Examination Adjustments
If you have a disability, chronic condition, or short-term injury or illness that means you require exam adjustments, please contact the Academic Office as soon as possible. You will need to provide evidence that your exam adjustments are needed, as detailed below. All exam adjustments are reviewed by the Examination and Assessment team, and we are happy to advise on appropriate evidence and make the application on your behalf.
If your adjustments include timetabling requests, we must make the application for adjustments before the end of Week 4 of Hilary Term. We recommend that all adjustment requests are made with as much time as possible before your exam. The Examination and Assessments team do not consider any adjustment requests made within five days of the exam.
The majority of our students with a disability or chronic condition register with the University’s Disability Advisory Service (DAS). Once you have agreed on your Student Support Plan, the College will receive a copy and will apply for exam adjustments on your behalf. We will email you once your adjustments have been approved.
If you require exam adjustments due to disability or chronic condition but have not yet registered with DAS, please contact the Academic Office. We will typically advise you to register with DAS, but can support with getting other evidence for exam adjustments as appropriate.
If you have a short-term injury (such as a broken arm) that means you cannot write your exams as expected, you have grounds to apply for exam adjustments. You will need to provide medical evidence that explicitly advocates for an appropriate exam adjustment. As this will vary on a case-by-case basis, please contact the Academic Office for more information.
There are a range of exam adjustments that may be appropriate. These include:
- Additional time to write or rest
- Sitting your exam in a small room in College, rather than at Exam Schools
- Later starts to exams that would otherwise start in the morning
- Typing an exam that would otherwise be handwritten
- Excusal from wearing subfusc (academic dress) during exams
Please note that any adjustments you had in place for your undergraduate exams, whether at Oxford or elsewhere, may not automatically be applied for your current course.
There are a wide range of different exam formats our students sit. To find out how your course will be assessed, we recommend that you consult your course handbook.
Due to the nature of exams in Oxford, we cannot request adjustments for 8-hour exams or 48-hour exams. If you have a 5-day exam, then the Examination and Assessments team treat that as an assignment, and the extension guidelines will apply if appropriate. If you have exams in this format and are concerned about this, please contact the Academic Office.