Patterns of special consideration requests at a UK university: reasons given and associations with demographic factors

Jenkins, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1673-2903 (2022) Patterns of special consideration requests at a UK university: reasons given and associations with demographic factors. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 47 (5). pp. 670-682. ISSN 1469-297X doi: 10.1080/02602938.2021.1956428

Abstract/Summary

Students who are unable to complete an assessment due to circumstances beyond their control (e.g., illness) are often asked to submit a request for special consideration. However, few studies have looked at the reasons why these requests are made, or whether certain students are more likely to submit requests than others. The current study looked at 2126 such requests submitted by 461 students over one academic year and compared students who submitted requests with those who did not on several variables, including gender, full-time / part-time status, and undergraduate / postgraduate courses. Distribution of these requests by type (e.g., physical health, bereavement) was examined, in addition to how many students submitted more than one request. The study found that around one-quarter of students submitted requests, with more than half of these related to mental or physical health issues. Full-time students were more likely to submit requests than part-time students although few other demographic differences emerged. The results suggest that some groups may be unevenly affected by special circumstances related to assessment although further work is needed to inform policies regarding special consideration.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/99293
Identification Number/DOI	10.1080/02602938.2021.1956428
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology
Publisher	Routledge
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