Office of Student Life
Disability Services

Exam Services Policies & Procedures

Upcoming Change to Exam Services Arrival Policy (Autumn 2026)

Beginning Autumn 2026, SLDS Exam Services will no longer offer an automatic 15-minute grace period for late arrivals. To ensure you receive your full testing time, please plan to arrive 10–15 minutes before your scheduled exam.

If you arrive after your scheduled start time, you may need to either use the remaining time or request to reschedule (note: instructor approval is not guaranteed). If your exam start is delayed due to SLDS-related factors, you will still receive your full testing time.

This change is intended to support timely exam starts and a consistent testing experience for all students.

Please contact Exam Services at slds-exam@osu.edu for additional information or with questions.

Scheduling Policy

  • Quizzes/midterms during Week 1 or 2 of the semester should be scheduled by the student as soon as possible. The scheduling deadline for quizzes/midterms/finals not during finals week taking place after Week 2 is seven (7) calendar days prior to the requested testing date. All requests submitted after Week 2 that are placed less than seven (7) calendar days in advance are considered late and cannot be guaranteed.
  • Late requests must be reviewed and require approval from Exam Services staff. Late request determinations will be sent to the student via email and cannot be overridden by faculty permission.
  • Any testing request submitted after 12:00pm to test on the following business day, will automatically be denied. This includes requests placed after 12:00pm Friday for testing the following Monday.
  • Same-day testing requests will be automatically denied.
  • Faculty utilizing SLDS to proctor their accommodated exams are required to be flexible in allowing students to test within a 3-day window (exam day +2 business days). Students are expected to schedule on the class exam date and as close to their class time as possible, but due to the seat cap and scheduling conflicts, this will not always be feasible. SLDS may need students to choose the next closest testing date. Faculty will be required to be flexible in allowing SLDS to approve students to test within this 3-day window. Instructors may choose to create different versions of their exam (of equivalent difficulty).
  • For scheduling policies during the university’s finals week, please see the Finals Week Policies & Procedures section.

Rescheduling Policy

  • Due to SLDS spatial limitations, rescheduling is based on availability and cannot be guaranteed. Requests made due to disability-related reasons will take precedence over other scheduling conflicts. 
  • Only course instructors can authorize rescheduling of exams. It is the students' responsibility to contact the instructor if rescheduling is needed. Disability Services will only reschedule an exam with instructor authorization, unless otherwise noted in the Course Instruction Template. If a makeup exam is needed for a disability related reason, the student’s Access Specialist may aid in supporting this request.
  • Same-day rescheduling requests (updating start time but testing on same day as scheduled) will be considered pending availability and terms of the Course Instruction Template.
  • Next day rescheduling requests will not be accepted after 12:00pm.
  • For rescheduling policies during the university’s finals week, please see the Finals Week Policy & Procedures section.

Finals Week Policy & Procedures

  • Any quizzes/exams requested to occur during the university’s finals week in the fall and spring semesters must be scheduled by the predetermined scheduling deadline (see Scheduling Deadlines above). This date will be provided in the handbook, on the SLDS webpage, and you will receive email notifications of the scheduling deadline via the SLDS newsletter.  
  • The 3-day testing window (exam day +2 business days) is not applicable to final exams. These exams should be scheduled on the date(s) provided within the Course Instruction Template (CIT, completed by the instructor) unless permission has been given to test on another date. Written permission from your instructor will be required before SLDS can approve your request for dates not specified within the CIT. 
  • During finals week, SLDS Exam Services operates on a block schedule. Exams with a duration of three (3) hours or less are typically scheduled to begin at 8:00am, 11:00am, 2:00pm, or 5:00pm. Exams with a duration greater than three (3) hours are typically scheduled at 8:30am, 12:30pm, or 4:30pm. To coordinate all testing accommodations during Finals Week, Disability Services may need to adjust exam requests to start times outside of those mentioned above.
  • Though SLDS will attempt to approve your preferred exam date and time, final exams may need to be moved to ensure compliance with the CIT, ensure exams are scheduled in the appropriate time block, and to ensure all testing accommodations are met. Your test date, time, and location will be determined and finalized no less than two (2) weeks prior to Finals Week. Notification will be sent to you via email. If you do not receive this email, it is your responsibility to contact Exam Services. 
  • Additionally, when placing a request to test during finals week, it is your responsibility to ensure it is placed within the terms of the CIT or provide permission to SLDS from your instructor allowing you to test as requested. SLDS will notify students if their request requires additional attention. All requests that do not meet the terms of the CIT and have not obtained permission by the Friday after the scheduling deadline, will be moved to the first available date and time within the terms of the CIT. 
  • SLDS may not schedule your final exam on the same date/time that is listed in your syllabus, so you will need to be available all five days of finals week. It may be the case that you are scheduled to take an exam on the last day of finals week, so do not make travel arrangements until after the last day.
  • Typically, you will receive a confirmation email for each of your final exams two weeks prior to the beginning of finals week. There may be exceptions to this, and SLDS Exam Services may send you more than one email confirmation for a single exam. Be sure to view the most recent email confirmation sent to you or check the Alternative Testing portal in AIM for the most up-to-date information regarding the date, time, and/or location of your exam.
  • Unless approved by an Access Specialist, the makeup day for missed final exams will be the business day after the last day of the university’s finals week. Permission to reschedule must also be obtained from your instructor.