Testing Guidelines for Faculty

INSTRUCTORS: The following testing guidelines will enable both you and the Office of Disability Services (ODS) to provide testing accommodations accurately and efficiently as well as encourage independence in each of our students.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

• Students are encouraged to meet with you during a scheduled appointment to discuss his or her accommodations and to give you their Letters of Accommodations. They are highly discouraged from approaching you immediately after class.
• You are encouraged to accommodate the student whenever possible by providing a quiet space and/or extended time. Request Forms do not need to be completed for these exams or quizzes for which you are providing the accommodations. The arrangements are determined between you and the student. Should you choose to accommodate the student yourself, you will take on the responsibility of insuring that the accommodations are appropriate. The Office of Disability Services will relinquish that responsibility under those circumstances.
• The student must present to you his or her Letter of Accommodation for the current semester before any Request Forms can be completed. Please keep this letter and the yellow copy of the request form for your protection.
• Students are required to turn in each Request Form at least 7 business days before the date of the exam. You may complete all request forms at once if preferable.
• ODS requires that Final Request Forms be turned in no later than Thanksgiving Break for Fall Semester and Spring Break for Winter Semester. These dates enable ODS to effectively schedule rooms and proctors for the 500+ exams administered each of those weeks. Please make all effort to complete these Request Forms on time.
• The student is responsible for all information written on the Request Form. Please verify that all information you have included is accurate before returning the form to the student.
• Beginning Fall Semester 2005 return exam envelopes will include the following information to enable the instructor to determine if any changes were made to the Request Form before its delivery to ODS: exam start and end times; items used during exam; comments
• If you choose to incorporate pop-quizzes into your course schedule, accommodations must be provided for these quizzes as well. ODS would prefer 24-48 hours notice of a pop-quiz in order to schedule the student appropriately. If this notice cannot be provided, please make all effort to accommodate the student yourself. A Request Form is to be completed by both you and the student, leaving the date and time blank. You will then notify the Testing Coordinator of the date and time of the pop-quiz. A copy will be made of the completed Request Form and the date and time will be entered on this copy by the Testing Coordinator. Any changes to the Request Form can be made at time of notification i.e. use of calculator, notes, books, etc. This method enables ODS to schedule a pop-quiz without the student's knowledge of the date/time of the quiz.
• Immediately notify the Testing Coordinator of any changes to a completed Request Form.
• If an exam is rescheduled, we ask that you please make all effort to accommodate the student yourself. If this is not possible, we ask that you try to provide ODS with 7-business-day notice. Otherwise, alternate dates or times may be suggested to the student to discuss with you for your approval.  You must then notify the Testing Coordinator of your approval of the suggested date or time.  The approved change will be made on the completed request form; no new form will be required.
• Please do not deliver any Request Forms to ODS. The student is responsible for returning completed forms to ODS in a timely manner. The Request Form is not accepted until it is turned in at ODS.
• Include student's name, course number and date/time of exam for each student when providing exams to ODS.
• Seal and sign all exams requested for student pick up. If a student arrives at ODS with an exam that is not sealed, a note is made on the return envolope included with exam delivery.
• Tardiness for an exam at ODS will result in a phone call to the instructor notifying him of the exact time of the student's arrival.  The start time will also be noted on the return envelope.  Subsequent action by the instructor is dependent upon his or her course policy.
• Students are discouraged from requesting to use the restroom once an exam has begun. However, due to the extension of time for exams administered at ODS, it may become unavoidable. In these situations, the student is escorted to and from the closest restroom facilities. If a staff member is unavailable to act as escort and the student chooses to leave ODS grounds to utilize restroom facilities, the exam will be stopped and the instructor informed immediately. The completed portion of the exam will be delivered to the instructor.
• The only way you can provide unlimited time to a student registered with ODS for exams is if you are providing the remainder of the class with the same amount of unlimited time. ODS determines length of additional time based upon medical documentation.
• Students are required to provide all necessary items for each exam ie. scantrons, bluebooks, pen/pencils, calculators, etc. ODS will not provide these items unless it is a documented accommodation.
• Any incident of academic dishonesty in ODS will result in immediate retrieval of all exam materials and stopping of the exam.  The instructor will be notified immediately of the incident.  All collected materials will be returned to the instructor.  The student will be informed of the need to contact the instructor as soon as possible to discuss the incident.
• ODS encourages interaction between the instructor and the student. We expect the student to interact with both you and our office in a respectful and adult manner. Furthermore, students are encouraged to view their college experience as they would an employment situation; ODS policies should be accepted and viewed with the same respect one would view employer policies and rules of conduct.
• Exams will no longer be delivered by student proctors beginning Fall Semester 2005. Only trained Student Workers will be delivering exams for ODS.

NOTE: The Office of Disability Services is responsible for assuring that each student registered with our office receives the academic accommodations required by law (The Americans with Disabilities Act). We greatly appreciate all of your support and cooperation.