Office of Student Life
Disability Services

Managing Accommodation Requests

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The Basics:

Accommodations: 

Overview

  1. After a student generates their Course Accessibility Letter for your course, you will receive their letter via email. You can also view and manage all accommodation requests in your courses using the Instructor Portal.

  2. Review the letter for the student's accommodations. If unsure of your responsibilities for that particular accommodation, review the instructions on this page.

  3. Collaborate with the student and our office to implement the accommodation in a timely manner. Consult with the student's Access Specialist if you have any concerns about the feasibility of an accommodation in your course.

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How to Use the Instructor Portal

The AIM Instructor Portal allows you to view and manage all student accommodations in your courses. View the tutorial for the instructor portal.

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Feasibility and Timing of Requests

Please view a student's accommodation letter as a conversation starter to determine how best to provide an accessible learning environment. If you have other ideas regarding how to create access for your course beyond what is listed in this letter, we encourage you to speak with the student to explore alternative modifications. You are also welcome to consult with our office to discuss course design, learning objectives and reasonable access options. 

If you have any concerns about the feasibility of an accommodation in your course, please contact us. We want to learn more about your course design and collaborate on a plan that works for everyone. Note: It is important to never deny a student's accommodation request without first consulting with our office. 

Students can register with SLDS and/or request accommodations in a course at any time during the semester. However, students are expected to make proactive requests within a reasonable timeframe. Accommodations are designed to be implemented at the point of request moving forward. Retroactive accommodations are typically only given at instructor discretion. We encourage you to consult with us when considering retroactive requests. 

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Shared Responsibilities Summary

Students are responsible for: 

  • communicating with their instructors and our office throughout the semester
  • requesting accommodations in a timely manner
  • following accommodation procedures and expectations (as outlined in the SLDS student handbook and website)

You (as the instructor) are responsible for: 

  • communicating with students and our office throughout the semester
  • implementing accommodations in a timely manner
  • consulting with us when you have questions or concerns about requested accommodations
  • maintaining student confidentiality

We (SLDS) are responsible for: 

  • approving/training registered students for using accommodations
  • providing services and accommodations in a timely manner
  • consulting with students and instructors on how to best implement accommodations
  • maintaining student confidentiality

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Exam Accommodations

What qualifies as an "exam" for exam accommodations?

Exam accommodations apply to timed quizzes, midterms, and finals. More specifically, exam accommodations apply to any timed written assessment that is designed to be completed in a single sitting and is graded for accuracy.

Exam accommodations typically do not apply to lab work, homework/projects, untimed "take-home style" exams which students can complete over multiple days, OSCEs, dissertations, or Law school exams longer than 8 hours. If a student requests for their exam accommodations to apply to anything on this list, please refer the student to their Access Specialist to discuss. 

Take-at-Home (Online) Exams

If your exam is designed for students to take at home utilizing Carmen or other virtual assessment methods, students will NOT schedule these exams at SLDS, and you do not need to complete a Testing Agreement. Instead, you will adjust the student’s time allotted, availability window, and/or due dates accordingly. See the "Adding Extended Time in Carmen" section below for instructions. 

In-Person Exams

If your exams are designed to be administered in-person, students with accommodations should schedule their exams with SLDS. If you are willing to proctor the exam with accommodations yourself, that is also an alternative option. As a result of SLDS operational changes, students scheduling with SLDS can schedule exams on the class exam day or up to two business days after, based on the date specified in the Alternative Testing Agreement. 


Policy Reminders for SLDS Exam Services (Columbus Campus Only)

To continue to meet growing demand with the available resources, we would like to remind you of the following operational procedures for exams: 

  1. Seating Cap for Scheduling: Historically, SLDS has not limited the number of exams that could be scheduled at the same time. Going forward, students will only be able to schedule an exam in our AIM database if there truly is a seat available. 

  2. 3-Day Scheduling Window: To implement the seat cap while meeting exam demand, SLDS will allow students to schedule their exams within a 3-day window (class exam day + 2 days after). Students are expected to schedule as close to their class time as possible, but due to the seat cap and scheduling conflicts this will not be feasible. Faculty must be flexible in letting students test within this 3-day window. Instructors may choose to create different versions of their exam (of equivalent difficulty). This scheduling window DOES NOT apply to final exams during the university's finals week.  

Many instructors have developed new and innovative ways to assess student learning without using timed exams. SLDS strongly encourages instructors and departments to continue this practice, following the principles of Universal Design for Learning. While UDL does not eliminate the need for all accommodations, it can create a more accessible and inclusive educational experience for all students. 

Instructors or departments not amicable to these operations are welcome to proctor their own accommodated exams in-house. Instructors or departments are always welcome to consult with SLDS staff to discuss other assessment strategies or in-department proctoring options. 

Instructor Responsibilities (Columbus campus only)

  • Complete an Alternative Testing Agreement (ATA) for course(s) that have assessments designed to be taken in a proctored environment. The ATA is a series of questions that provides SLDS Exam Services with the necessary information to proctor your accommodated assessments. ATAs are to be completed at the beginning of the semester for each course and section that accommodated assessments apply. ATAs are not to be completed for courses without exams, courses with exams that are designed to be taken at home, or courses with accommodated exams that will be proctored within the department.
  • For quizzes/midterms/finals NOT during finals week, submit exam materials to SLDS by 12:00PM the business day prior to the exam by uploading to the Instructor Portal. See instructions below.
  • For final exams occurring during finals week, submit exam materials to SLDS as soon as possible – no later than 12:00PM two business days prior to the exam by uploading to the Instructor Portal. See instructions below.
  • If the exam is delivered via Carmen/ExamSoft: Adjust the time allotted, availability windows, and due dates directly in Carmen/ExamSoft according to a student’s accommodations. See instructions below.
  • While not always possible, we ask that you be available for student questions/troubleshooting while testing at SLDS. 

Completing an Alternative Testing Agreement (ATA):

  1. Login to the Instructor Portal.
  2. Select the “Continue to View Student Accommodations” button to continue to the “Overview” page. This page lists the students who have requested accommodations in your classes.
  3. Select the “Alternative Testing” link on the left side of the window within the “Views and Tools’ menu.
  4. From the drop-down menu within the “Specify Alternative Testing Agreement” box, select the course and section in which an ATA will be completed.
  5. Select the “Continue to Specify Alternative Agreement” button.
  6. Provide a response to each question within the ATA. Once all questions have been addressed, select the “Submit Alternative Testing Agreement” button. A green check mark will appear at the top of the window to confirm your submission. 

Note: An Alternative Testing Agreement must be completed every semester for each section of the course. Once an ATA is completed for a course, it will not automatically be carried forward to other sections; however, the copy feature within AIM will allow you to specify one ATA and seamlessly copy its contents to other sections without additional manual entries. If you would like to copy the ATA’s contents from one section to another, locate the “Select” dropdown menu within the “List Alternative Testing Agreement“ and then select the course with content to be copied. Select the course in which information will be copied to from the “Copy to” dropdown. Lastly, select the “Copy” button. 

Revising/Modifying an Alternative Testing Agreement:

  1. Login to the Instructor Portal.
  2. Select the “Continue to View Student Accommodations” button to continue to the “Overview” page. This page lists the students who have requested accommodations in your classes. 
  3. Select the “Alternative Testing” link located on the left side of the window within the “Views and Tools’ menu.  
  4. From the “Select” drop-down menu within the “List Alternative Testing Agreement” box, select the course and section in which revisions/modifications are to be made. 
  5. Select the "View" button 
  6. Make the desired revisions/modifications and select the "Update Alternative Testing Agreement" button when finished. A green check mark will appear at the top of the window to confirm your submission. 

Uploading Exam Materials to AIM:

  1. Login to the Instructor Portal. 
  2. Select the “Continue to View Student Accommodations” button to continue to the “Overview” page. This page lists the students who have requested accommodations in your classes. 
  3. Select the “Alternative Testing” link located on the left side of the window within the “Views and Tools’ menu. 
  4. Under “Step 2 – Select from the Following Courses”, select each student who should receive the materials being uploaded. Be sure to note the date and type of assessment to ensure you are uploading the correct file. If you are using different versions of an exam by day or random assignment, be sure to only select the applicable students for each file upload. If a student is not listed, they have not scheduled their exam at SLDS.  
  5. Select the “Step 3 – Confirmation” button. 
  6. In the “File Information” box, select the “Choose File” button to select the exam file.  
  7. Select the “Upload Exam” button. A green check mark will appear on the screen to confirm your submission. 

Adding Extended Time in Carmen  

First, confirm the student's extended time multiplier. You can view an individual student’s multiplier by checking their Course Accessibility Letter (sent via email). To view the extended time multipliers for all of your students, login to the Instructor Portal and click the gray button: “Courses with Eligibility” to download an Excel spreadsheet.

Next, apply the student's extended time using the Moderate Quiz function (for Classic Quizzes) or (for New Quizzes): 

  1. Once your quiz is published, look at the quiz page (From the list of quizzes, click the link for the quiz, but don't click the button to edit it).   
  2. Along the right-hand side, you will see the option to Moderate this Quiz.  From here you can see quiz progress and, depending on your settings, give additional attempts or additional time.
  3. If you have set your quiz to have a limited testing window, you must also adjust the availability window and/or due dates so that they do not conflict with your student's extended time. 
    • For example, if you have a 60-minute quiz only available to take from 2 p.m. - 3:15 p.m., then for a student with 1.5x extended time you would need to both (1) change the time allotted to 90 minutes and (2) adjust the availability window and due date to end at 3:45 p.m. If the student has a scheduling conflict (e.g. their next synchronous class starts at 3:30 p.m.), you would need to further adjust the availability window so that the student's accommodated exams do not conflict with their other classes.

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Notetaking Support  

Advance Access to Lecture Slides 

This accommodation benefits a student's notetaking in two ways: (1) students can review the slides prior to class to prepare themselves for the content, and (2) using the slides as an outline, students can focus their notetaking on supplemental information from the lecture. With this in mind, please coordinate advance access to lecture slides directly with students requesting this accommodation.  

Use of Personal Notetaking Technology/Apps 

Notetaking technologies allow students with disabilities to take notes more efficiently. If you have a no-tech or no-recording policy in your course, please make an exception for students with this accommodation. Students sign an SLDS agreement that recordings are for their personal use only and that they are not to share the recordings. They also understand that doing so would be against SLDS procedures and a potential violation of the Code of Student Conduct. 

Peer Notetaking Services 

The purpose of a peer notetaker is to assist students in capturing real-time course content. Therefore, you should only recruit a notetaker for your course if it has synchronous class meetings. Courses that are asynchronous (e.g. pre-recorded lectures) typically present no barriers for students to capture content independently. If a student requests a notetaker for your asynchronous course, please contact SLDS to consult. 

Recruiting a Notetaker: Once a student has confirmed their request for a peer notetaker in your course, SLDS will reach out to you about recruiting one. 

  1. If there is not already an established notetaker in the class, make an announcement (both during class and via email/Carmen) to recruit one. Please do NOT reveal the name of the student requesting this accommodation.
    • We suggest saying: "Disability Services is recruiting a volunteer to be a notetaker for this course. Being a notetaker is an opportunity to help Disability Services provide equal access to a college education for all students. As a notetaker, you will be responsible for uploading copies of your notes after each class period. You will be compensated either with a stipend $25 per credit hour or by receiving a certificate of your volunteer hours. If you are interested, please contact me ASAP and include in your message if you currently have an on-campus job." 
  2. Select a peer notetaker within three business days.
    • If you get one volunteer: please select them. 
    • If you get multiple volunteers: university policy requires that you prioritize a student who does not have an on-campus job. 
    • If you get no volunteers: please make a second announcement at the next class meeting. If you still get no volunteers, please notify the student’s Access Specialist. They can briefly join your next class meeting to directly recruit someone. 
  3. Provide the selected peer notetaker with the link to the SLDS Notetaker Instructions page. 

If you receive any more peer notetaking requests in this course, the same notetaker should be assigned to all requesting students. SLDS is only able to compensate one notetaker per course section. A notetaker's stipend is based on the credit hours for the course and stays the same regardless of the number of students for whom they provide notes. 

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Intermittent Flex Plan

Due to unpredictable flare-ups of their disability, this student is approved for a reasonable amount of flexibility with excused absences, make-up exams, deadline extensions, and participation points. Each course has its own unique design and learning outcomes. Therefore, this accommodation requires careful consideration and an open dialogue between the student, instructor, and SLDS. This accommodation is NOT intended to provide unlimited flexibility nor be automatically applied to all assignments.  

If this is your first experience with Intermittent Flex Plans, please review our instructor guidance. All instructors are welcome to consult with us about the particulars of your course and what level of flexibility makes sense. Instructors are welcome to consult with SLDS (slds@osu.edu/614-292-3307) about the particulars of your course and what level of flexibility makes sense. 

Creating an Intermittent Flex Plan for your Course

  1. After receiving your first flex plan request, complete the online flex plan form (go.osu.edu/flexplanslds). You only need to complete 1 form per course (or 1 per course section, if your syllabus policies vary between sections). Instructors may choose to fill out the form proactively at the beginning of the semester.
    • NOTE: No student meeting is required prior to completing the form. Because the flex plan is based in the curriculum and could apply to any eligible student in the course, individual student conversations are not necessary prior to completing the form. While you are welcome to encourage students to meet with you to discuss accommodations, it should not be a prerequisite to you completing the flex plan form. 

  2. After completing the Qualtrics form, you will receive a confirmation email with your responses, faculty instructions, and student instructions. This confirmation email functions as the flex plan.

  3. As you receive Course Accessibility Letters for students in your course, please individually forward the flex plan confirmation email to each student who requests a flex plan. Alternatively, you can upload the confirmation email to Carmen and refer any student eligible for the flex plan to it. Do NOT send the plan to multiple students at once, as this would violate student confidentiality. 

  4. Students may follow up with you with questions or contact SLDS if they need individualized adjustments to the flex plan.
     

Default Plan Option

While completing the flex plan form, you may choose to opt-in to SLDS’s “default flex plan”. The default plan outlines a baseline of flexibility that should work for many traditional lecture courses. We encourage you to create custom flex plans for courses with significant hands-on or interactive components, such as labs and clinical. The default plan is as follows: 

  • Attendance (if graded): 50% additional excused absences 
  • Participation (if graded): Asynchronous opportunity to make up points (e.g. written contribution, reading summary) 
  • Quizzes/Exams (if date-specific): Makeup opportunity within 1 week 
  • Deadlines (for solo assignments): Extend up to 3 days 

Parameters for Intermittent Flex Plans 

  • Troubleshooting/Conflict: Under no circumstances are students solely responsible for the resolution of conflicts arising from disability-related absences. Please contact SLDS if a conflict or disagreement occurs. 

  • Documentation and Communication: The need for a student’s flex plan has been documented through Disability Services; no additional medical documentation is needed. If your course policy requires medical documentation for an excused absence, make-up exam, etc., the student's Course Accessibility Letter should serve as sufficient documentation. The student is still expected to maintain prompt and regular communication with you as flare-ups occur throughout the semester. While proactive notice is strongly encouraged, that may not always be possible given the nature of a student's acute episode. It is permissible to require notice within 24 hours of the missed class/assignment.

  • Makeup Exams: Makeup exams of equivalent difficulty must be offered to students with flex plans, even if the course policy is to drop the lowest exam or offer a comprehensive makeup exam at the end of the semester. While a student may choose to opt-in to these alternative options, an equivalent makeup exam must be on the table. 

  • Asynchronous Weekly Participation Assignments: While flex plans do cover deadline extensions for most types of homework, they do not typically apply to asynchronous weekly participation assignments. By that we mean short discussion board posts, 5 minute Carmen quizzes, or other coursework common to online classes which are open for the whole week and require very little time to complete. Students are expected to complete these assignments within their standard timeframes. However, if a student has extenuating circumstances (e.g. hospitalization), they should contact you and their Access Specialist so that we can discuss the situation on a case-by-case basis. 

  • Falling Behind: If at any point students’ symptoms worsen to the point that they are falling behind and are unable to meet the terms of your flex plan, please contact the student’s Access Specialist. We can work together with the student to determine the best path forward. 

  • Carmen Quizzes:  If you have Carmen quizzes and a student is also eligible for extended testing time (e.g. 1.5x extended time), you still need to adjust their quiz time limit accordingly. 

Note: Flex plans are NOT intended to provide...

  • Unlimited flexibility. Almost all classes have a limit to the amount of flexibility possible, based on the course design.
  • Automatic flexibility. Flexibility should only be applied in the event of a disability-related acute episode or essential medical treatment. 
  • Flexibility for perfectionism, avoidance coping, executive functioning, or chronic limits on daily productivity (i.e. spoons theory). If these issues are impacting a student's academics, please refer them to their SLDS Access Specialist to discuss alterative accommodations and available resources.

One-Off Flexibility as Needed; Remain-in-Class Plans 

With these new ADM options, no proactive plan is needed. An Access Specialist will contact you in the event as student needs one-off flexibility (for a recently stable condition) or a remain-in-class plan (for a prolonged acute episode or medical treatment). 

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Accessible Media  

Students approved for accessible media require course materials in alternative formats, such as electronic text or captioned videos. Our Accessible Media team is proactively working with instructors to ensure that print materials you provide to our team are made accessible.  We work with you to ensure that Deaf/Hard of Hearing students have captions for prerecorded videos and that interpreting/transcribing services are available for real-time class meetings. The team also proactively works with instructors of blind students to discuss accessibility strategies.

If you have students in your course who are utilizing accessible media, please notify our Accessible Media Team of any added materials by contacting slds-altmedia@osu.edu. You can also contact us with any questions or material conversion requests.

For tips on creating accessible courses in Carmen, visit the Teaching and Learning Resource Center. The Digital Accessibility Center provides additional resources and can direct you to your college or unit's Digital Access Coordinator. 

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Deaf/Hard of Hearing Access  

Includes Interpreting/Transcribing Services, Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs), and captioned videos 

Upon student request, we will provide a sign language interpreter or transcriber for any real-time class meetings, regardless of modality.  

If you have an interpreter assigned to your class, they will reach out to introduce themselves to you before the semester starts. Typically, there will be two people assigned to interpret all content that happens during your class. This means they will sign what you and other students say and, if necessary, voice for the student using sign language. The interpreters will most likely sit at the front of the room – close to a screen or you – and will rotate on and off with each other throughout the duration of the class. Please make sure there is adequate space for them. Each interpreter is different, so if you have questions at any point during the course, please feel free to ask and they will be happy to explain their process.  

If you have a transcriber assigned to your class, they will reach out to introduce themselves to you before the semester starts. Typically, there will be two people assigned to transcribe all content that happens during your class. This means that they will live caption all things said by you and other students. The transcribers will find a place in the room that is best for them to both hear and see any material presented. Please make sure there is adequate space for them. Each transcriber is different, so if you have questions at any point during the semester, please feel free to ask and they will be happy to explain their process. 

We will reach out to instructors to discuss best practices in utilizing interpreting and transcribing services in the virtual classroom setup.  

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 Participation Access  

Includes alternative method for class participation or presentations; audio descriptions for visual content; breaks during class; food/water medicine in the classroom; lab assistant; spelling error flexibility; and voluntary contributions during class 

Accommodations in this group may modify how a student participates and contributes to the learning environment due to a disability-related barrier. Different modes of instruction can present different barriers and disability-related concerns for students. If a student requests this accommodation in your course, please reach out to them to discuss their specific concerns and how these accommodation/s could best be implemented. For questions or consultation, contact SLDS. 

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Animals, Disability-Related

There are three types of disability-related animals that may accompany university community members on campus: service dogs, emotional support animals (ESA), and visiting therapy animals. Each type has its own distinct purpose and set of qualifications for being on campus. To learn more, review the following document: "Disability-Related Animals on Campus: Summary of University Policy."

You may see one of the following related accommodations on a student's Course Accessibility Letter:

  • Service Dog Notification: This student has a trained service dog for their disability. While prior notice is not required, the student has opted to add this notification to their letter. A service dog is generally permitted to go wherever their handler (i.e., the student) is allowed to go. Service dogs are trained to be attentive and non-disruptive. Please do not attempt to pet, talk to, or otherwise distract the service dog. Remember: the dog is working. If you have questions or concerns about this notification, please contact us.

  • Emotional Support Animal (ESA) permitted in the classroom: While ESA's are usually only approved for housing facilities, this specific student has been approved to bring their ESA to the classroom. Part of the approval process involved reviewing behavioral expectations with the student. The ESA’s behavior is considered an extension of the student’s behavior and should not be disruptive. For more information, please contact us.

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Points-of Contact for Faculty/Staff

Access Specialists

Each of our Access Specialists work with students and faculty from specific academic colleges/departments. Your department's Access Specialist is available to you for consultation, both on addressing individual student situations and implementing inclusive curricular design. 

Drop-in Consults for students, faculty, staff and guests can be conducted via phone or in person. Drop-in hours are Monday-Friday from 10a-1p and 2p-4p on university business days. Some staff may meet with you virtually even if you are on site if they are working remotely that day.