Studying with a disability or chronic illness Studying with a disability or chronic illness

Reasonable accommodation of disability or chronic illness is a way of adapting degree courses on an individual basis to ensure that students are not unduly disadvantaged by difficulties stemming from disabilities or long-term health conditions and that there is equality of opportunity for all when it comes to taking examinations and passing credits. It does not mean that students who are granted reasonable accommodations have lower academic standards to meet. Students may qualify for reasonable accommodations if they have a disability or long-term health condition which has an impact on the specific situation of an examination or assessment.

Reasonable accommodations may involve extensions to deadlines, the reduction or waiving of attendance requirements, permission to use specific aids or have support and assistance in an examination or assessment, additional breaks during examinations, or completion of a written examination in a separate room.

Follow this link to our application form for reasonable accomodation of a disability or chronic illness

Please send your application to the relevant Examinations Committee for your degree course, attaching appropriate documents as supporting evidence (these will usually be medical letters or certificates issued by an appropriate professional).

We also offer a guide for healthcare practitioners.

These short videos, 'Applying for reasonable accommodation of disability and chronic illness' and 'Reasonable accommodation of disability and illness', explain the process. Meike Butenob will be happy to provide further, one-to-one advice and information. 
 

You may be wondering whether you can continue to manage your current full-time degree course due to the impact of your condition and possibly other stressors in your life. Many higher education institutions offer their students the opportunity to reduce their workload while retaining full-time status, which means they complete their course over a longer duration. 

You should be aware that this route is not open to students in cooperative degree programmes, who, however, may be able to agree arrangements with their institution in exceptional cases. International students, particularly those whose residence permit has been issued explicitly ‘for study purposes’, should always seek advice before taking this course of action.

At most institutions, the enrolment regulations stipulate a maximum duration of study after which the student is deregistered. At Hamburg’s state-run higher education institutions, this maximum-duration is usually twice the standard duration (Regelstudienzeit) of the degree course in question plus two semesters, or four consecutive semesters in which the student does not complete any credits. Deregistration may be waived if the student can demonstrate that deregistration would cause them exceptional hardship. You should also be aware that the regulations governing your degree course may set out particular time limits for completing certain stages of a degree, which you will need to meet in any case. In practice, issues with finances and funding are what generally tends to put limits on the duration of a degree course, despite the existence of routes to extensions to (for example) BAföG.

Aside from and separately to this way of extending the duration of your studies, some higher education institutions allow students on some or all of their degree courses to apply for part-time student status. As a rule, this is granted for two semesters, and two semesters of enrolment (Hochschulsemester) in part-time study correspond to one course/subject semester (Fachsemester). You will need to be aware that switching to part-time status is likely to have implications for your funding (such as BAföG) or your residency status, and take account of these. It may make more sense for you to stay in full-time status and reduce your workload per semester as outlined above. 

You can find some general information on studying on a part-time basis on the website of the Student Admissions and Registration Office.

Perhaps you are considering taking a break from your studies for a limited period of time, or are finding yourself compelled to take time off because you are unwell at the moment. Most higher education institutions have procedures in place to enable students to take one or more semesters of leave due to illness. You will need to apply for a period of leave, and you will usually have to provide supporting evidence. Semesters during which you are on leave do not count as course/subject semesters (Fachsemester), which is likely to be of relevance to any BAföG funding you are receiving and may also be a factor for students in receipt of student loans. We strongly recommend you attend the advisory services run by your local Studierendenwerk (in Hamburg this is the Counselling Centre for Social & International Affairs – BeSI) to find out about the implications for your funding and any impact on your residency status.

Some institutions also allow you to pause your studies for a certain period of time. This may make sense for you if you are only entitled to a limited number of semesters of leave or you have already used them up. Pausing your studies means being effectively deregistered from your institution, so that you no longer have student status during this period (you will need to be aware of the potential implications for child benefits (Kindergeld) and your health insurance); however, you retain your place on your course and therefore the right to return to it when you are well again. However, once you rejoin your course, you may find that the regulations governing it have changed, in which case some of the credits you acquired before you took your break may not be recognised.

Please be aware that these are not routes that are open to students on cooperative degree programmes, who will need to request individual consideration as an exceptional case. International students, particularly those whose residence permit has been issued explicitly ‘for study purposes’, should always seek advice before taking this course of action.