The Course and Examination Regulations for your degree course specify the credits, examinations and assessments you will need to complete in order to pass your degree. Typical assessments you may be expected to take include the completion of written papers and oral presentations, written and oral examinations, periods of practical experience, lab classes, extramural courses, lab reports/write-ups and so on. You are likely to be subject to attendance requirements for many classes.
If your mental health condition means you will face difficulties in completing an examination or assessment in the prescribed form or period of time, you may be eligible for consideration of special circumstances.
Support with exam revision and preparing for assessments
Student advice and counselling centres at higher education institutions usually offer support with revising for exams and completing assessments. The focal areas of these services are generally students with anxiety around exam situations, those resitting an exam and struggling to cope with the corresponding pressure, and those who would like to improve their revision techniques. Along with providing one-to-one help, many institutions run workshops or seminars on these topics. Students at HAW Hamburg can engage with the support offered by the Student Counselling Office.
Some institutions have schemes which help students find study buddies – other students they can meet up with to revise or study together, helping each other stay motivated. HAW Hamburg’s study buddy programme (not to be confused with the WeBuddy scheme for international students) is called learn2gether.
Withdrawing from exams
Your degree course is likely to have a specific procedure for registering to take formal written and oral exams, often associated with deadlines – both for registering and for de-registering again. Check what the process is in your department and read the stipulations on this topic in the Course and Examination Regulations that govern your course. Students who fail to deregister from an exam within the specified time limit may forfeit one of their allowed attempts at that exam.
The short video ‘Withdrawing from an examination’ explains the process for withdrawing from an exam after the deregistration deadline due to an acute episode of illness. If you feel you need further advice, you can turn to HAW Hamburg’s representative for students with disabilities and long-term health conditions (follow this link) , the Student Counselling Office, or the AStA.