Exam Acommodations Online
EXAM ACCOMMODATIONS
Remember, submitting your Letter of Accommodation to your professor is step one in implementing your exam accommodations. All students who have exams either online or in person should be submitting an exam request form. Students should follow the Student Responsibilities for Exam Accommodation process outlined within this web site. Submitting the form allows our office to support both the student and the faculty to ensure the accommodations are implemented correctly. If students do not submit the exam request form, then disability services will not know you have an exam in your course. The form allows us to receive the appropriate information, contact your professor and keep you informed regarding your upcoming exam accommodations. Students should submit their exam request form for each course they plan to utilize their exam accommodations. It may be helpful to submit your exam request forms at the beginning of the semester for each course and exam. This will ensure that accommodations are set up for the entire semester.
EXTENDED TIME ON EXAMS
The most commonly used online learning platforms (such as Sakai, Canvas and Blackboard) allow faculty to extend the time of their exam for students who have accommodations. Please be sure to remind your faculty member BEFORE the exam that you will need extended time. You may find it helpful to share your Letter of Accommodation again. We have developed resources for faculty on how to extend time in a Learning Management System (Blackboard, Canvas, and Sakai). Please feel free to share this link with your professors.
A note about time conflicts: If receiving extended time on an exam will cause a time conflict with another class, you must notify your professor as soon as possible so they can work with you on making appropriate arrangements.
REDUCED DISTRACTION TESTING LOCATION
When taking an online exam, you are responsible for finding an environment that can work best for your needs. Consider strategies such as wearing earplugs, or if the timing of your exam is flexible, taking it at a time of day when your household isn’t as busy. Please be sure to reach out to your faculty member before the exam to see if being flexible with timing of the exam is an option.
Another possible option to explore is the use of white noise to help block out other sounds. My Noise is a site that offers a wide range of sounds you can try for free from urban to nature, and some can even be calibrated to suit your particular needs.
USE OF A READER AND/OR SCRIBE FOR EXAMS
If you use a reader or a scribe for your exams, please connect with your ODS Coordinator as soon as possible so we can work with you and your faculty member.
BREAKS DURING EXAMS WITHOUT TIME PENALTY
If you are approved to take breaks during your exams, please connect with your coordinator about how this will work. Some exam proctoring software, such as Proctortrack, allows breaks during exams to be added as an accommodation but it will need to be worked out with your faculty. If you, or your faculty, need assistance with this please contact your ODS Coordinator.
USE OF A CALCULATOR
If you are approved to use a calculator on exams, please make sure you let your faculty member know this in advance of your exam when you send a reminder about your LOA. Most online proctoring software allows this to be added as an accommodation within the proctoring system itself, but this must be set by your professor in advance of the exam.
USE OF PROCTORING SOFTWARE
Some faculty are choosing to use online proctoring software to assist in administering exams. Many of the options used at Rutgers have accessibility features already in place. If you have any concerns about how this might work for you please contact your coordinator.
STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?
If you still have any questions please be sure to check out our Frequently Asked Questions we have developed around online instruction for students with disabilities.