Rights of Disabled Students in University Examination Procedures under Special Consideration of the COVID-19 Situation

Ulrike Quapp, Klaus Holschemacher

Social participation of disabled people is a challenging task of modern society. That includes access to higher education. Universities worldwide work hard to give handicapped students a chance to graduate. Thus, compensation of disadvantages in examination procedures is an important matter. Each year, millions of students worldwide apply for special examination arrangements as a compensation for disadvantages that disability entail. To ensure equal examination opportunities, university authorities must be creative to find individual compensation solutions. Especially in the COVID-19 pandemic, support of disadvantaged students becomes more important but also demanding for universities. To ensure equal opportunities, examination regulations of most universities know rules of compensation for these special cases. But, the question arises if they are still suitable in times of special situations, such as in the current COVID-19 pandemic. The paper analyzes examination regulations in different countries and offers solutions to compensate disabled and chronic ill students’ disadvantages. It discusses the necessity of compensation for different types of disability and chronic illness. In reaction to the current COVID-19 crisis, authors inform about alternative solutions for classical examination forms and resulting compensation difficulties. Finally, an overview of current German case law and solutions for compensation problems are provided. The conclusion is that the examination process entails a wide variety of risks for universities. That is why careful planning and realization of the examination process is half the battle. Universities are obliged to organize the exams in a way that no student will be discriminated but also overcompensation will be prevented.

Full Text