Students with disabilities, specific learning differences like dyslexia and short-term conditions (eg broken limbs, pregnancy) can apply to the Disability and Dyslexia Service for Examination Access Arrangements (EAA).Applications for EAA must be accompanied by supporting evidence, such as diagnostic letter/report, JCQ8. If you are not sure if your evidence is sufficient please apply attaching what you have and we would be pleased to advise. QMUL is committed to becoming the "most inclusive university of its kind, anywhere" (QMUL Strategy 2030) and we will endeavor to support your application wherever possible.
Semester A (Jan 2025) Examinations: 29th November 2024
Semester B (Summer 2025) Examinations: 4th April 2025
To apply for exam access arrangements students should complete the application form (available via MySis) by the deadline(s) stated above. This is the latest date by which DDS can guarantee that exam access arrangements can be implemented for the end of semester/year examinations.
Applications can be made after this date, but it is possible that they will not be in place until the following examination period.
Please note: If you have in-class tests/assessments/exams then you must apply for Examination Access Arrangements at least two weeks before the assessment is due to take place.
Once the application has been received you may need to make an appointment with one of the Disability and Dyslexia Service’s advisers to discuss your requested recommendations. If you and the adviser agree on the recommendations, this information will be passed onto Registry who administer the end of semester/year exams. It will also be passed to your academic department in case you have any in-class tests or mid-term tests that would be affected by your request for examination access arrangements.
More information about examinations, including answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
More information about examinations, including answers to Frequently Asked Questions
MBBS StudentsYear 5 first sit (PSA): 17th January 2025Year 5 (re-sit): 14th April 2025
Years 1-4 1st sit: 14th April 2025
Years 1 & 2 (re-sit): 1st July 2025Years 3 & 4 (re-sit): 21st July 2025MSc PA Students25th July 2025
Other FMD Students
Semester A Examinations (Jan 2025): 29th November 2024
Semester B Examinations (Summer 2025): 4th April 2025
To apply for examination access arrangements Medicine and Dentistry students should complete the application form (available via Mysis) and provide relevant supporting evidence before the appropriate deadline.
The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry is able to make some reasonable adjustments in OSCES, such as printing scenarios on different coloured paper, enlarging font sizes or extra time. Queen Mary’s duty to make reasonable adjustments applies in relation to a provision, criterion or practice other than a competence standard (which is an academic, medical or other standard applied for the purpose of determining whether a person has a particular level of competence or ability). As such, reasonable adjustments such as additional time may not be be available for some OSCE stations or for certain elements within a station. This would be based upon the competence standards being assessed (where extra time is available this would be a maximum of 25%)
Students taking the final clinical exams in dentistry can request to circulate to the examiners the following document:
Guidelines for VIVA Examiners regarding students with Specific Learning Difficulties [PDF 32KB]
Please note that the Examination Access Arrangements (EAA) and Exceptional Circumstances Affecting Placements (ECAP) processes are different. As such, students who require Examination Access Arrangements and Exceptional Circumstances Affecting Placements need to apply for both separately. EAA applications are administered by the Disability and Dyslexia Service - please follow the details above. ECAP applications are administered by the School of Medicine and Dentistry. ECAP Forms and Guidance Notes are available via QMPlus, on your "Year". Students should contact the Student Office (Garrod Building) for more information.
Queen Mary has a responsibility under the Equality Act 2010 to accommodate the needs of pregnant students, who form one of the ‘protected characteristics’ covered by the legislation. Pregnant students should present a MATB1 certificate to confirm their pregnancy to the Disability and Dyslexia Service who will be then able to recommend the provision of 25 per cent additional time to compensate for the fact that they may need to leave the exam hall more frequently than their peers to use the bathroom. It is also advisable that pregnant students are sat near the door of the examination venue to minimise disruption to other students if and when they need to leave the exam room.
To apply for EAA you should log in to MySis. Navigate to the Disability and Dyslexia Service Page (within MySis) and click on the "Request Examination Access Arrangements" link. Complete and submit the form, attaching medical evidence as required. Please do check this page regularly as it contains information about current Examination Access Arrangements, and also has useful links to other documents you may have been provided with, such as your Specific Learning Differences cover sheet (for students with a Specific Learning Difference such as dyslexia), and Student Support Summary. You can also contact us to book an appointment from this page.
In summary:
If you have difficulties applying online or need an accessible document to complete offline please contact us directly.
There is a deadline for making an application for examination access arrangements to ensure that Registry have sufficient time to put all of the recommendations in place. This year QMUL have over 1000 students with examination access arrangements - these arrangements are bespoke, agreed on a student-by-student basis. Arrangements include everything from additional time to students using assistive software, to the provision of readers and amanuenses, or scribes. Making so many bespoke arrangements requires time to ensure that students can access the support that they need.
You can still apply for exam access arrangements, but there is no guarantee that they will be in place for that academic year’s examinations. If you feel you cannot take the examinations without examination access arrangements you can declare yourself not ‘fit to sit’ the exam and apply to QMUL's extenuating circumstances procedure.
Yes. All students declaring a disability are emailed from the Student Information System after enrolment has been completed in October to let them know about the Disability and Dyslexia Service, as well as the need to apply for examination access arrangements by the deadline.
We email everyone again in February to remind them – we also send an email to all students at QMUL to advise them that if they think that they need examination access arrangements they need to contact the Disability and Dyslexia Service. If you make sure that you check your QMUL email address regularly you will receive all of these reminders.
In the United Kingdom students with dyslexia typically receive 25% additional time in their examinations, which is the level recommended in the 1999 Working Party report into supporting dyslexic students within Higher Education. You can request more than this, but it is unlikely you will be recommended any more than 25%.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your request for examination access arrangements you can request for this decision to be reviewed.
To do so, you should complete and return this Examination Access Arrangements Review Form [DOC 557KB]. The form should be returned to the Disability and Dyslexia Service.
For more information about the review procedure please see QMUL’s Examination Access Arrangements Policy. [DOC 26KB] and Terms of Reference for Examination Access Arrangements Group [DOC 17KB].
Recommendations will usually be made for the lifetime of a student’s academic programme. The exceptions to this are where students request a review or amendment to their agreed recommendations or where a student has a temporary condition, such as a broken arm, that could reasonably be expected to recover from. In such cases the student would need to reapply the following academic year, if required.