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Exam provisions

If you think you’re likely to be disadvantaged by a disability and/or ongoing health condition in your examinations, we can facilitate an application for exam provisions e.g. extra time.

Exam provisions aim to minimise or eliminate the impact of the disability and/or health condition while maintaining academic standards. 

Depending on your circumstances, exam provisions can be arranged:

  • on a temporary basis (for one session/year), or
  • permanently, for the duration of your degree. 

Please note:

How to apply

  • Register with the Accessibility Service: To apply for exam conditions you must be registered with the Accessibility Service and provide specific supporting documentation regarding the impact of your disability / health condition in exams.
  • Appointment:  You must make an appointment with an Accessibility Consultant (AC) to discuss your needs and complete the Learning and Assessment Arrangements Form (LAAF) (PDF 100kB).  The LAAF is the approval of exam provisions for centrally conducted and faculty-based exams. Your AC will consult with you about your needs and make a recommendation for exam provisions. Your AC will send your LAAF to your ALO for consideration/approval. View the list of ALOs.
  • Timeframe: Learning and Assessment Arrangements Forms have closing dates for the examination period, which are published via Student Administration Unit: Examinations.

To ensure that you make your application on time, it’s best to make an appointment with an AC during the first week of session or by the census date at the latest. It’s important to notify your AC immediately if your circumstances change and you need to change your exam provisions in order to receive advice on the options available to you.

If you are unable to meet the application deadline, late applications can be arranged under extenuating circumstances, such as:

  • Your disability / medical condition / injury occurred after the closing date.
  • Your disability / medical condition / injury changes after the closing date.
  • You have other extenuating circumstances that impacted on making your application by the closing date.

If you have circumstances that occur or change after the extended closing date, including disability/injury related requests, please contact the Accessibility Service (Accessibility@uts.edu.au), and we can advise on the options available for your situation.

Examinations for late applications are scheduled during the Alternative Examination period. View My Student Admin for the examination timetable.

The approval process

  • Following consultation with you, the Accessibility Consultant will write a recommendation to the Academic Liaison Officer (ALO) for your faculty.
  • The ALO is responsible for approving assessment arrangements in examinations via your Access Plan. 
  • You can view your approval of exam provision applications from Access.

Implementation of exam provisions

At UTS there are two different types of exams (outlined below). It’s important for you to understand these exam types as your exam provisions are implemented differently depending on whether the exam is centrally conducted or faculty-based.

  • Centrally conducted exams are held during the formal examination period at the end of the teaching session. Centrally conducted exams are managed by Student Administration: Examinations.
  • Faculty-based exams are any in-class exams, quizzes or tests facilitated by your Faculty e.g. Tutor, Lecturer or Subject Coordinator.  If your exam is scheduled during the session teaching period, it is a faculty-based exam.

Centrally conducted examinations

  • If your ALO has approved your exam provisions, these will be provided for any centrally conducted exams. You will not need to confirm these arrangements with your AC or ALO.
  • Your exam timetable is published via My Student Admin.
  • When your timetable is released via MSA it will have scheduled your approved exam provisions.

Faculty based examinations

  • If you need to request your exam provisions to be implemented for any faculty-based exams (including quizzes or tests), please make your request in Access by the census date or at least two weeks prior to the exam date.  The faculty-based exam request is to implement your exam provisions, approved in your Access Plan.
  • Before making your request please check your subject outlines for the details about the exam/quiz and format and consider whether you need all or only some of your exam provisions e.g. if you have a laptop as an approved exam provision and the format of the exam is multiple choice, you may not need the laptop for this particular exam.

Please Note:

  • Your Tutors, Lecturers or Subject Coordinators are not automatically aware of your approved exam provisions and rely on your faculty-based exam application to initiate organisation for exam provisions.
  • As faculty-based exams are conducted by your Faculty, if you need exam provisions implemented for faculty-based exams, you need to make a request for each exam/quiz.
  • Contact your Accessibility Consultant if you need assistance in making or confirming your request.
  • Your Accessibility Consultant will verify your exam provisions to your Subject Coordinator to request your exam provisions.
  • At least one week prior to the faculty-based exam it is your responsibility to check in with the Academic running the exam to confirm that your provisions are in place.