Many students with health conditions – this can be a disability, a chronic or mental illness – find it very difficult to approach you. You can facilitate the initial contact by announcing it in your courses at the beginning of each semester:
“If any of you have a health condition that requires support, please contact me after the course or during my office hours, or talk to the or the Student Disabilities Officer, Dr Ulrike Bunge, ulrike.bunge@uni-passau.de.”
Please feel free to use our presentation template.
Academic adjustments, including exam access arrangements, are measures that are intended to compensate for difficulties in the course of studies and examinations due to impairments. They are organised on an individual and situation-specific basis and are not the same for everybody. Academic adjustments/access arrangements do not make courses or examinations easier in terms of their content or requirements. The requirements set out in the study and examination regulations remain unchanged. For example, no assessment requirements may be waived without alternative work, nor can the marking scale be changed.
In order to determine appropriate measures, the individual impairments and their effects on the specific study and examination conditions must always be considered. It is therefore not possible to make general specifications for academic adjustments necessitated by certain illnesses. However, under the descriptions of various impairments you will find suggestions for academic adjustments in the case of certain disabilities and illnesses.
Please feel free to refer students to the University of Passau’s Student Disabilities Officer, who also advises lecturers:
All students with a disability, chronic or mental illness that is likely to last longer than six months and whose health impairment has an aggravating effect on the examinations or studies can apply for academic adjustments.
The disability, chronic or mental illness must be documented by a medical certificate or an expert opinion from a psychological psychotherapist.
If students contact you with a notification from the Examinations Office about an approved academic adjustments, please ensure that the measures mentioned there, e.g. a separate room or a time extension, are implemented.
Students have the right to have their illness or disability compensated for by the measures listed in the notification in order to enable them to study with equal opportunities. If you have any questions or need help, please contact the Counselling centre for students with disabilities and chronic illnesses.
Mobility impairments are usually recognisable at first glance and are therefore the most present in society's consciousness. These include damage to the musculoskeletal system such as paralysis, deformities and loss of limbs, as well as neurological, muscle and joint diseases. Mobility impairments often require the use of mobility aids such as wheelchairs, walking aids or prostheses.
Mobility impairments can make everyday study life considerably more difficult. Permanent therapies (e.g. physiotherapy) take up a lot of time. Even if the senses of perception are not affected, restricted mobility can have an impact on social interaction, e.g. the ability to turn towards others, and thus hinder participation in conversational situations. In addition, more time is needed for most activities, e.g. for writing, which has an impact on taking notes, writing papers and taking exams. It also takes longer to obtain and consume literature and to travel. Longer distances often have to be covered to get from one building to another without barriers.
Other problems for students with mobility impairments are structural barriers such as inadequate access/entrances, blocked entrances and corridors, missing or non-functioning lifts, workstations that cannot be driven under or insufficient space, e.g. for wheelchairs.
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate or specialist medical certificate if necessary
Mobility impairments are usually recognisable at first glance and are therefore the most present in society's consciousness. These include damage to the musculoskeletal system such as paralysis, deformities and loss of limbs, as well as neurological, muscle and joint diseases. Mobility impairments often require the use of mobility aids such as wheelchairs, walking aids or prostheses.
Mobility impairments can make everyday study life considerably more difficult. Permanent therapies (e.g. physiotherapy) take up a lot of time. Even if the senses of perception are not affected, restricted mobility can have an impact on social interaction, e.g. the ability to turn towards others, and thus hinder participation in conversational situations. In addition, more time is needed for most activities, e.g. for writing, which has an impact on taking notes, writing papers and taking exams. It also takes longer to obtain and consume literature and to travel. Longer distances often have to be covered to get from one building to another without barriers.
Other problems for students with mobility impairments are structural barriers such as inadequate access/entrances, blocked entrances and corridors, missing or non-functioning lifts, workstations that cannot be driven under or insufficient space, e.g. for wheelchairs.
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate or specialist medical certificate if necessary
Visual impairment refers to the impairment of visual perception in terms of visual acuity, field of vision and/or colour perception. The gradations range from colour vision defects to varying degrees of visual impairment and blindness. Visual impairments are not always externally noticeable.
Significantly more time is needed not only for navigating around unfamiliar rooms, but also for most study-related tasks, such as obtaining and working through literature. Additional effort is required in particular when materials are not available digitally and a literature conversion, e.g. in Braille, has to be organised. Students with visual impairments often have visual aids and technical aids themselves, e.g. dictation devices, screen readers and notebooks with speech input and output or with a Braille display as a keyboard supplement. Nevertheless, the abundance of printed texts and visually prepared content represents a major hurdle.
Visual impairments mean that non-verbal signals such as gestures and facial expressions, such as nodding and smiling, can hardly be recognised or not at all. It is therefore difficult for those affected to get involved in discussion rounds and working groups.
For students with visual impairments, the availability of study materials in a form that they can read, e.g. digitally or in large print, is essential. The early provision of scripts, reading lists and presentation topics enables them to prepare well and organise their study matters in good time, which in turn creates security in everyday study life.
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate or specialist medical certificate if applicable
Visual impairment refers to the impairment of visual perception in terms of visual acuity, field of vision and/or colour perception. The gradations range from colour vision defects to varying degrees of visual impairment and blindness. Visual impairments are not always externally noticeable.
Significantly more time is needed not only for navigating around unfamiliar rooms, but also for most study-related tasks, such as obtaining and working through literature. Additional effort is required in particular when materials are not available digitally and a literature conversion, e.g. in Braille, has to be organised. Students with visual impairments often have visual aids and technical aids themselves, e.g. dictation devices, screen readers and notebooks with speech input and output or with a Braille display as a keyboard supplement. Nevertheless, the abundance of printed texts and visually prepared content represents a major hurdle.
Visual impairments mean that non-verbal signals such as gestures and facial expressions, such as nodding and smiling, can hardly be recognised or not at all. It is therefore difficult for those affected to get involved in discussion rounds and working groups.
For students with visual impairments, the availability of study materials in a form that they can read, e.g. digitally or in large print, is essential. The early provision of scripts, reading lists and presentation topics enables them to prepare well and organise their study matters in good time, which in turn creates security in everyday study life.
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate or specialist medical certificate if applicable
The group of speech and language impairments includes voice, speech and swallowing disorders such as stuttering, cluttering and aphasia. There are many different causes, e.g. accidents, traumatic brain injury, muscular dystrophy, tumour diseases and impaired hearing. With speech and language impairments, speaking is less fluent than thinking. This is particularly stressful in communication situations and increases the pressure in group discussions, presentations and oral examinations.
This impairment primarily affects oral participation and oral exams. Articulating and speaking clearly requires a great deal of concentration from students with speech impairments. In addition, the students concerned are under immense pressure when they (have to) speak. The fear of not being able to articulate themselves, of not being taken seriously, of embarrassing themselves in front of others is a burden. Some therefore avoid speaking and isolate themselves socially.
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate or specialist medical certificate if applicable
The group of speech and language impairments includes voice, speech and swallowing disorders such as stuttering, cluttering and aphasia. There are many different causes, e.g. accidents, traumatic brain injury, muscular dystrophy, tumour diseases and impaired hearing. With speech and language impairments, speaking is less fluent than thinking. This is particularly stressful in communication situations and increases the pressure in group discussions, presentations and oral examinations.
This impairment primarily affects oral participation and oral exams. Articulating and speaking clearly requires a great deal of concentration from students with speech impairments. In addition, the students concerned are under immense pressure when they (have to) speak. The fear of not being able to articulate themselves, of not being taken seriously, of embarrassing themselves in front of others is a burden. Some therefore avoid speaking and isolate themselves socially.
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate or specialist medical certificate if applicable
Hearing impairments result in varying degrees of hearing loss. A distinction is made according to the degree and time of onset: congenital, acquired/delayed onset, and hardness of hearing.
Congenital deafness exists from birth. Spoken language is learnt like a foreign language. The understanding of concepts, vocabulary and spoken language are severely limited.
In the case of acquired deafness which developed over the course of life, spoken language could usually be learnt, so that the controlled use of articulation and vocal volume is usually mastered. With both hearing impairments, communication is primarily via signs and sign language.
Hardness of hearing is accompanied by distorted and fragmented, indistinct hearing, in which interfering or background noises such as rustling, street noise and overlapping conversations cannot be distinguished from words. Technical aids are generally used for hearing loss, e.g. hearing aids that amplify sounds but neither block out background noise nor compensate for what is not heard, as well as microport systems and induction loops that send sounds directly from the signal source to a receiver.
The greatest difficulty for students with hearing impairments is communication and not understanding or only partially understanding spoken contributions in seminars and lectures, but also in group work. It is virtually impossible to follow a lecture and at the same time read the blackboard or take notes. The students concerned often only understand fragments of what is said and have to deduce the overall content from this.
Lip-reading cannot fully compensate for this loss of information. Lip-reading is often only possible to a very limited extent in discussions because there is usually no direct visual contact with all the participants in the discussion. In addition, hearing aids transmit information with a slight time delay, making it difficult for students with hearing impairments to participate adequately in discussions. Furthermore, students whose hearing impairment affects their speech often have problems being understood. When congenitally deaf students write papers, they often make similar mistakes to foreign language speakers, as they too have only learnt German as a second language.
Sometimes, hearing loss can mean that students hear less well in a certain frequency range. They may therefore perceive different voices differently and may not be able to understand what is being said in some voices. This means that oral examinations are not always possible.
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate issued by a GP or, if applicable, a medical specialist
Hearing impairments result in varying degrees of hearing loss. A distinction is made according to the degree and time of onset: congenital, acquired/delayed onset, and hardness of hearing.
Congenital deafness exists from birth. Spoken language is learnt like a foreign language. The understanding of concepts, vocabulary and spoken language are severely limited.
In the case of acquired deafness which developed over the course of life, spoken language could usually be learnt, so that the controlled use of articulation and vocal volume is usually mastered. With both hearing impairments, communication is primarily via signs and sign language.
Hardness of hearing is accompanied by distorted and fragmented, indistinct hearing, in which interfering or background noises such as rustling, street noise and overlapping conversations cannot be distinguished from words. Technical aids are generally used for hearing loss, e.g. hearing aids that amplify sounds but neither block out background noise nor compensate for what is not heard, as well as microport systems and induction loops that send sounds directly from the signal source to a receiver.
The greatest difficulty for students with hearing impairments is communication and not understanding or only partially understanding spoken contributions in seminars and lectures, but also in group work. It is virtually impossible to follow a lecture and at the same time read the blackboard or take notes. The students concerned often only understand fragments of what is said and have to deduce the overall content from this.
Lip-reading cannot fully compensate for this loss of information. Lip-reading is often only possible to a very limited extent in discussions because there is usually no direct visual contact with all the participants in the discussion. In addition, hearing aids transmit information with a slight time delay, making it difficult for students with hearing impairments to participate adequately in discussions. Furthermore, students whose hearing impairment affects their speech often have problems being understood. When congenitally deaf students write papers, they often make similar mistakes to foreign language speakers, as they too have only learnt German as a second language.
Sometimes, hearing loss can mean that students hear less well in a certain frequency range. They may therefore perceive different voices differently and may not be able to understand what is being said in some voices. This means that oral examinations are not always possible.
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate issued by a GP or, if applicable, a medical specialist
Chronic conditions are usually not visible or not visible at first glance. Chronic conditions include allergies, asthma, intestinal diseases such as Crohn's disease, diabetes, epilepsy, skin diseases (e.g. neurodermatitis), heart disease, multiple sclerosis, neurological diseases, kidney disease, rheumatism, Long Covid and many more. Chronic conditions have a lasting effect on lifestyle and therefore also on everyday student life. “Good” phases alternate with bouts of illness, which characterises the entire course of study. The state of health often worsens in stressful phases such as exam periods or shortly before deadlines.
Chronic conditions may mean that food and/or medication must be consumed, environmental irritants avoided or rest breaks taken during the course. Concentration problems can also occur due to pain attacks, lack of sleep and side effects from medication. Attendance requirements cannot always be met due to pain, periods of illness or important visits to medical specialists. In addition, long periods of illness and treatment can reduce physical resilience and impair learning speed and performance. As a result, students often need longer to write assignments and prepare for exams.
Courses:
Materials:
Epileptic seizures lasting longer than five minutes, hypoglycaemic shock (“low blood sugar”) and severe allergic reactions, such as strong skin and mucous membrane reactions, asthma or allergic shock, always require an emergency doctor to be called, telephone: 112.
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate issued by a GP or, if applicable, a medical specialist
Chronic conditions are usually not visible or not visible at first glance. Chronic conditions include allergies, asthma, intestinal diseases such as Crohn's disease, diabetes, epilepsy, skin diseases (e.g. neurodermatitis), heart disease, multiple sclerosis, neurological diseases, kidney disease, rheumatism, Long Covid and many more. Chronic conditions have a lasting effect on lifestyle and therefore also on everyday student life. “Good” phases alternate with bouts of illness, which characterises the entire course of study. The state of health often worsens in stressful phases such as exam periods or shortly before deadlines.
Chronic conditions may mean that food and/or medication must be consumed, environmental irritants avoided or rest breaks taken during the course. Concentration problems can also occur due to pain attacks, lack of sleep and side effects from medication. Attendance requirements cannot always be met due to pain, periods of illness or important visits to medical specialists. In addition, long periods of illness and treatment can reduce physical resilience and impair learning speed and performance. As a result, students often need longer to write assignments and prepare for exams.
Courses:
Materials:
Epileptic seizures lasting longer than five minutes, hypoglycaemic shock (“low blood sugar”) and severe allergic reactions, such as strong skin and mucous membrane reactions, asthma or allergic shock, always require an emergency doctor to be called, telephone: 112.
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate issued by a GP or, if applicable, a medical specialist
Mental conditions include depression, neuroses, psychoses, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, addictions, post-traumatic stress disorders as well as anxiety, eating and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Mental conditions are usually not visible to outsiders.
Students with mental conditions can exhibit a wide range of symptoms. These include: mood swings, reduced ability to concentrate, communication problems and difficulties in dealing with other people (social withdrawal). In addition, prescribed medication can cause side effects such as tiredness, forgetfulness or concentration problems. Even if students with mental conditions are being treated with medication and/or psychotherapy, the symptoms can occur at irregular intervals, especially during stressful phases. The students concerned have often experienced discrimination. These conditions are usually concealed out of shame or fear of stigmatisation.
Because mental conditions manifest themselves episodically and particularly in stressful phases such as examination periods or before deadlines, it is often not possible to sit examinations, or at least not to a “normal” extent. Performance often depends on the course of the condition: During an acute episode, those affected are barely or not at all able to study and sit exams; in phases when students are relatively well, they are able to perform, but usually not to the same extent as their fellow students. However, after successful psychotherapy and medication, it is also possible that performance is fully restored. Nevertheless, medication can cause severe side effects such as poor concentration, memory problems, sleep disorders and tiredness.
Courses:
Materials:
Please refer students with mental conditions to the Psychological-Psychotherapeutic Counselling Service at the University of Passau.
Examples of possible academic adjustments
Proof: medical certificate or certificate from a psychological psychotherapist or a child and adolescent psychotherapist (up to 21 years of age)
Mental conditions include depression, neuroses, psychoses, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, addictions, post-traumatic stress disorders as well as anxiety, eating and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Mental conditions are usually not visible to outsiders.
Students with mental conditions can exhibit a wide range of symptoms. These include: mood swings, reduced ability to concentrate, communication problems and difficulties in dealing with other people (social withdrawal). In addition, prescribed medication can cause side effects such as tiredness, forgetfulness or concentration problems. Even if students with mental conditions are being treated with medication and/or psychotherapy, the symptoms can occur at irregular intervals, especially during stressful phases. The students concerned have often experienced discrimination. These conditions are usually concealed out of shame or fear of stigmatisation.
Because mental conditions manifest themselves episodically and particularly in stressful phases such as examination periods or before deadlines, it is often not possible to sit examinations, or at least not to a “normal” extent. Performance often depends on the course of the condition: During an acute episode, those affected are barely or not at all able to study and sit exams; in phases when students are relatively well, they are able to perform, but usually not to the same extent as their fellow students. However, after successful psychotherapy and medication, it is also possible that performance is fully restored. Nevertheless, medication can cause severe side effects such as poor concentration, memory problems, sleep disorders and tiredness.
Courses:
Materials:
Please refer students with mental conditions to the Psychological-Psychotherapeutic Counselling Service at the University of Passau.
Examples of possible academic adjustments
Proof: medical certificate or certificate from a psychological psychotherapist or a child and adolescent psychotherapist (up to 21 years of age)
The abbreviation ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. ADHD is characterised by the following three main symptoms:
The individual symptoms can vary in severity and do not necessarily all occur at the same time. The generic term ADHD also describes the form of the disorder in which no hyperactive behaviour is observed, but only attention disorders are present.
Hectic environments, crowded rooms and noisy groups increase concentration difficulties.
Difficulties in everyday student life are the impaired ability to concentrate, an unsystematic way of working in connection with procrastination and forgetting tasks, problems with self-organisation, e.g. “Getting lost” and digressing as well as the frequently limited sense of time.
Courses:
Materials:
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate issued by a GP or, if applicable, a medical specialist
The abbreviation ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. ADHD is characterised by the following three main symptoms:
The individual symptoms can vary in severity and do not necessarily all occur at the same time. The generic term ADHD also describes the form of the disorder in which no hyperactive behaviour is observed, but only attention disorders are present.
Hectic environments, crowded rooms and noisy groups increase concentration difficulties.
Difficulties in everyday student life are the impaired ability to concentrate, an unsystematic way of working in connection with procrastination and forgetting tasks, problems with self-organisation, e.g. “Getting lost” and digressing as well as the frequently limited sense of time.
Courses:
Materials:
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate issued by a GP or, if applicable, a medical specialist
The two best-known partial performance disorders are dyslexia (reading and spelling disorder) and dyscalculia (difficulties making calculations). Around 4% of all people are affected by dyslexia (also referred to as “reading and spelling disorder”). Students with dyslexia have normal to high intelligence.
A reading and spelling disorder is present when persistent and clear impairments in the area of reading and spelling cannot be explained solely by developmental age, visual problems, inappropriate schooling or intellectual disability.
A distinction can be made between dyslexia and an isolated spelling or isolated reading disorder.
Dyslexia is characterised by deficits in reading comprehension and the ability to recognise and read aloud written words. Students with Dyslexia need more time to read and understand questions and problems. Writing and making necessary corrections also takes significantly longer due to differences in the way information is processed.
Courses:
Materials:
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: certificates from psychiatrists, child and adolescent psychiatrists, licensed child and adolescent psychotherapists, therapists with proven special experience in the field of learning therapy or dyslexia, or from practices for reading and dyslexia therapy
The two best-known partial performance disorders are dyslexia (reading and spelling disorder) and dyscalculia (difficulties making calculations). Around 4% of all people are affected by dyslexia (also referred to as “reading and spelling disorder”). Students with dyslexia have normal to high intelligence.
A reading and spelling disorder is present when persistent and clear impairments in the area of reading and spelling cannot be explained solely by developmental age, visual problems, inappropriate schooling or intellectual disability.
A distinction can be made between dyslexia and an isolated spelling or isolated reading disorder.
Dyslexia is characterised by deficits in reading comprehension and the ability to recognise and read aloud written words. Students with Dyslexia need more time to read and understand questions and problems. Writing and making necessary corrections also takes significantly longer due to differences in the way information is processed.
Courses:
Materials:
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: certificates from psychiatrists, child and adolescent psychiatrists, licensed child and adolescent psychotherapists, therapists with proven special experience in the field of learning therapy or dyslexia, or from practices for reading and dyslexia therapy
Autism is a form of impairment in which the processing of information and perception is disturbed. Increased sensitivity to stimuli easily leads to sensory overload from light and noise; people with autism therefore quickly become stressed, find it difficult to concentrate and are easily distracted. People with autism generally find it difficult to recognise gestures and facial expressions, to interpret social and emotional signals and to send them themselves. Sometimes they are surprised and shy when it comes to social behaviour such as shaking hands. However, restraint should not be interpreted as impolite. Unforeseen situations are very challenging for people with autism. They usually require a longer preparation time. Fixed structures and early information that enable detailed planning are very supportive here.
Students with autism have difficulties with social interaction with fellow students and lecturers. They also often have difficulty tolerating background noise or crowds. Commonly, they will often have problems understanding ambiguous tasks, have difficulty estimating how much time they need for certain tasks and have difficulties planning coursework.
Courses:
Materials:
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate issued by a GP or, if applicable, a medical specialist
Autism is a form of impairment in which the processing of information and perception is disturbed. Increased sensitivity to stimuli easily leads to sensory overload from light and noise; people with autism therefore quickly become stressed, find it difficult to concentrate and are easily distracted. People with autism generally find it difficult to recognise gestures and facial expressions, to interpret social and emotional signals and to send them themselves. Sometimes they are surprised and shy when it comes to social behaviour such as shaking hands. However, restraint should not be interpreted as impolite. Unforeseen situations are very challenging for people with autism. They usually require a longer preparation time. Fixed structures and early information that enable detailed planning are very supportive here.
Students with autism have difficulties with social interaction with fellow students and lecturers. They also often have difficulty tolerating background noise or crowds. Commonly, they will often have problems understanding ambiguous tasks, have difficulty estimating how much time they need for certain tasks and have difficulties planning coursework.
Courses:
Materials:
Examples of possible academic adjustments:
Proof: medical certificate issued by a GP or, if applicable, a medical specialist
The treatment of chronic and mental illnesses often requires the regular intake of medication as part of the therapy. If there is a slowing in cognitive processes as a result of taking medication, for example, this can be compensated for[1]
Recommendations for possible adjustments to the planned examination format and examination setting depending on the specific situation of the individual case:
Proof: medical certificate or specialist medical certificate if necessary
[1] Ennuschat, Jörg (ed. Deutsches Studentenwerk, Informations- und Beratungsstelle [IBS]), Nachteilsausgleiche für Studierende mit Behinderungen - Prüfungsrechtliche Bausteine einer inklusiven Hochschule. Legal opinion, Berlin 2019, p. 109f.
On the accessible campus web page you will find information on the following topics, among others:
Statistically speaking, around 16% of all students have a health condition that affects them in their studies. The information on this page are intended to help you to better understand what this means for these students and improve their ability to study despite a disability or illness.
