Abstract:
Assessment accommodations in tertiary education levels the proverbial playing field for students with
disabilities by removing disabling barriers related to assessments that may affect their performance. It
is vital that effective assessment accommodations are provided by higher educational institutes in
order to assess all students justly, equitably, and fairly. In this context, this research explores the
assessment accommodations provided for students with upper extremity impairments in the University
of Kelaniya. The research objectives are to identify the types of assessment accommodations provided
by the institution for students with upper extremity impairments and to explore their reception by
students with disabilities. To achieve these objectives, a qualitative research methodology was
adopted. The documents related to assessment accommodations guidelines and data gathered through
interviews were treated as primary data. The documents were subjected to manifest content analysis.
Semi-structured interviews with two students with disabilities were conducted. Snowball sampling was
used to identify research participants and their anonymity is ensured. A thematic analysis was
conducted to analyze the interview data and the theoretical underpinning of this research relates to the
socio-political understanding of disability. It was found that three types of assessment
accommodations are provided by the institution: assessment accommodations related to the medium of
presentation, medium of response, and the physical environment. Displaying varying opinions,
students responded positively to accommodations related to the medium of presentation and response
and held somewhat negative attitudes towards accommodations related to the physical setting due to
the exclusion they may lead to. It is recommended that the institution revises assessment
accommodations to improve the effectiveness of accommodations provided and involves stakeholders
in the guideline formation/revision process.
