Under the terms of the Equality Act (2010) the University has a lawful duty towards disabled students. This includes a duty to make reasonable adjustments in order that students are not placed at a substantial disadvantage, in relation to the impact of disability on their studies or engagement with University services.
Which students are covered by the legal definition of disability?
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The legal definition of disability includes anyone with a physical or mental impairment, where that impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. This can, for example, include:
Specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia Mental health conditions, including social anxiety A visual or hearing impairment; autism and ADHD Long-term health conditions (such as diabetes, epilepsy or cancer) Physical and mobility difficulties. Further information about the Equality Act, and who it applies to, can be found on the GCU EDI webpages.
How will I know which of the students I teach are disabled?
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In many cases you won’t. But you may be the person to whom a student discloses.
The University invites students to formally disclose any disability at key points in their student journey, from application, to registration, and with regular reminders at induction and in module handbooks. When a formal disclosure is made, students are contacted by the Disability Service, and offered an opportunity to discuss their needs with a Disability Adviser. Those students, identified by the Disability Service as requiring reasonable adjustments to teaching or assessment methods will be identified in a RAP (Reasonable Adjustments Page).
However, only around 40% of all students who have formally disclosed a disability have a RAP. In addition, students are under no legal obligation to formally disclose their disability when invited, and may instead choose to disclose to any member of staff, at any point in their University journey. This may be in an email or discussion with a module or personal tutor, and may commonly occur when a student is struggling academically, or has missed classes or a deadline.
Our lawful duty towards a student begins when we could reasonably be expected to know of the student’s disability – that may mean from the point at which a student, who has not formally disclosed, mentions it to their module tutor.
Do we only have a duty to make reasonable adjustments once a student has a RAP?
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No, we have a duty as soon as we can reasonably be expected to know that a student is disabled, and is disadvantaged. RAPs are an administratively convenient way for GCU to communicate the needs of disabled students, but the absence of a RAP may not be a legal defence for the failure to make a reasonable adjustment.
A student has contacted me asking for an adjustment/extension for an upcoming assessment, related to the impact of their disability. They do not have a RAP. What should I do?
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You should signpost the student to the Disability Service to ensure that they are made aware of the full range of support available to them.
It may be, however, that the timing of the assessment means that the student will not be able to engage with the Disability Service ahead of this. In these situations, it is important to remember that the lawful duty to make reasonable adjustments exists, even when a RAP is not yet in place. Module Leads have the discretion to make one-off adjustments, which might include, for example, giving additional time for a class test, allowing the student to deliver a presentation to a smaller group, or offering an extension to a deadline.
Where a Module Lead is unsure of the best course of action, they should discuss this with their Programme Lead or Head of Department, and can also seek advice from the Disability Advisers or their ADC (Academic Disability Coordinator).
I have a student who has asked for an adjustment that is not included in their RAP. What should I do?
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There will be occasions where a student may require an adjustment that hasn’t been anticipated in a RAP. In these cases, you should refer the student back to the Disability Service for a review of their needs, so that this can be reflected in an updated RAP.
However, there will be situations that may be more time sensitive, where it is not practical to wait for an updated RAP to be made available. In such situations, where there is a clear rationale, Module Leads can, and should, consider making one-off adjustments (see above for examples).
If the nature of the request is complex, and a Module Lead is unsure how to proceed, they should discuss this with their Programme Lead or Head of Department, and can also seek advice from the Disability Advisers or their ADC (Academic Disability Coordinator).
How can academic staff seek clarification on, or question the appropriateness of, a recommendation in a RAP?
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The Disability Advisers are not experts in your academic programmes, and occasionally you may find that a recommended adjustment cannot be implemented, or that another adjustment would be more effective. In these cases, it is important that you discuss this with your Programme Lead or Head of Department, or seek advice/guidance from the Disability Advisers or your ADC (Academic Disability Co-ordinator) as appropriate.
When considering an adjustment to an assessment method (such as additional time, or a presentation to a smaller group), what is ‘reasonable’, and how do we ensure that academic standards are not compromised?
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The Equality Act does not require us to make an adjustment to a genuine competence standard, but recent case law has confirmed that learning outcomes and modes of assessment are seldom genuine competence standards. In most cases, a competence standard can be assessed by a range of different methods (indeed, inclusive teaching practice – universal design for learning - supports the provision of a choice of assessment methods for all students). Advance HE (formerly the Equality Challenge Unit) have published detailed guidance on the interaction between reasonable adjustments and competence standards on the interaction between reasonable adjustments and competence standards.
