FAQ for Teachers
Definitions and Importance
The law requires “reasonable” accommodations. Reasonable Accommodations are any measures taken in order to provide equal opportunities for students with disabilities, such as providing aids for lectures, accessible facilities or services on campus to meet the needs of the individuals. Usually, an assessment from medical professionals or educational psychologists will help to determine what adjustments are necessary. Reasonable Accommodations help to overcome barriers faced by students with SEN.
Yes, under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, educational institutions are obligated to provide reasonable accommodations in their programmes and campus environment to enable equal learning opportunities.
- Academic accommodations
- Academic adjustments
- Learning alternations
- Special learning arrangements
They are all the same. Learning and academic matters include exams, tests, coursework, assignments, etc.
Eligibility and Notification
If a student is registered with HKBU as a student with SEN and is eligible for special academic accommodations, the Academic Registry will send an email to all instructors specifying the details. The email is usually sent soon after the add/drop period of each semester.
Due to privacy, the disability of a student will not be disclosed without the consent of the student. The instructor may invite the student for an individual meeting to learn more about his/her needs and offer appropriate support. When interacting with a student, what truly matters is not the type of SEN, but the behaviours of concern. While identifying the type of SEN can foster empathy and understanding of the root causes of different behaviours, it does little to address the management of behavioural challenges. Our goal in advising is to raise awareness of these behaviours of concern and provide constructive guidance to promote positive behaviour. By focusing on practical strategies and support, we can empower students to overcome challenges and thrive during their time in university.
You may invite the student for an individual meeting and share with him/her your observation of the challenges s/he may be facing. If the student expressed that s/he has a disability and s/he will benefit from having special examination accommodations, encourage him/her to declare his/her SEN with the Academic Registry and reach out to USSEN for support. If the student suspects that s/he faces difficulties related to an undiagnosed disability, he/she can contact USSEN to discuss the concerns. A referral to other assessment services may be provided when deemed appropriate.
Scenarios and Procedures
Advise the student to go to the Academic Registry (AR) to declare their SEN status for any academic accommodations. Only AR can arrange academic accommodations for FINAL examinations; all requests must go through AR.
For coursework, instructors may exercise discretion if the requests are reasonable. The instructor may ask for a medical note if necessary. For example, it is a reasonable request if a student with dyslexia requests to type an in-class assignment instead of handwriting it, but it would be unreasonable for a student to ask to be exempted from the assignment.
- Yes, It would be ideal if you could provide the same exam accommodations for the tests/ coursework of your course to students in need.
- If after putting in efforts to arrange, but still the accommodations cannot be made for tests, e.g. a separate room or an invigilator is not available, the course instructor is encouraged to communicate the reasons with the student. Communicating the reasons will help the students understand the possible challenge the instructor faces when coordinating the resources.
- For the final examination, the student should submit a new recommendation from medical professionals to AR.
- Other than the final exam, the course instructor may exercise discretion if the requests are reasonable. The instructor may ask for a medical note if necessary. For example, it may be reasonable for a student with dyslexia to request to type an in-class assignment instead of handwriting it, but it would be unreasonable for a student to ask to be exempted from the assignment.
The email specifies the examination and/or learning accommodations of the student registered with SEN. While the Academic Registry is responsible for the provision of the examination arrangements, course instructors are to implement the class arrangements whenever possible. When in doubt about certain class arrangements, please directly communicate with the student to discuss the feasibility or any alternatives if necessary.
Fairness and Best Practice
Yes, it is considered fair. According to the principle of equal opportunities, educational institutions should ensure that their assessment mechanism are fair to all students, including students with SEN. Compared to other students, students with SEN, due to their functional impairments, are affected to a certain extent in demonstrating their abilities during examinations. Under these circumstances, the university needs to provide them with special examination arrangements to ensure that they are equitably assessed. Providing special academic accommodation is generally considered fair, as it aims to create equal opportunities for all students to demonstrate their knowledge and abilities.
- Extra time allowance
- Breaks during examinations
- Special seating
- Examinations in a special room or a separate room
- Allow for the use of special equipment and technological aids
- Different formats or substitution of assessment
- Enlarged word size on question papers
- Braille question papers
Click here to learn more about each SEN type.