Page content

Accessibility and Special Arrangements

  • Inclusive Assessment

    Where feasible, academic staff should aim to design accessible, flexible, non-biased methods of assessment that meet the needs of diverse learners including learners across cultures, and with varied physical and language abilities.

    Non-biased methods

    An assessment threshold should be gauged on achievement of the specified learning outcomes and should not be unduly influenced/weighted by any non-relevant knowledge, skills, or attributes. Additionally, assessment contexts should be equally familiar to all students, using plain language that conveys a common meaning for all students.

    Assessment briefs

    Assessment briefs and instructions must be simple, concise, clear, unambiguous and intuitive. All text and non-text items must be legible, using font size that can be viewed by persons with low vision.

    Inclusive assessment design

    Inclusive assessment design allows all students to meet the learning outcomes through various assessment options without the requirement of adjustments. This flexible design approach might include for example, a portfolio approach, a choice of options approach, or an approach negotiated between the student and member of staff (also see section 6.2).

    Alternative assessment

    Alternative assessment is where a different assessment task is offered to meet the specific needs of an individual student while meeting the same learning outcomes and assessment criteria. An example could be a video presentation rather than a live presentation to a group.

  • Contingent Assessment

    In accordance with SENDO (NI) 2005, the University also operates a contingent assessment approach that facilitates reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities. Student Wellbeing AccessAbility Advisers can make reasonable adjustment recommendations (RARs) based on the specific needs of students and will communicate these to Schools and Departments.

    RARs can include the following types of support:

    • Exam and assessment support
    • Teaching and learning support
    • Library support
    • Access considerations and physical adaptations
    • Support providers/additional study support
    • Assistive technology
  • Assessment Co-Design

    The Student Charter guides staff and students to:

    • Create and encourage collaborative learning opportunities through participation and interaction with staff and students
    • Support and develop a culture of continuous learning and high performance through effective partnership

    Course teams should aim, where possible, to include students as key stakeholders in assessment design. Transparency and open dialogue around assessment will help staff and students to share an understanding about the nature, purpose and process of assessment.

    Approaches to assessment co-design may involve collaborative design of assessment, student choice in assessment, student representation in the quality assurance of assessment, and transparency and shared dialogue around assessment practice to encourage learner engagement and self-regulation. Examples of assessment co-creation may include:

    • Assessment briefings that encourage peer to peer and staff to student dialogue around the nature of the task and the criteria
    • Peer and self-assessment
    • Student co-design of marking rubrics
    • Marking sample assessments
    • Choice between two or more equivalent assessments
    • Students designing a small proportion of exam questions (e.g. Peerwise)
    • Students designing their own artefact to meet the learning outcomes
    • Student stakeholder representation during course design/re-design
    • Effective Student representation mechanisms
    • Course team responding to student feedback on assessment (e.g., ‘you said, we did approach).

    Where students are to collaboratively design a proportion of examination questions, the examination answer plan must indicate:

    • the proportion of emergent questions that will be included in the plan
    • A rationale for their inclusion e.g., student questions selected due to highest relevance with examinable themes