Personalised and emergency exam arrangements

Please note that it is your responsibility to tell us you need extra support – doing so by the deadline enables us to make appropriate arrangements for you.

There are 2 types of exam arrangements that we can put in place for you - these are called ‘Complex’ and ‘Less Complex’.

‘Complex’ arrangements affect the scheduling of an exam, for example: you can only sit exams in the afternoon; you cannot sit exams after 4 pm; you have more than 50% additional time (which means your exams will need to be scheduled in the morning); you can only sit one exam per day; or you cannot sit exams on consecutive days.

‘Less complex’ arrangements include: up to 50% additional time; allocated rest/toilet breaks; or any kind of modifications to the exam question paper.

How to tell us you need personalised exam arrangements: 

• Let your School know AND 
• Let Disability Support and Inclusion team know so that your needs can be assessed: support.dsi@keele.ac.uk or +44(0)1782 734481. If you already have a needs assessment, ensure that your report with exam recommendations is passed to Disability Support and Inclusion as soon as possible.

Deadlines to tell us:

If you need ‘complex’ arrangements:

If you need ‘less complex’ arrangements:

If your exam does not fall within one of the end of semester examination periods, then the deadline for informing us if you require extra support in your examinations is 4 weeks before the date of your exam. 

What happens next? 

• If you've completed your needs assessment with Disability Support and Inclusion services and it has been agreed you require certain adjustments when sitting your University exams, the details of the support you require will be shared with the Exams Team and your School. They will ensure that your adjustments are in place and that everything you need is available for you to sit your exam. 
• The requirements of each student will be different and we will make your adjustments based upon the recommendations contained in your needs assessment. 
• Please note that if you have already informed us of a disability, you can review your exam arrangements via the Keele Learning Environment (KLE) (log into Student Services, click on the “Exams” tab, then select “Exam Arrangements”).

If you are unwell or are experiencing a short-term disability during an exam period and require modified arrangements, please let us know as soon as possible.

How to tell us:

If you are feeling unwell:

• Inform your School 

If you have a short-term disability, such as a broken limb:

• Inform your School AND
• Inform Disability Support and Inclusion: support.dsi@keele.ac.uk or +44(0)1782 734481 – the team will assess your short-term disability and make arrangements for you.

What happens next?

It is important to note that you must have evidence of your disability or illness in order for personalised exam arrangements to be authorised.

Or, if you are unwell on the day of your exam itself…

How to tell us:

Contact your School and let them know.

What happens next?

If you feel that your performance in the exam has been adversely affected then you can submit an application for exceptional circumstances. You can find guidance on exceptional circumstances.

We respect the rights and religious views of our students, and so please do tell us by the deadline if you are unable to attend exams for religious reasons – such as on a sabbath, holy day or religious festival.

How to tell us:

• Complete the religious observance form

Deadlines:

If your exam does not fall within one of the end of semester examination periods, then the deadline for informing us of your religious commitments is 4 weeks before the date of your exam.

What happens next?

The University will make every effort to avoid arranging exams on a sabbath or holy day for those students who have informed the Exams office as required.

However, please do be aware that it can be very difficult to arrange this in practice; we have to schedule a large number of exams involving many thousands of students over a limited number of days, and while we will do our best, it may not always be possible to avoid these dates/times, especially where the exam is not of a standard duration and is due to take place over a number of hours, e.g. 24 hour take home exams. The University reserves the right to hold exams on such days if no alternative time is convenient.

In the Faculty of Health, the majority of exams have a pre-determined date/time, which means that they cannot be re-scheduled. If your exam falls into this category, you will be permitted to leave the exam venue at the set time required for you to complete your religious observance. You will be accompanied by an Invigilator, who will make a note of the time taken. Upon your return to the exam venue, the total time taken outside of the exam venue will be added back onto the end of your allocated exam time. Please complete the religious observance form so that we can put these arrangements in place for you.

We are committed to supporting students with commitments as a student parent or carer. We want to ensure that you can make the most of the opportunities available at Keele whilst balancing University life with your caring responsibilities.

How to tell us:

If due to caring responsibilities, you are unable to attend University exams on a particular day of the week, or at a certain time of day, please complete the below form before the deadline.

• Complete the caring responsibilities form

Please do be aware that we can only consider requests from students who have already made their caring responsibilities known to Student Services. Find out more about support for student carers or get in touch with us to discuss: student.services@keele.ac.uk or +44(0)1782 734481.

Deadlines:

If your exam does not fall within one of the end of semester examination periods, then the deadline for informing us of your caring responsibilities is 4 weeks before the date of your exam.

What happens next?

The University will make every effort to avoid arranging exams on the dates/times requested by all eligible students to the Exams Office in accordance with the above deadlines.

However, please do be aware that it can be very difficult to arrange this in practice; we have to schedule a large number of exams involving many thousands of students over a limited number of days, and while we will do our best, it may not always be possible to avoid these dates/times, especially where an exam is not of a standard duration and is due to take place over a number of hours, e.g. 24 hour take home exams.  The University reserves the right to hold exams on such days if no alternative time is convenient.

Sometimes an unforeseen situation can arise in the weeks/days leading up to the examination periods, which would make it difficult for a student to complete their examinations to the best of their abilities, should this need arise then the University may be able to provide emergency examination arrangements, on a case by case basis.

Students that require emergency examination arrangements should contact Disability Support and Inclusion services by email: support.dsi@keele.ac.uk or telephone: 01782 734481, as soon as they become aware of any kind of problem that will affect their performance in an examination. Disability Support and Inclusion services will assess the needs of the student and the evidence provided; they will then advise your School as to the most feasible and appropriate adjustments that can be put in place to help the student sit their examination(s).

Long term disabilities and previously known conditions are not classed as ‘emergency’ and students should apply to Disability Support and Inclusion services for examination support by the published deadlines. Please see the 'disability and long-term health conditions' tab for more information.