UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION ISSUES OF DISABLED STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Ulrike Quapp, Klaus Holschemacher
Pages: 67-73
Published: 4 Oct 2021
Views: 596
Downloads: 45
Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic forced universities to offer distance learning and off-site examinations to reduce the risk of infection for students and staff. Due to the distance regulations and hygienic requirements, alternative examination types and the adaption of examination procedures have become necessary. For disabled students, studying is quite challenging enough in normal times. Under the pandemic, the changed examination conditions, for them are expected to be much more demanding. With this paper, the authors analyze if disabled students really have disadvantages in the current examination situation. Universities normally offer compensation of disadvantages in examination procedures to disabled students. Compensation may result in individualized test situations or offering alternative examination types, such as computer aided examinations instead of hand written tests or distance to other examination candidates by using separate examination rooms. That measures shall guarantee an equal treatment of all examinees. In Germany, pandemic-based distance regulations and hygienic requirements resulted in a replace of on-site examinations by online tests and unsupervised examinations such as “take-home exams”. These changes in the universities’ examination process let the question arise whether general principles of compensation of disadvantages can be applied in pandemic situations without any modification. The paper gives an overview about the general principles of compensation of disadvantages in university examinations. The authors analyze the current pandemic situation and its influence on examination procedures. They examine whether compensation principles are applicable to alternative and innovative examinations and the current examination situation at universities. Conclusion is that universities, in every individual case, have to check carefully if the previous compensation measures still ensure an equal treatment of all examinees under the pandemic conditions.
Keywords: university examinations, disabled students, covid-19 pandemic
Cite this article: Ulrike Quapp, Klaus Holschemacher. UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION ISSUES OF DISABLED STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. Journal of International Scientific Publications: Educational Alternatives 19, 67-73 (2021). https://www.scientific-publications.net/en/article/1002289/
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