Alternative assessments
Guidance around alternative assessments, why they exist and what the process is for arranging them.
Introduction
Higher Education Providers are expected to provide their students with an inclusive learning environment.
‘The learning environment should be as inclusive as possible, so that the need for individual interventions is the exception, not the rule. Institutions should engage in a continual improvement cycle that develops inclusive practice, with the aim of reducing the number of individual interventions required.’ ‘We expect institutions to strive to provide the best possible support for all their students, including their body of disabled students, to continue to remove or reduce the need for individual support through DSAs.’ (DSA Guidance, 2016/17)
The Institute for Employment Studies published a report in 2017 that champions the development of inclusive teaching approaches to support disabled students. Specifically, it makes repeated mention of alternative assessments as one example of an inclusive approach and recommends that institutions promote greater use of them. (Institute for Employment Studies, 2017)
This guide has been produced to make the process for requesting and agreeing on a potential alternative assessment transparent to both the student and their School or Institute.