Using Exam Accommodations
Exams will be administered in person.
As with all reasonable accommodations, the purpose of testing accommodations is to ensure a student’s equitable opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of the course material being assessed. Student Disability Services (SDS) staff determines accommodations based on the impact of the student’s disability and current disability documentation. Instructors may be consulted about the application of testing accommodations to their specific course assessment. Testing accommodations are not a guarantee of improved performance, test completion, or a particular outcome. Rather it is presumed that the use of accommodations will enable the student with a disability to better demonstrate their knowledge or skill on exams and quizzes.
Please note that SDS will coordinate arrangements based on the instructions provided by the instructor and SDS availability and may not be able to administer in a preferred format.
Common Exam Accommodations
- Extended time for test-taking of exams and quizzes that are held within a discrete time frame. Exceptions include exams offered over several days in which students are not expected to work on the exam for the entire timeframe. SDS should be consulted if there is a question about eligibility to use extended time for exams offered beyond a standard exam time frame.
- Reduced distraction testing environment from the large group setting.
- Use of a computer for word processing.
- Use of assistive technology.
- Accessible format.
Exam Proctoring Procedures
College Students
It is recommended that students send their Instructor Notification Letters at the beginning of the quarter, or as soon as possible. Instructor Notification Letters must be sent no later than 7 days prior to the first quiz/exam date for the class for each class for which a student is seeking to use accommodations.
After sending the notification letter, it is typically recommended that students communicate their intent to use accommodations at least 7 days prior to each exam, unless otherwise specified by the instructor. Common topics addressed between the student and instructor include: rescheduling exams in the event that the use of extended time will interfere with another class, how the student can notify the instructor of their intent to use testing accommodations, approved exam administration modalities, and other concerns. Questions from students and instructors about the implementation of a testing accommodation should be directed to SDS.
Instructors may request that SDS proctor an exam on their behalf. If SDS will proctor an exam in the course and the instructor shares this with a student, students will submit an exam request and the instructor will submit the Alternative Testing Agreement at least 7 days prior to an exam date. Students should only submit an exam request for exams that SDS will be proctoring, as instructed by the instructor. Students should review the SDS Exam Proctoring Policies.
To submit an exam request, students should complete the following steps after they have sent their Instructor Notification Letter:
- Log in to the AIM Student Portal
- Select “Alternative Testing” on the left-hand side of the page.
- Select the course for which you are scheduling with SDS from the drop-down menu at the top of the page.
- Click “Schedule an Exam”
- Complete the required fields on the exam detail form.
- Click “Add Exam Request”
- Students will receive a confirmation e-mail to verify that their exam request was received and may check the status of their request in their AIM Student Portal. SDS may proctor in-person exams at locations across campus and the locations will be listed in the status update in AIM. Locations are determined by SDS and may include Ida Noyes Hall, David Rubenstein Forum, and other campus locations.
Graduate Students
Exam proctoring for graduate students is managed by the academic divisions. Questions from graduate students on how to obtain their exam accommodation should be directed to the Disability Liaison for their division or their designee.