Disability support and inclusion
Learner Adjustment Plans
We are committed to providing an inclusive experience for everyone who studies at the University. Adjustments may be made to support you on your course.
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You can discuss any concerns you have with your Academic Tutor, Module Tutor, Course/Programme Lead or a Disability Practitioner. We will work together to find a solution which works for you.
Examples of learning support adjustments include:
- Examination adjustments
- Assignment Deadline Extensions
- Recommendations to your lecturers about how information is provided to you
- Recommendations for adjustments to your teaching environment or placements
Learner Adjustment Plan (LAP)
The LAP is created in collaboration with you, your School and our Disability and Inclusion Team. Your LAP contains recommendations for how School staff support you as a disabled student – in other words, it explains what ‘reasonable adjustments’ we recommend that your School and Professional Services should put in place to enable you to access your course.
The primary goal of the support recommended in the LAP is to remove/reduce any disadvantages you might encounter while studying due to your disability.
Our aim is to create an equitable environment that levels the playing field for all students, ensuring equal opportunities without granting any undue advantage.
Legal obligations
The Equality Act states that a person has a disability if they ‘have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on [their] ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.
It is unlawful, under this Act, to:
- Discriminate (directly or indirectly) against disabled students
- Harass or victimise disabled students
In addition, the University has a statutory duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled students where a provision, criterion or practice puts disabled students at a substantial disadvantage compared to those who are not disabled. The ‘reasonable adjustment’ may be to remove or alter the provision, criteria, or practice or to provide an auxiliary aid or service to the disabled student to remove or reduce the disadvantage.
‘Reasonable adjustments’ apply not only to physical features such as doors and stairs but also to learning, teaching and assessment methods. However, there is no requirement to make ‘reasonable adjustment’ to the application of competence standards or to academic or other prescribed standards.
Confidentiality
By agreeing to have an LAP, you are consenting to the adjustments being communicated to the relevant teams to action. More information about data storage and sharing can be found on the Disability declaration information page.
Recommended support from your LAP
The recommendations in the LAP report are just that – recommendations.
The Disability Support and Inclusion Team is making these recommendations to your School to explain what the School should do to remove or reduce any disadvantage that you may experience as a disabled student. While it is expected that School staff will make every effort to put this support in place, there may be occasions where elements of the support may not be possible or may conflict with assessment criteria and/or competencies to be demonstrated.
If this is the case, this will normally be explained to you by the relevant tutor in your School, and they will explore with you other ways of ensuring that you can access your course.
Sometimes, Schools may also have other ways to meet your support requirements. For example, some of the recommendations in your LAP might already be complied with by current good practice for all students in inclusive teaching, learning and assessment methods on your programme. Where this is the case, some of the recommendations in your LAP report might not be necessary.
If examination adjustments have been recommended in your LAP, the Disability Support and Inclusion Team will communicate these to the Assessment team on your behalf. If reasonable adjustments have been approved, you will be able to view these on your personalised timetable on E:Vision.
More information about examinations adjustments, including the deadlines the Assessment team need to receive these by can be found on the Exam Arrangements Webpage.
Deadline extensions can be useful in the short-term, however, using extensions for every assignment can take time from the next module, causing a backlog of work which can impact on progression through the course. Where possible, students with a LAP are encouraged to complete their work within the standard timeframes.
However, the University recognises that disabilities can impact a student’s ability to manage their studies and submit their work within a timeframe which adequately demonstrates their knowledge and ability. Through the LAP, students may be granted a deadline extension to their assessments.
LAP deadline extensions are generally applicable for written assessments. They are not suitable for the following types of assessment:
- School and Central Examinations
- Practical Examinations
- Timed Assessments longer than 24 hours
- Clinical Assessments
- Live Presentations
- Vivas
- Group work
If deadline extensions have been recommended in your LAP, these will be communicated to the Programme Administration and Support Service (PASS) team, who will apply these to relevant assessments on Moodle. You will be notified by the PASS team if there is a reason these cannot be applied to a written assignment, or if you need a different length extension than the one recommended in your LAP (due to it clashing with another course activity).
You will be able to view your adjusted assignment submission dates on E:Vision and will be given access to the submission link on Moodle. A separate submission link will be visible alongside the original submission link, allowing you to submit your work to either the original submission link if you don't wish to use your extension, or the extended submission link if you do. Information on how to submit your assessments to Moodle can be found on the Exams and Assessment webpage.
We strongly recommend meeting with your tutor once you have your assessment schedule, to discuss how to best use your additional time and to space out your assessments when necessary. The Study Development Team can also support you to further develop study strategies around managing multiple deadlines and commitments. You can find out more information about this service on the Study Development webpage.
Recording taught sessions is considered a reasonable adjustment in situations where other students are expected to make written notes. It is important to remember that audio recording is to substitute and support your note-taking, therefore there are likely times that it is not suitable for any students to make notes of any kind, such as classes that involve a great deal of self-disclosure, personal reflection, or confidential discussions from students or presenters as part of the class.
In these instances, the lecturer should make a general announcement to the class and ask all students to stop note-taking in addition to turning off any recording devices.
You are encouraged to approach the lecturer, out of courtesy, and ask permission to record a lecture.
Use of audio recording is subject to the following conditions:
- Recordings of class lectures are only for your personal use in study and preparation related to the class.
- You may not share these recordings with any other person, whether or not that person is in your class.
- You agree to destroy any recordings that were made when they are no longer needed for your academic work.
You have a responsibility to attend all scheduled learning sessions. Asking someone else to record a lecture is not a substitute for attendance at and engagement with teaching sessions.
Your responsibilities
As an independent adult learner, it is very important that you take responsibility for your own learning and also for helping School staff and other University staff to support you effectively. You need to be proactive in accessing support and communicating your needs with academic and support staff. It is certainly our experience that support is more effective when all parties take responsibility and work together.
If you feel that your School-based support package is not working, you should contact your academic tutor to discuss your concerns in the first instance. After that, if you feel that it is still not working, you should contact the Disability Support and Inclusion Team to discuss your concerns.
Managing changes
During your course, you may be contacted by the Disability Support and Inclusion Team to check how your support is going and to ask you whether you feel it would be useful to meet to review your LAP.
However, you do not need to wait for us to contact you. If at any time you feel that your support needs have changed, or your LAP needs to be reviewed, you should contact Disability Support and Inclusion Team to arrange an appointment for this purpose.
Your LAP might also be reviewed at other times. For example, if you are waiting for a Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) Assessment of Needs report, and this was not received at the time of agreeing your LAP, then your LAP might be reviewed once your DSA Assessment of Needs report is available to ensure you are getting all the support you require.
Exceptional Circumstances Policy and LAP Extensions
In addition to the LAP extension, students can submit a claim to their School for ‘unforeseen exceptional circumstances‘ which have seriously impacted on their academic performance. These extensions must be applied for in advance of the assessment submission deadline. This would be relevant if, for example you are experiencing a significant acute illness or a serious personal trauma and require an extension. The circumstances would normally be unforeseen and unpreventable.
The exceptional circumstances claim should not usually be used for a disability for which you have an LAP in place. In that situation your disability support requirements would normally be foreseeable and other types of support will have been put in place for you. However, you could submit a claim if there has been a significant delay, beyond your control in putting in place your adjustments, or where there was an unforeseen and significant flare-up or deterioration in a condition (for which medical evidence would be required) or where a disability had been previously undiagnosed. You can find more information about the Exceptional Circumstances process on the Exceptional circumstances page.
Please note, the longest possible extension on an assessment is 3 weeks before it becomes a deferral. Therefore, if you use Exceptional Circumstances and LAP Extensions to extend longer than 3 weeks, it will be deferred to the next assessment period.
Further support
If you have any questions about the Learner Adjustment Plan, please contact the Disability Support and Inclusion Team.
Email: Disabilityadvice@yorksj.ac.uk
Tel: 01904 876 540
Disclosing a disability to York St John University opens up much needed opportunities for support and can even give you more confidence. I discovered this when I was allocated a specialist tutor. My tutor helped me to get my ideas down on paper through using spider diagrams and also taught me how to improve my study habits, as well as how to improve my writing skills. I found this really useful and it helped me to lower my anxiety about writing.
— Sarah, History and American Studies graduate
