Anticipatory arrangements for students with disabilities
Unless anticipatory measures are taken by schools there is a danger
that students with a disability may not have the same opportunity to
evaluate teachers (SET), modules (SEM) and courses (SEC) on the
same basis as their peers.
Students particularly at risk, in this respect, include those with;
 visual impairments
 difficulties with fine motor control
 dyslexia
To ensure students with disabilities can participate in the evaluation of
teaching the evaluation arrangements should be approached as a
consideration as important as providing teaching materials in
alternative formats and offering alternative examination
arrangements.
In order to identify students requiring alternative arrangements and
anticipate the adjustments that might be necessary, adequate
communication needs to take place between nominees, School DLO’s
the Study Support Centre and teachers to be evaluated well before the
point of evaluation. All teachers, not only those currently teaching
students with disabilities, need to be made aware of this addition to
the guidelines.
The following guidance provides details of the two most likely
situations where anticipatory arrangements need to be in place.
Please contact the SET helpline at sethelpline@nottingham.ac.uk for
further guidance if required.
Adjustments of the type that are already being made on behalf of
students with disabilities may well be applicable to the completion of
evaluation forms. For example students with dyslexia can be given
evaluation forms in advance to allow additional time for completion,
students with visual impairment could receive evaluation forms
adapted in the same way as their teaching materials.
Students who require alternative format evaluation
questionnaires
Teachers who are aware that they will be teaching a student who will
require their evaluation forms in an alternative format should contact
the Study Support Centre who will be able to create SET/SEM forms in
the student’s preferred format based on an example copy. (This may
take some weeks, so planning well ahead is essential). To protect
student anonymity, completed alternative format forms will be
transcribed onto standard forms before being processed and returned
to teachers.
Students who require additional time to complete evaluation
forms
Alternative arrangements for the completion of evaluations forms by
students with disabilities should be as discreet as possible. In all
cases, the standard arrangement for the submission of SET forms
should be preserved i.e. all forms should be collected by a student
volunteer who should then put the forms, including a teacher
addressed envelope, into the internal mail with the whole pack
addressed to;
Confidential: Student Evaluation of Teaching,
C/o Kings Meadow Campus Mailroom, University of Nottingham.
Single forms will continue to be rejected for security reasons. In cases
where a student may require additional time to complete the form, the
teacher should ensure that the evaluation sheet is given to the student
during an earlier teaching session and request that the form be
submitted at the point at which evaluation takes place for the rest of
the group. These arrangements are designed to maintain the
anonymity of students.
If you have any queries about these arrangements please contact the
SET team for further guidance sethelpline@nottingham.ac.uk
May we take this opportunity to remind all staff that if a student
declares a disability to you the most appropriate form of action is to
refer the student to the Study Support Centre for discussion of their
needs and an assessment - if required.