What means accessibility accommodation ?
Pregnancy and the time you are covered by maternity protection can present you with particular physical and organizational challenges. This can leave you facing a number of disadvantages during your degree program or in examinations that have nothing to do with your academic prowess.
An accessibility accommodation is designed to compensate for these kinds of study- or examination-related disadvantages in a targeted way and allows degree program and examination conditions to be tailored to your individual situation.
The basic principle: compensating enough but not too much
The aim is to enable you to showcase the knowledge and skills that you possess in your chosen subject under fair conditions, i.e. reflecting what you could achieve were you not pregnant or breastfeeding. In other words, it is not merely about “somehow getting through” an examination but also about being able to demonstrate your actual performance capability appropriately.
However, an accessibility accommodation must not go beyond what is required. It is designed to compensate for disadvantages without creating any additional advantages, meaning that it cannot end up leaving a student in a better position than their peers.
What adjustments can be made as part of an accessibility accommodation?
Accessibility accommodations are always considered and granted on an individual and case-by-case basis. The decision is made by the competent examination board, which exercises the discretion afforded to it in its capacity as the examination authority.
It is important to bear in mind that only the underlying conditions will be adjusted, not the subject-specific requirements.
Potential measures for you might include:
- Extensions on written examinations if you need more time because you are taking additional or more frequent breaks
- Additional breaks during an examination (e.g. to breastfeed)
- Extensions on term papers or final theses
- Taking your examination in a different format (not possible for all subjects)
- Other measures appropriate for you as an individual
N.B.: You are not entitled to demand that your accessibility accommodation take a particular form.
How to apply
You will need to submit your application for an accessibility accommodation yourself.
Your application should include the following:
- Your name
- Your address
- Your student ID number
Please submit your application as early as possible ahead of the relevant examination date to allow sufficient time for a decision to be made and any measures implemented.
You should make your application in writing to the competent examination authority (i.e. your examination board).
You will need to have already told the University that you are pregnant (see details of the notification process). Your application must include relevant evidence, e.g.
- a copy of your maternity records;
- your child’s birth certificate; and
- a medical certificate if appropriate.
N.B.: Accessibility accommodations cannot be granted retrospectively.
Legal basis
Since January 1, 2018, the MuSchG has also applied to you as a student, meaning that you are explicitly afforded legal protection while you are pregnant and breastfeeding
1. The MuSchG (Mutterschutzgesetz)
In accordance with § 9, para. 1, sentence 4 MuSchG, disadvantages that you could face on account of pregnancy, giving birth or breastfeeding are to be avoided.
However, it is important to distinguish between
- the scope of maternity protection,
i.e. the whole of your pregnancy plus any time spent breastfeeding; and - the maternity protection period (or simply the “protection period”),
i.e. the statutory protection periods either side of giving birth (generally six weeks beforehand and eight weeks afterward).
You are entitled to an accessibility accommodation not only during the maternity protection period but also for the whole time you are pregnant and breastfeeding—in other words, whenever you might be disadvantaged in your examinations.
2. The Higher Education Act of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Hochschulgesetz NRW, HG NRW)
The HG NRW obligates higher-education institutions to consider the needs of students in specific circumstances. § 64, para. 2 HG NRW requires examination regulations to include corresponding provisions that also cover students during their pregnancy and maternity protection.
FAQs to the accessibility accommodation
As a basic principle, you can take courses and examinations while you are pregnant and breastfeeding unless this would put you or your child at risk.
You cannot be forced to attend compulsory-attendance courses, sit examinations or undertake practical projects during the maternity protection period (usually six weeks before and eight weeks after giving birth; § 3, para. 3 of the Maternity Protection Act (Mutterschutzgesetz, MuSchG)).
However, you can ask to do so voluntarily if you expressly declare to the examination authority that you are waiving your maternity protection. You can revoke this declaration at any time with effect for the future.
An entitlement to this protection cannot be waived if a risk has been identified.
If you announce your pregnancy and do not issue a waiver, the time available to you to complete examinations will be extended by the length of your maternity protection period. This happens automatically, i.e. without you having to request it specifically. This also applies to term papers and final theses, for instance. The examination authority will tell you your new submission date.
You can still apply for an accessibility accommodation even if you have waived your entitlement to protection.
You can contact the Office of Family Services (familienbuero@uni-bonn.de) if you have any general questions about studying with a child or about accessibility accommodations. Your named contact in your faculty can also advise you on this matter.
If you have any questions about an accessibility accommodation due to a disability or chronic condition, please get in touch with Marion Becker. https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/studying/consultation-and-service/inclusive-studying/inclusive-studying
Decisions on accessibility accommodations under examination regulations are made by the examination board in its capacity as the competent examination authority.
Needless to say, your application for an accessibility accommodation will be treated in confidence.
The decision regarding your case will be communicated to the address held by the Student Registry and, if your application is approved, will contain a detailed list of the measures to be implemented for you personally.
You should be aware that your accessibility accommodation will not be mentioned on your degree certificate or in any other official documents.