Simon Jarvis wrote:
"I would have thought that the reduced workload / less rigorous academic
load request would compromise academic standards and could therefore be
ignored."

Not necessarily, as others have said. There is not an automatic link
between a less rigorous academic load and academic standards. If that
were the case part-time courses wouldn't exist in parity with full-time.
I, as others have done, read this recommendation as meaning that the
student will need a longer time scale to complete the course
requirements, but it is a little ambigous for sure. 
This may not mean a literal move to enrolment as a part-time student,
but could be, for example, a reduction in modules undertaken at any one
time ending up with it lasting 18 months instead of one year. It all
rather depends on what's possible and will need exploring and
negotiation to find the right balance.

I agree with others who have said that the student still needs to pass
the maths requirement just in a different way.

Cheers
paddy
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Simon Jarvis
Sent: 25 September 2008 13:10
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Applicant's DDA challenge - reasonable adjustments for
telephone interview

Michelle Bingham wrote:

Would it be possible to administer the test again, this time in a
written format? If the candiate still scored poorly, surely this would
bring an end to the matter? Is there a particular reason that the test
is administered oral, (i.e. is this an inherent part of the course's
learning and teaching outcomes)?

I would have thought that the reduced workload / less rigorous academic
load request would compromise academic standards and could therefore be
ignored.

Kind regards,

Simon
> Dear colleagues
>
> Bear with me on this one, my first query of this nature.  We need to
confirm tomorrow whether to accept or reject the applicant, so thanks in
advance for your guidance. 
>
> A masters course we run contains a significant maths component.  All
applicants without maths (e.g. those from Social Sciences fields) are
invited to take an oral maths test, conducted between the applicant and
tutor by telephone (fractions, ratios and percentages based).
>
> An applicant with specific learning difficulties agreed to take the
test and scored poorly.  The tutor rejected her on these grounds.  The
applicant is now challenging the decision, stating the test was an
inaccurate way of testing her academic ability and that reasonable
adjustments should have been made as per the DDA.   
>
> Yesterday I received the applicant's pyscho-educational assessment
from her previous institution in the USA.  Indeed it states that the
applicant "loses focus when someone reads aloud to her...she does best
if material is presented in front of her as well as presented orally."
It seems the tutor missed this. 
>
> The assessment repeatedly highlights the candidate's reduced
processing speed and suggests strategies; notably listening,
note-taking, time management, term-paper construction.  But it also
states she could benefit from a reduced work volume; and that she should
"take a less rigorous academic load in any given semester"
>
> My instinct is to advise we accept the student.  
>
> QUESTIONS
> - If the student accepts the offer, I am assuming another assessment
may be necessary to help plan for her study? 
> - But what about the reduced workload / less rigorous academic load?
It's a demanding masters course.
> - What other advice can I provide the tutor - specifically /
generally?
> - Any other considerations? 
>
> Your guidance / comments gratefully received.  
>
> With kind regards
> Michelle
>
>
>
> Michelle Bingham
> Equality and Diversity Manager
> Room LG29
> London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Keppel Street, LONDON 
> WC1E 7HT
> Tel: 020 7927 2644
> Tel: 020 7927 2644
>   


--
Simon Jarvis
Head of Disability and Dyslexia Service
Queen Mary University of London
Tel: 020 7882 2765