Guide to alternative exam arrangements
Get alternative exam arrangements (AEAs) for your exams or timed assessments, find out how to check your arrangements are in place, and what to do if you need to make changes.
If you are at a disadvantage due to a disability, health condition or specific learning difficulty, tell us, so we can make recommendations to the way you are assessed. These are known as alternative exam arrangements.
Deadline to request alternative exam arrangements
To get alternative exam arrangements, request a study support plan and provide relevant evidence before the deadline for each assessment period.
- January assessment period: The deadline is 11:59 pm (UK time) on Thursday 9 November 2023.
- Summer assessment period: The deadline is 11:59 pm (UK time) on Sunday 10 March 2024.
- Reassessment (resit) period: The deadline is 11:59 pm (UK time) on Thursday 4 July 2024.
If you miss the deadlines, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to have exam adjustments for the upcoming exam period. Review your assessment support options.
Check your exam timetable
If alternative exam arrangements have been agreed, you will see a confirmation at the top of your exam timetable. This will not detail all arrangements but it will confirm if any should be in place.
If you have extra time or use of a PC, you may see a different exam duration or a different room to your peers.
Other arrangements will be confirmed by email.
Changing your alternative exam arrangements
Contact us if you have any questions about your study support plan and the arrangements it recommends.
You must request any changes that you need for the next exam period before the deadline for that period so that your study support plan can be updated in time.
Problems during your exam
Find out what to do if you experience a problem on the day.
You may need to submit exceptional circumstances if:
- you did not receive the AEAs specified in your study support plan
- you were unable to get a study support plan in place in time for the exams deadline as you were waiting to get evidence (e.g. waiting for a doctor’s appointment).
You can receive independent advice from the Students’ Union Academic Advice team
Types of alternative arrangements
Some exams are run within your school, such as OSCE's, spot exams, mock exams, mid-session exams and any exams outside the main assessment periods.
Speak to your School Disability Coordinator (SDC) or the tutor in charge of the module being assessed to discuss what arrangements you will have for these exams or how your study support plan might apply to these assessments. Your SDC will have a copy of your study support plan.
These arrangements apply to exams organised by the Exams Office, scheduled during the university assessment periods.
Extra time
Exams
The amount of extra time you will have is recorded in your study support plan.
Invigilators will be aware of your extra time provision and will keep track to ensure students are given the correct amount of additional time.
Students do not have to take the full amount of extra time if this is not required. However, please note that no student may leave the exam venue in the last 15 minutes of their scheduled exam duration.
If you have extra time you will not be in the main exam hall.
If you have other arrangements, such as rest breaks, or your study support plan specifies a smaller size venue, this will vary.
If your exam is online, your extra time will be added to the length of your exam.
Timed assessments
If you have extra time, you will have one additional day to complete your timed assessment.
This means that a 4-day long timed assessment will become a 5-day long timed assessment, for example.
Your school should tell you how much time you should spend on the exam, and you add your extra time to that amount. For example, if they said to spend 3 hours on the exam then, with 25% extra time, that would be 3 hours 45 min. With 50% extra time you should plan to spend 4.5 hours on the exam.
Computer
Exams
For on-campus exams, you will be assigned a room with a with a computer, usually a desktop computer, which will appear in your timetable.
You will have a paper copy of the exam question booklet and you will have a paper transcript. You can choose to use these to handwrite instead, if you do not want to type the exam on the day.
You will have access to Microsoft Word to type your responses. You will not have access to any other applications or software. You will not have access to the internet.
If you are permitted to use a calculator for the exam, you should bring an approved calculator with you (see What to take to the exam for more information). You will not be able to use the calculator on the computer.
For some maths-based exams, you might not be timetabled into a computer room. Check with your School or the Exams Office if you are not sure whether you will have a computer for maths exams.
If your exam is online and remote, you will be expected to use your own computer.
Timed assessments
You will be expected to use your own computer.
You are permitted to use any DSAs awarded assistive software for these assessments.
Rest breaks
Exams
Rest breaks are ‘stop-the-clock’ breaks. This means that the exam is paused while you take a break. The amount of time you will have, per hour, is recorded in your study support plan.
You should indicate to the invigilator when you are ready to take a break by raising your hand. If you are in a sole venue, you may indicate your breaks by speaking to the invigilator. You do not need to take the whole time allocated for your break all at once. The invigilator will keep track of how much of your break you have used and adjust the end time of your exam accordingly.
You are not permitted to work during your rest break. If you take your break at your desk, the invigilator will remove your exam paper for the duration of the break.
Students may alternatively take their break outside the examination room and an invigilator will accompany you.
If you will need to use the toilet, take medicines or check your blood sugar during your break you may wish to alert the invigilator before the exam starts.
If you need to bring medical devices you should ensure that this is recorded on your study support plan.
Smoking during breaks is not permitted.
Online exams
If your exam is online, your rest break allowance will be added to your total exam time. You will need to self-manage your breaks and take note of how much break time you have used.
If your exam is online and your department use proctoring software, you should announce the start and end of each break time out loud.
Your should contact your School if you require more information on how proctoring software will be used.
Timed assessments
If you have rest breaks, you will have one additional day to complete your timed assessment.
This means that a 4-day long timed assessment will become a 5-day long timed assessment, for example.
Toilet breaks
If you will need regular toilet breaks due to a health condition or disability, or so that you can administer insulin or medicines in private, you should request stop-the-clock rest breaks in your study support plan. See information about rest breaks, above.
An invigilator will escort you to the toilet facilities.
If a student is taking a bathroom break, which is not part of a supervised rest break, then no additional time will be permitted to go to the bathroom.
Bringing items
You are permitted to bring anything that is already approved, such as water in an unlabelled, transparent bottle.
If you need to bring other items, such as back supports, cushions or ergonomic supports you should ensure that this is recorded in your study support plan. If it is not, please contact Disability Services and request an updated study support plan.
Items not listed in your study support plan (or not already permitted according to the Exam Regulations) may be in breach of exam rules.
If you need to bring medication to your exam, please ensure that you bring it in clear packaging. Any cardboard packaging, notes or information leaflets should be left in your bag.
Food and drink
Water is permitted. This should be in an unlabelled, transparent bottle.
Food is only permitted if it has been requested as part of your study support plan (for example, if you are diabetic and need to manage your blood sugar).
It is recommended that the food is quiet to eat and unlabelled, such as fruit. You should avoid common allergens such as nuts and minimise disruption to other students.
Exam support workers: readers, scribes, prompters
Exams
If you have a reader, scribe or prompt, they will meet you at the examination venue. They will arrive 15 minutes before your exam.
Exam support workers will be guided by you. You may choose to use their support extensively, or only a little. They are there to support you.
They cannot make suggestions or proofread your work for you. Your work must still be your own.
- A reader can:
- read the exam questions aloud to you
- repeat any questions, at your request, as many times as you need
- read sections of your own work aloud to you, at your request
- A reader cannot:
- reword or reinterpret the question for you
- prompt you with ideas for the content of your answers or correct your work
- A scribe can:
- write for you what you dictate to them, exactly as you dictate it
- write any punctuation that you stipulate
- read back what has been written, if requested, and make any changes you request
- draw or add to diagrams, strictly in accordance with your instructions
- A scribe cannot:
- reword, reinterpret or proofread your work.
- correct your work.
- be expected to know the spellings of specialist or technical terms. They will ask you how to spell any technical words.
- A prompter can:
- prompt you to move on if you are stuck on a question or appear to be focusing too much on one question and not moving on.
- prompt you to return to the exam if it appears that you have lost focus
- give time prompts.
We may not always be able to provide exam support workers for online exams that you complete at home.
Students who have DSAs awarded software may sometimes be able to use this in an 'at home' exam:
- text-to-speech software can be used in place of a Reader
- dictation (speech-to-text) software can be used in place of a scribe.
- use of timers can help in the absence of a Prompter.
You should check with you school whether you will be permitted to use DSA funded software in your online/at home exam.
If you believe you will need a support worker and your exam is an online exam, please contact Disability Services.
Timed assessments
Due to the flexible nature of timed assessments (you choose when it is best for you to complete the exam) we are not usually able to provide exam support workers.
Students’ who have DSAs awarded software may choose to use:
- text-to-speech software can be used in place of a reader
- dictation (speech-to-text) software can be used in place of a scribe.
- timers that can help in the absence of a prompter.
If you believe you will need a support worker and your exam is a timed assessment, contact Disability Services to discuss this.