Possibility of becoming a mature student

[DunnoIfImOverreacting]

I know universities can make some accommodations for people with disabilities. This one might be a bit specific, but I’m an older woman who would love to study for a degree. The one thing I would absolutely not be able to cope with is doing a presentation. This might seem odd … let’s just say it’s related to complex chronic mental illness. Is that something that could ever possibly be agreed with a university? Maybe doing an alternative piece of work instead of a presentation? I’d be looking at humanities subjects.

I did a masters a few years ago and one of the students on my course didn't deliver any presentations due to an anxiety disorder- she was allowed to prepare slides and a script to hand in instead, as a reasonable adjustment.

Why not drop the university a line to ask?

I have not presented at all in my 2 year degree or masters. It just didn't come up.

If it's a complusory part of any module and marked you could ask for an exemption/adjustment.

But when picking my modules I avoided any with group presentations (mostly as that involves group work which is no fun with people half my age and stressful -prefer to just rely on myself)

@DunnoIfImOverreacting You might find it helpful to browse some of the threads on the Mature study and retraining board for a more general overview of the mature student experience - good and bad. Here:

www.mumsnet.com/talk/mature_students

I’m sure not feeling able to give presentations can be accommodated in most subjects - and I imagine you’re already thinking about what sort of career you want and whether you could tailor that to your own capabilities.

Where I work you would need to apply for an adjustment and you’d need to provide evidence (Drs letter or something). The student support team would help you with this.

It would be allowed so long as you weren’t doing a subject where we considered presenting to be an required skill as an outcome - so in law and marketing for example it would be much less likely you could avoid it, but in English it would be fine.

You should be able to speak to unis in advance to check - you may just be able to make module choices which let you avoid presentations

Hi, OP -

I am a STEM academic so I can’t speak specifically to the Humanities aspect of your question. But I have sat on a number of Mitigating Circumstances panels with staff from the Office for Students with Disabilties, and broadly speaking I agree with @Bunnyannesummers . I also agree with her that you should clarify ahead whether this is correct and whether you can do enough modules this way to fulfil the module requirements for your degree. I hope this will work!

Might be that the presentations are, post-Covid, no longer presentations. Ours were changed to us recording them talking to our laptop and then uploading it for marking rather than presentations as such.

Neither of my kids had to do any presentations in their humanities/social science degrees - this was pre, during and post Covid.