Student Accommodations

If you are using an Apple laptop or iMac device the following items are useful for you to download and trial before classes start. Apple by default has many accessibility tools built into your device and requires no additional downloads. In some cases these tools are better then software available online. In those cases, where we felt it there was an equal or better solution we provided that information below along side the native IOS software.

…

Cindy Poore-Pariseau, Ph.D.
Director, Disability Services
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
Rutgers University
65 Bergen Street, Suite 1441
Newark, NJ 07107
Phone: 973.972.5396
Fax: 973.972.5320
E-mail: cindy.poorepariseau@rutgers.edu

Jenna Rose, MA
Assistant Director, Disability Services
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
Rutgers…

Screen readers are used by individuals who are blind or have low vision, to read and navigate their computer. Below are some common types of screen reading software:

NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA)

NVDA is a free, open-source Screen Reader, for…

The instructor needs to send the following information about the…

In many cases, depending on how long your class is or the nature of the content matter, the student may be assigned multiple American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters. These individuals utilize signs, facial expressions, and body postures to communicate to the student what is happening during your class. The student will sometimes also use this to communicate to you, through the ASL interpreter.

It is important to note, you should always talk directly to the student, and not their interpreter…

The same process and procedures outlined below are also utilized for online exams.  However, instead of being in person, the student may be proctored using an online system. 

• Submit the online Exam Request Form no less than 5 business days (excluding holidays & weekends) before the scheduled date of the exam
• Submit requests for final exams approximately three weeks prior to the start date of finals.
• Monitor your email for your…

If a professor has agreed to provide exam accommodations, the student should have submitted their Letter of Accommodations and discussed how the exam accommodations will be administered. If a professor has agreed to proctor an exam, then the student should not submit an exam request form to our office.  Also, if a student did submit an exam request form prior to…

There is a variety of Text to Speech tools that allow students who have a difficult time reading print text to listen to their textbooks, webpages, or pdf files with little to no training required. Many of these tools are now offered free and require no subscriptions to use. 

Below are some of our favorites:

Features:

• Text-to-Speech software that can be used for Microsoft Word, Webpages, PDFs, and Email
• Customize reading voice and speed…

(Information borrowed from University of Colorado Boulder's web site)

Turnitin is an originality-checking service that instructors can enable for assignments in Canvas. There are two layers of Turnitin that students can access: originality scores in Canvas and Turnitin Feedback Studio. Students may view the originality score within Canvas under Submission…

Suitable for open access, where there isn't an individual with a disability participating. Automated captions average only about 50-90% accuracy. To enable automated Zoom captions:

• Open your RU zoom session
• Click CC - Show captions

Automated Captions are now available for all Rutgers Zoom accounts. Once activated by the host, all users will have the opportunity to benefit from this feature.

To activate the automated captions for users, the host will need to start closed captioning. To do so:

1. After launching your meeting, click on the Live Transcript button, located at the bottom of the zoom window (next to Record).
   
   …

The acronym “ACM/AFT” stands for Accessible Course Materials/Alternate Format Text. There are two separate but complementary parts of the ACM/AFT accommodation. 

• Approved students have the ability to request that their required textbooks to be provided to them by our office in electronic format. Please see the following page for information regarding how the ACM/AFT Request Process works.…