Illness During Exam Term
Illness on the Day of an Exam
Illness During an Exam
In exam term
Every college has a different procedure for dealing with students who are ill on the day of the exam or during the exam. It is a good idea to find out what these procedures are and let students know. However, it is usually accurate to tell a student to see their personal tutor, college nurse and doctor if necessary and to get someone to make a record of them having seen their college nurse / doctor.
During revision time
If a student contacts you who is ill during revision time, inform them that it is important that they see either a doctor or the college nurse. Not only is this advisable so they receive appropriate medical care, but if they need to have an allowance for their exam results on the grounds of ill health, they will need to provide medical evidence.
They should also contact their Tutor. Depending on the nature of their condition the college might be able to make arrangements for their exams e.g. extra time, sitting exams in College or at a different time than scheduled. Similarly, if a student is ill and having difficulty completing a project or dissertation the college could apply for an extension.
In all instances, the senior tutor is responsible for submitting an application together with any supporting evidence on a student’s behalf so it’s vital that the student contacts their tutor as soon as they are aware that they may be in difficulty.
You can reassure a student that systems are in place – examination warnings and examination allowances (see information) - that can act as a safeguard and can ensure that the extenuating circumstances are taken into account. You can suggest that they ask their tutor or senior tutor if an examination warning is in place and if they think they need one, and whether it will be possible to apply for an exam allowance if their results are not as good as expected.
On the day of the exam
If a student is ill on the day of the exam (or for some reason fails to show at the exam, whether that is because of personal circumstances or simply missing it by accident) and can prove that they will have not seen the exam paper or had contact with someone who has sat the exam, then the college may arrange for them to re-sit the paper. The student MUST tell someone that they are ill and can't go to the exam whether that is their college nurse, personal tutor or senior tutor. If a student rings you in a panic, try and keep them calm and reassure them that this isn’t an entirely lost situation and that there will be people in their college who will be experienced in dealing with such matters. The important thing is to make sure that they are kept away from people who have sat the exam. You might also, if the reason they have not sat it is due to personal circumstances (e.g. panic attack), want to suggest to them that the University Counselling Service could be helpful to them if they wanted to talk things over.
Any arrangements will depend on the nature and severity of the student’s condition but every effort will be made to enable the student to take or complete their exams. However, if the student is going to be unable to sit any or all of the exams (e.g. they have an illness they are not going to recover quickly from) their Tutor can apply for an examination allowance, such as a DDH.
In the exam
If a student is ill during an exam, they should alert an invigilator, and shouldn’t leave the exam hall without informing an invigilator that they are ill.
If a student is absent for the whole of an examination paper or leaves an examination unusually early or arrives unusually late (and they are allowed to continue with the examination), then the first marker of the script will be notified.