Information About Different Accommodations

The following are accommodations granted by SAA that pertain to the submission of assignments:

• May need 1 extra day beyond Absence Policy. Student will notify instructor as soon as possible
• May need 2 extra days beyond Absence Policy. Student will notify instructor as soon as possible
• May need 3 extra days beyond Absence Policy. Student will notify instructor as soon as possible
• Couple Minutes Late
• Flexibility on Attendance and Dates

Some disabilities require that instructors adopt flexibility regarding classroom attendance. Such accommodations can prove confusing for both faculty and students. In dealing with these accommodations, instructors should keep in mind that flexibility in attendance does not mean that students are exempted from other course requirements. Therefore, instructors may determine that a certain number of absences would make it impossible for a student to complete course requirements. SAA is there to help with deliberations on these matters.

Most accommodations in this category build on already existing absence policies adopted by instructors. Therefore, it is important that instructors provide students with clear expectations with regard to classroom attendance, and communicate them to all students in written and oral form.  

The accommodation of flexibility in attendance (and also regarding due dates) is specially indicated in Accommodation Letters as “flexad” accommodations. The online form contains a series of questions that ask the instructor to establish an agreement between the instructor and student about the extent of flexibility, and notification requirements, for each course. When a student meets with you to discuss such accommodations, discuss and complete the questions on the form so that the instructor and the student have a clear plan for how they should be implemented. Instructors are given the following instructions regarding accommodation in attendance (and also due dates): 

This student has a disability that may involve brief episodes of symptoms that could interfere with meeting due dates and attending class. Although the student is eligible to receive consideration of flexibility, as the instructor, you are asked to consider what constitutes a "reasonable" amount of flexibility. Therefore, considering your course objectives, syllabus, class activities and learning goals, please determine the amount of flexibility that will be allowed before penalties, outlined in the syllabus for all students, will be applied.

If you are receiving the Accommodation Letter after a student has already had multiple absences or late work, and you feel the student is not meeting the academic standards of your course, then you can deny further accommodation.

Communication requirement for an absence Communication requirement for an assignment extension Absence on exam or presentation day MAXIMUM # OF ABSENCES without grade penalty.

The following are instructions that students receive from the Office of Student Accessibility and Accommodation regarding accommodations pertaining to due dates and attendance:

1. Notify your instructor that you have a flexibility accommodation for a potential disability related episode that prevents you from attending class or meeting a due date. Give them this form and schedule an appointment to discuss a plan. Your instructor will need time to consider how flexible they can be before absences or late work affect your class performance and grade.
2. When you meet with your instructor, make sure that you understand what is expected of you in the event that you are unable to attend class or complete an assignment because of a disability related event.
3. All students must keep up with the course requirements such as peer review work, completion of essays and homework, group work, projects, labs and class participation. If you cannot reach this level of engagement, then you are not well-enough to take this course. 

The following are accommodations granted by SAA that pertain to specific management of the classroom environment:

• On occasion may need one day extension on assignments. Student will notify instructor as soon as possible.
• On occasion may need two day extension on assignments. Student will notify instructor as soon as possible.
• On occasion may need three day extension on assignments. Student will notify instructor as soon as possible.
• Avoid Heavy Lifting
• Anxiety Management Device/Doodle
• Extra Time on Assignments Due Within Two Weeks of Being Assigned

Class Notes 

Some students require note-taking in class to be done for them. This accommodation can address students with executive functioning, dysgraphia, dyslexia, motor and medical disabilities.

• Students in the class rotate note-taking responsibilities on a schedule, with each person taking a turn-much as many faculty committees do for minutes. Notes could be posted in a Google Drive by students directly or posted in Canvas by faculty members after review.
• Students contribute collaboratively to a shared set of notes in a Google Doc or other collaborative space.
• Instructor chooses volunteers and refers them to SAA. SAA will take care of the logistics.as by faculty members after review.
• Classroom Adjustments
• Collaboration with Instructor About Unusual Circumstances
• Disregard Minor Spelling/Punctuation Errors
• Exempt from Reading Aloud in Class
• FM Device Campus Provides
• FM Device Student Provides
• Instructor Will Arrange Group Logistics For Out Of Class Meetings
• Lab Assistant
• May Need to Briefly Leave Classroom
• May Need to Stand in Class
• Noise Cancelling Headphones
• Noise Cancelling Music
• Notice of Disability
• Oral Presentation Assistance
• Phone App in Class
• Photograph Board with Cell Phone
• Record Lectures
• Will Raise Hand when Prepared to Speak
• Student will raise hand to ask instructor to repeat student comments during a class discussion
• Use of Laptop in Classroom

The following is information pertaining to specific accommodations in this category:

Oral Presentation Assistance - OPA - Oral Presentation Assistance -  Students with this accommodation have debilitating public speaking anxiety. They are told that public speaking is part of their education at Puget Sound, but they do need a gradual approach. Here are some options. 1. Allow the student to present a video of their presentation 2. Have the student present to you alone 3. Have the student present with a group. This is very effective at reducing anxiety and building confidence. 4. Refer students to The Center for Writing & Learning (CWL) for individual support. The CWL supports students and faculty, so that oral communication assignments can be completed in support of course learning goals.

Record Lectures:  Recording of lectures is an accommodation that some students require in order to address auditory processing and attention challenges. Instructors and students might find it disruptive to allow students to make an audio recording of the class. However, this accommodation relates to diagnosed disabilities. Moreover, under Washington State law, the student is permitted to record all of the students in the classroom as well as the instructor.

Use of Laptop in Classroom: Some students need to use a laptop in the classroom due to disabilities relating to the ability to write by hand. Writing on a computer also helps a student whose disability impacts spelling. 

Some instructors have a “no electronics in the classroom” policy, making it awkward for both the instructor and accommodated student to use a laptop or other technology in class. Rather than announcing that a specific student has an accommodation, it is best practice to in such cases, it is best to provide an explanation in advance that exceptions to class policy are to be handled on a case by case basis and will likely be related to an ADA accommodation. You should include this statement in your syllabus after your "no electronics" policy. You could also announce in class that if anyone has a good reason for an exception to course policy they should meet with you to discuss it.

The following are accommodations granted by SAA that pertain to tests and exams:

• Basic Calculator for Math Exams
• Clarify Common Words During Exam
• COMPUTER READS EXAM TO STUDENT Professor Must Submit a Word document or Selectable PDF of Exam To SAA
• COMPUTER WRITES EXAM FOR STUDENT Professor Must Submit a Word document or Selectable PDF of Exam To SAA
• Distraction reduced environment for exam (SAA)
• Essay Exam on Computer
• 100% Extended time on tests
• 50% Extended time on tests
• 100% Extended time on tests to be taken in a distracted reduced area
• 50% Extended time on tests to be taken in a distracted reduced area
• Private Room for Testing
• SCRIBE FOR MATH EXAM (This accommodation is handled in the SAA Testing Room)

Accommodations pertaining to tests and exams are logistically difficult and may prove frustrating for instructors, students and SAA. Therefore, instructors should always bear in mind that these accommodations are necessary in order to ensure students’ full access to the curriculum. In order to request a testing-related accommodation, they must have a disability and be registered with SAA.

SAA exam proctoring

Information related to testing at SAA: SAA seeks to make the process of proctoring tests outside of the classroom as straightforward as possible for instructors. Students are required to do test room bookings 4 days prior to the exam date. Monday exams cannot be booked over the weekend, and must be booked by the prior Thursday at 12pm. Exams must be taken during the class time; extended time can be added before or after class time. Tests cannot be taken at another time or day unless approved by your professor.   

Submitting and return of exams:

• All exams are to be uploaded via their electronic portal, Accommodate. The Accommodate Portal can be accessed through the tiles at login.pugetsound.edu. For more information, see our instructions for using your Faculty Module in Accommodate.
• Instructors must upload exams 24 hours in advance of the exam time. Monday exams need to be uploaded by Friday 3pm. 
• Send corrections to an exam in progress to saa@pugetsound.edu. This email is monitored the entire time students are in the SAA testing space.
• Students take the exam during class time. However, the extended time is calculated by SAA staff and it will be added either before or after the normal class start time, depending on the student’s schedule. If a faculty member determines that a student can take an exam at a different time than scheduled, SAA will ask the student for verification that they received permission from the instructor in the form of an email to SAA from the instructor. Every situation is handled on an individual basis. 

The following are some questions instructors have asked regarding testing accommodations: 

• If I have a student who needs to take a make-up exam but they do not have a disability, can SAA proctor the exam? No, SAA only proctors exams for registered SAA students.
• If I give my students a take-home-exam, do I have to provide extended-time? That would depend how much time it would typically take to complete the exam and when it had to be submitted. If it is due within a few hours, then yes, but if it is due by the next class and it can be completed in a couple of hours, it should not be necessary.
• I have a student in my class with exam accommodations. There is an exam tomorrow and they have not contacted me. Should I send one for them? Students who have exam accommodations are responsible for doing their test room booking 4 class days in advance of the exam. Instructors will see the test room booking in their Accommodate account under the tab labelled "Alternative Test Room Bookings."

The following are accommodations granted by SAA that pertain to the provision of class materials:

• ETEXT Accessible Text: Instructors will provide handouts and Canvas documents in accessible format (if text can be selected and copied, it is accessible). SAA works directly with students for accessible textbooks.
• Give Student Hard Copy of Handouts & Powerpoints ahead of time
• Handouts ahead of time, electronic format

On accessibility of course materials: Course packs and any readings that will be posted on a course management program, such as Canvas, should have optical character recognition (OCR). A document with OCR is readable by a computer program; enabling it to be read aloud by text to speech programs such as Natural Reader. Documents created in Word have OCR. However, Images, scans and PDF’s do not - unless they have been converted.

It is important to make all course materials be rendered in a machine-readable format (OCR), as this is an important part of making the educational environment accessible to all students. Note that even if a student in a given course does not require such an accommodation, it is essential that the instructor be prepared in advance for such a possibility. A student who requires such an accommodation can fall behind in a class while materials are being updated.