This page provides information on academic adjustments and exam access arrangements for people with illnesses or disabilities.
A Compensation for Disadvantages is a measure designed to ensure that students with disabilities, chronic illnesses, or comparable impairments do not face unfair disadvantages during their studies or examinations.
The aim is to create equal opportunities without changing the academic requirements or the standards of performance evaluation.
Such compensatory measures may include, in particular, changes to the external examination conditions, an extension of deadlines for completing assessments, or the possibility of providing equivalent alternative examination performances.
Each application for a Nachteilsausgleich is reviewed individually and requires proof of the impairment.
Students who, due to a disability or a long-term severe or chronic illness, are not able to complete examinations fully or partially under the prescribed conditions or within the deadlines set by the study and examination regulations, can apply for a Compensation for Disadvantages for their studies.
Detailed information on the granting of Compensation for Disadvantages can be obtained from the advisory office for students with disabilities and chronic illnesses, as well as from the guide for students with impairments.
Students in the Law degree program (State Examination) are advised that the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice Examination Office (Bayerisches Landesjustizprüfungsamt) sometimes applies different criteria for granting Compensation for Disadvantages in the First State Examination in Law.
In the event of any discrepancy with this guide, the criteria of the Examination Office take precedence for this program.
Student teachers may submit an informal, signed application for a compensation for disadvantages.
Deadline (date of receipt by the State Ministry):
Send the application by post to:
Bavarian State Ministry for Education and Culture
Examination Office
Salvatorstraße 2
80333 Munich
Germany
An official medical certificate is always required when applying for a compensation for disadvantages in state examinations.
In addition, a copy of the disability ID card can be attached to the application as supporting documentation.
The official medical report must confirm that, due to a non-temporary disability and/or chronic illness, the ability to sit examinations is significantly impaired.
It should also state by what percentage the working time should be extended, if applicable, or which specific compensatory measures are recommended.
For applications based on diagnosed dyslexia, the recommendations of the official medical examiner are generally decisive.
Since spelling and grammar form part of the assessment in state examinations, applications requesting that spelling and grammar not be graded usually have no prospect of success.
Information leaflet of the Bavarian Ministry of Education on applying for a compensation for disadvantages
Contact person at the State Ministry:
Ulrich Lutz (STMBW)
E-mail: Ulrich.Lutz@stmuk.bayern.de
Applications for a compensation for disadvantages in state examinations in Law (First State Examination in Law) must be submitted to the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice Examination Office (Landesjustizprüfungsamt) and may be made informally.
Applications can be submitted in writing or by e-mail.
Contact details can be found on the website of the Landesjustizprüfungsamt under the heading “Compensation for Disadvantages”.
The application must be received no later than six weeks before the start of the written examination (§ 13 paragraph 3 sentence 1 JAPO).
Evidence must always be provided in the form of a certificate issued by a court-appointed physician (Landgerichtsarzt) or a public health office (Gesundheitsamt) (§ 13 paragraph 3 sentence 2 JAPO).
In principle, the court-appointed physician or the public health office at the applicant’s place of residence is responsible.
It is helpful to bring any existing medical documentation and any decisions on a previously approved compensation for disadvantages at the university (if available) to the official medical examination.
This allows the examining physician to assess more accurately which compensatory measures are necessary.
The medical report should describe the type of illness and its effects on the applicant’s ability to take examinations.
(JAPO = Bavarian Regulation for Legal Training and Examinations)
Step 1: Complete the application form for a compensation for disadvantages.
Step 2: Attach the required supporting documents to your application.
Without sufficient explanation and documentation, a compensation for disadvantages cannot be granted.
These documents may include:
Step 3: Send the application by e-mail or post to the Examination Office:
Prüfungssekretariat
Innstraße 41
94032 Passau
Germany
Step 4: Your application is usually processed within four weeks.
You will receive a written decision by post.
If you have received a general approval for compensatory measures for the entire duration of your studies,
you must still submit an application every semester to register the compensation for disadvantages for the specific examinations you plan to take.
This ensures that the approved measures are taken into account in each examination.
You can find detailed instructions in the section “How do I register my compensation for disadvantages for a specific examination?” below.
If you have a general approval covering your whole course of study,
you must nevertheless register the compensation for disadvantages for your planned examinations each semester.
This procedure guarantees that the approved measures will be applied to every exam in which you wish to use them.
Further information about the registration process for individual examinations and the necessary forms can be found under “How do I register my compensation for disadvantages for a specific examination?”.
You decide for which examinations you wish to make use of the approved measures.
Therefore, both the examiners and the Examination Office need you to register each semester the exams in which you intend to claim the granted compensation for disadvantages.
Please register your compensation for disadvantages each semester during the examination registration period using the written form “Registration for Compensation for Disadvantages in Examinations” with the office responsible for organising and conducting the respective exam.
This is either:
For examinations that are centrally organised, register via e-mail:
nachteilsausgleich-studierende@uni-passau.de
A consultation is often necessary in order to determine the specific compensatory measures.
You are welcome to use the advisory services offered by the Examination Office through the staff member responsible for your degree programme.
Please arrange an appointment by e-mail.
Consultation hours are generally available on Wednesdays and Fridays.
The Representative for Students with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses, Dr. Ulrike Bunge, is also happy to advise you.
The Psychological-Psychotherapeutic Counselling Centre provide support to all students at the University of Passau who are dealing with personal, family-related or performance-related problems.
Counsellors at the University of Passau (Studentenwerk Niederbayern/Oberpfalz):
The social counselling service of the Studentenwerk can advise you, for example, on:
Eleonora Öller
Via mail to nachteilsausgleich-studierende@uni-passau.de
or
by phone via
+49 851 509-4920
Mo - Fri: 10 am to 12 am
