Arrangements for Internal Assessment, including Tests and Examinations, for Students with Disabilities or Impairments

Please note that compliance with University Guidelines is expected in normal circumstances, and any deviation from Guidelines – which should only be in exceptional circumstances – needs to be justifiable.

Purpose

Alternative Arrangements for Tests (such as Terms Tests) and Internal Examinations are designed to assist students with impairments who may experience difficulty sitting tests under conventional circumstances, in order to provide for them an equitable opportunity to participate and achieve.

The purpose of these Guidelines is:

• To provide academic staff with information on the process whereby students with impairments are able to apply for Alternative Arrangements for Tests and Internal Examinations
• To provide academic staff with information on how to respond to requests from students with impairments for Alternative Arrangements for other forms of internal assessment
• To enable academic staff to liaise with Disability Information and Support to ensure that any arrangements that have to be made in academic departments are appropriate and effective

Organisational scope

University-wide, excluding the MB ChB programme, which has its own procedures.

These Guidelines do not cover Alternative Arrangements in Final Examinations delivered by the Examinations Office. All enquiries relating to those should be directed to:

Student Administration
Email examinations@otago.ac.nz

Definitions

DI&S

Disability Information and Support

Internal Examinations

Any examination not delivered through the Student Administration

Content

1. Course Co-ordinators are required to provide their students with information on the nature and timing of any terms tests or internal examinations for their papers. This information should be included in the Course Outline.
2. Any enquiries from students with impairments about Alternative Arrangements for Terms Tests and Internal Examinations should be directed to DI&S where the students will receive information and be provided with an application form.
3. Once an application has been received by DI&S, that service would contact the academic department, explaining what assistance is needed from the department.
4. If requests are received in academic departments from students with impairments for Alternative Arrangements for other forms of internal assessment (e.g. the submission of assignments), departmental staff should invoke their own internal policies in the first instance. However, departmental staff members are encouraged to ask DI&S for advice in this area.

Related policies, procedures and forms

• Disability Information and Support, Code of Practice, Alternative Arrangements for Terms Tests and Internal Examinations (available from DI&S)
• Disability Information and Support, Information on Alternative Terms Tests and Internal Examination Arrangements (available from DI&S)
• Administration of Final Examinations Policy
• Examination and Assessment Regulations
• Alternative Arrangements for Final Examinations (available from DI&S)

Contact for further information

If you have any queries regarding the content of these Guidelines or need further clarification, contact:

Melissa Lethaby
Manager, Disability Information and Support
Email melissa.lethaby@otago.ac.nz