Intermittent Flex Plan

Due to unpredictable flare-ups of their disability, students can be approved for a reasonable amount of flexibility in terms of excused absences, make-up exams, assignment deadlines, participation points, and other coursework elements. Because each course has its own unique design and learning outcomes, determination of what additional flexibility can be made available requires careful consideration from the course instructor.

Creating an Intermittent Flex Plan 

1. Login to the Instructor Portal.
   
   
2. From your dashboard, look to the “Home” box on the left side of your screen and click on “Flex Plan” to see all flex plans requested in your courses.
   
   
3. Select the pending (“Not Initiated”) flex plans requests you wish to complete. You can complete these individually by clicking “View” next to an individual course section. Or, if you want to create a plan that applies to multiple CRNs, click the checkbox next to each request you wish to complete, scroll to the bottom of the table, and click the “Specify Flex Plan for Multiple Courses” box.
   
   
4. Complete the flex plan questionnaire. Please be sure to carefully review the instructor acknowledgment and include details of how a student should contact you if they experience a flare-up and need to utilize your plan.
   
   
5. Click on the “Submit Flex Plan” button at the bottom of your screen. This immediately sends the flex plan to your student(s) who requested it and marks the plan as “Completed.”

A video tutorial of this process is available for you on our website.

Default Plan Option

Our default plan outlines flexibility that has worked well in most traditional lecture courses. For your convenience, the flex plan questionnaire opens with the default plan options identified and pre-selected. However, we encourage you to customize the plan as necessary to best suit your course, especially if it includes significant hands-on or interactive components such as labs, performances, or clinical hours. The default plan includes: 

• 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 one week
• Deadlines (for solo assignments): Extend up to three days 
  
  

 Tips for Completing an Intermittent Flex Plan

1. We ask that all instructors who receive a flex plan request complete the plan in AIM. This includes cases in which ample flexibility is already built into the course and/or certain coursework elements do not apply. You can easily indicate these things in the questionnaire. Completion of the plan ensures that all applicable coursework elements are addressed, your students are made aware of your expectations, and provides documentation that accommodations were made available. If your program/college provides a flex plan document outside of AIM, please let our office know this when you get email reminders about an outstanding flex plan request.
   
   
2. Flex plan requests are divided by CRN, and requests made in multiple sections of the same course will appear separately. This includes lab, recitation, and other non-lecture sections. Each request is assigned in AIM to the primary instructor associated with each CRN.
   
   
3. Flex plans are designed to be course-specific, not student-specific. You are the expert in your course, and we ask that you specify what flexibility is reasonable to offer to any students eligible for this accommodation with your course structure and learning objectives in mind.
   
   
4. A meeting with your student(s) requesting the flex plan cannot be a mandatory condition for completing it.
   
   
5. The name(s) of the student(s) requesting a flex plan can be viewed in the respective flex plan questionnaire in AIM.
   
   
6. If a flex plan is not provided for your course within ~3 weeks of the initial request, your student(s) will be provided with the default plan described above. You will receive multiple automatic reminders to complete the flex plan during that 3 week period.
   
   
7. Reach out to our office for help! You can respond directly to any flex plan reminder email or reach out to us at slds-flex@osu.edu / 614-292-3307. We are glad to assist with any question you have about this accommodation.
   
   

Parameters for Implementing an Intermittent Flex Plan 

• Troubleshooting/Conflict: Under no circumstance is a student solely responsible for the resolution of conflicts arising from disability-related absences. Please contact SLDS if a conflict or disagreement occurs.
  
  
• Documentation and Communication: Students approved for the flex plan accommodation have already provided ample medical documentation to support their request to Disability Services. 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 communication with you in the event of a flare-up. 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/exam.
  
  
• 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 an available option. 
  
  
• Asynchronous Assignments: Assignment deadline extensions provided in flex plans do not typically apply to asynchronous weekly assignments. Examples of these include short discussion board posts, 5-minute Carmen quizzes, or similar assignments that are open for the whole week. Students are expected to complete these assignments within their standard timeframes. However, if a student is experiencing extenuating circumstances (e.g., hospitalization), they should contact you and their Access Specialist so their situation/options can be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. 
  
  
• Falling Behind: If a student’s circumstances worsen to the point that they are falling behind and are unable to meet the terms of your flex plan, please contact their assigned 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. 

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. The student must directly communicate their need with you as directed in the flex plan when this occurs. 
  
  
• 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 alternative accommodations and available resources.
  
  

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

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).