Exam adjustments and religious observance

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Explore this webpage for information relating to adjustments for exam arrangements and religious observance in exams.

Exam adjustments

The university believes that assessment methods should, as well as being appropriate to the academic objectives of the course, minimise the impact of a student’s disability on performance in assessment. This means that some students may require adjustments to exam arrangements.

Long term exam adjustments

The university guidelines set out the arrangements for organising the effective assessment of students who have a disability or long-term medical condition, including details of the procedure to follow to apply for adjustments to be made. The overview, policy and determination of adjustments to exam arrangements can be found in the Quality Manual.

Procedure for students

You need to contact Disability Support Services and provide evidence before the published deadlines, which can be found on the Disability Support Services webpage.

Adjustments will be in place for students at the start of the next official university exam period. It is highly unlikely that we will be able to make adjustments for a forthcoming exam period if the deadline is not met.

You should also note the following information: All requests for adjustments to examinations should be supported by current evidence of a disability or long-term medical condition. This includes a written report from a registered medical practitioner, an educational psychologist or a psychiatrist.
Students whose requests are successful will see information about the arrangements by the 'My Course' section on NottinghamHub approximately four weeks after the above deadlines.
Once adjustments to exam arrangements have been made, these will be maintained for you throughout your current program of study. If you return to the university to study a new program (eg postgraduate master’s) you will need to contact Academic Support so your arrangements can be transferred to your new course. An appointment with Academic Support is also needed if you have had adjustments to exam arrangements at a previous institution.
Where a student is dissatisfied with the adjustments to exam arrangements determined for them, they should first contact Disability Support Services to discuss this with their Academic Support Tutor or Disability Adviser.

Short-term exam adjustments

To make this request, please submit an Extenuating Circumstances (EC) claim on the Student Enquiry Centre. Make sure you request the appropriate adjustment in the ‘Explanation of the situation’ part of the form, providing evidence of your issue as per the EC procedure.

Please note, there is no guarantee the university can support requests for – you will receive confirmation of the outcome by the usual EC procedure.

Deadlines for having approved EC claims and a submitted short-term exam adjustment form are:

January 2025: Friday 3rd January 2025 (23:59 hours)

May/June 2025: Wednesday 30th April 2025 (23:59 hours)

August 2025: Thursday 31st July 2025 (23:59 hours)

I have a disability/a long-term medical condition/a specific learning difference such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADHD – how do I get exam adjustments?

Please refer to the Disability Support Services webpage for information on how to be assessed

January 2025: Monday 4th November 2024

May/June 2025: Friday 28th February 2025

August 2025: Friday 27th June 2025

_{Please note, if you have not been assessed by these deadlines, you will not have alternative arrangements in place for the exams to which they apply.}

I have a support plan that contains extra time – what does that mean for in-person exams?

Your timetable will reflect the extra time/specific room requirements as detailed in your support plan.

You can check your support plan by logging in to NottinghamHub and click on the ‘Support Arrangements’ icon.

Should you have any questions, please contact the relevant team on the Student Enquiry Centre.

I have a support plan that contains extra time – what does that mean for online remote exams?

If you have a module that is being assessed online as a remote exam and your support plan includes additional time, you will receive a different time allowance for your online exam.

Please note that your individual student timetable will not reflect this extra time. Instead, your extra time for online exams will be detailed in Moodle or in ExamSys, which you can view on the day of the exam.

I have a support plan that contains extra time – what does that mean for Moodle remote exams under 3 hours long?

For short timed exams (3 hours and under), you will be given 50% additional time because your support plan includes extra time. This includes adjustments for reading time and rest breaks.

Students with support plans which state that more than 50% additional time is required, will be advised of their extra time individually.

Durations for these exams in Moodle for you is set out below:

Breakdown of exam adjusted times
Original Duration	Extra time for Upload/ IT issues	Duration in Moodle (hh:mm)	Duration for students with extra time. (hh:mm)
1 Hour	30 Minutes	01:30	02:15
2 Hours	30 Minutes	02:30	03:45
3 Hours	30 Minutes	03:30	05:15

Therefore, an exam that is originally of 1 hour duration, is extended to 1 hour 30 minutes for all students with the addition of extra IT/upload time. The same exam of 1 hour 30 minutes is then extended to 2 hours 15 minutes for students with support plans that include extra time, with the addition of 50% extra time.

Should you have any questions, please contact the relevant team on the Student Enquiry Centre.

I have a support plan that contains extra time – what does that mean for Moodle remote exams scheduled for 24 hours?

For 24-hour exams, you will be given five additional working hours to complete the assessment. The five additional working hours includes adjustments for reading time and rest breaks.

Breakdown of exam adjusted times
Original Duration	Exam Start Time	Exam Submission Time	Additional Time	Exam Submission time
24:00 Hours	9am on day 1 (e.g. Monday)	9am on day 2 (e.g. Tuesday)	+ 5 Hours	2pm on day 2 (e.g. Tuesday)

Please note that extra time for IT issues and upload is already included within the 24-hour exam time.

Should you have any questions, please contact the relevant team on the Student Enquiry Centre.

I have a support plan that contains extra time – what does that mean for Examsys remote exams?

Examsys exams have 10 minutes automatically added to allow for IT issues. Your 50% is calculated on this total time. An example is below

Breakdown of exam adjusted times
Original Duration	Time given for technical issues	Total exam length (hh:mm)	Duration for students with extra time. (hh:mm)
1 Hour	10 Minutes	01:10	01:45

Should you have any questions, please contact the relevant team on the Student Enquiry Centre.

I have a Support Plan in place, which contains an accommodation for a sticker in exams. Where do I obtain a sticker for my scripts for in-person exams during the main exam periods?

Stickers are available to all students with the accommodation of “sticker, exams only” in their support plan. These stickers are added to an exam script and read “Wherever possible, this student should not be penalised for errors in spelling and punctuation, untidy handwriting, or clumsiness in English expression.”

For in-person, centrally scheduled exams, these stickers will be available at your exam venue. Invigilators know which students have this reasonable adjustment, so will hand the stickers to you at the end of your exam.

Please attach this sticker to the front of each answer book you have used, or your printed answers if you are working on a computer.

These stickers can only be used for in-person exams. They cannot be used for coursework, Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) exams or online exams. Each academic school sets marking criteria for coursework which is applied to all their students. Please check the criteria with your school. You are advised to use the coursework extension process to allow further time for editing and proofreading if needed. Full guidance is is available on the students with support plans webpage.

Our Specialist Study Support Tutors in Disability Support Services can advise on proofreading strategies and assistive software to help with correcting spelling, grammar and punctuation in coursework. Book an appointment with a Specialist Study Support Tutor.

Religious Observance

The university recognises religious observance in relation to exams, and you may submit a Religious Observance Form if this applies to you.

Please note, the form needs to be authorised by your personal tutor (or equivalent) and once completed, you should email this on to our Exams Office as well as back to your personal tutor. A copy should be kept by the school for possible in-house exams.

When should I fill out the form?

You should fill out the form as soon as you begin your studies. Your details will remain on record for the remainder of your time on your current programme of study.

If you are yet to complete the Religious Observance form, please note the following deadlines:

January 2025: Monday 4th November 2024

May/June 2025: Friday 28th February 2025

August 2025: Friday 27th June 2025

Do I have to fill out a form for every exam session/semester?

If you have already completed the Religious Observance Form, you are not required to fill out further forms each semester.

I’ve graduated from my degree and have enrolled on a second degree. Do I need to complete a new Religious Observance form?

Yes, any student returning to the university to undertake a second degree (e.g. postgraduate master’s) will need to complete a new Religious Observance Form relating to their current course.

Religious observance form

Is it always possible to take my request into account?

Unfortunately, it isn’t always possible to take requests into account.

Where it is not possible to take your request into account, and you have completed the Religious Observance form by the published deadline, you should contact your school’s exams officer for further advice. The school concerned may make the following alternative arrangements:

Setting an alternative exam paper for you to take on another day
Permitting you to take the exam as an alternative assessment candidate at either an earlier or later start time. This would be on the condition that you are able to provide a chaperone acceptable to the school, who will accompany the student in the intervening period
Setting an alternative form of assessment

In exceptional circumstances the school should consider offering you a deferral of your examination until the August/September resit period under the University’s Extenuating Circumstances Policy. You should raise a University of Nottingham Extenuating Circumstances claim by Student Enquiry Centre.

Information about extenuating circumstances can be found on the Extenuating Circumstances webpages.

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