Accommodation Implementation

Faculty Instructions for Accommodations

Exam Administration

AES is updating its test administration platform. This means you will see a few changes to the way we prepare for, administer, and deliver completed tests. 

• You will receive an email as soon as your student requests an accommodated test. This email must be replied to in order to complete the test scheduling. 
  • This email will ask you to confirm or clarify the information the student has provided AES about the test.
  • This email will ask you to provide additional information about the test such base test time, test expectations/instructions, and delivery preference. 
  • If AES does not receive this information, we will administer the test using the default parameters outlined in the email. 
  • Please reply with the test information as soon as you are able, but at least 12 hours before the test. 
  • You can attach a digital copy of the test to the reply email for AES to print. 
• After AES receives your reply with test details, we will set the test appointment, and you will receive a confirmation email with all the test details. If any changes need to be made prior to the exam please email AES as soon as possible. 
• AES will no longer use Outlook Calendar to remind students and instructors of the test. 
• AES will no longer be using carbonless paper for our testing records. After the test is completed, paper tests will be delivered as requested. You will receive a printed copy of the test record for your reference. The signature of the person receiving the test will be collected on the test record retained by AES. If you would like to see the delivery record, please contact AES. 
• For online tests, you will not receive a copy of the test record, but you can request one from AES.
• Instructors are responsible for providing the following information to AES:
  • Standard length of the quiz/exam
  • Exam return preference
  • Permitted materials (calculator, graphing tools, formula sheets, notes, etc.)
  • Any additional exam instructions or guidelines that the student may need

Extended Time for Quizzes and Exams

AES students can be approved for either 1.5x (150%) or 2.0x (200%) extended time, to be applied to every timed quiz and exam.

For Paper Exams:

• Exams can be emailed to aes@iu.edu delivered to the AES office located in room 100 of Taylor Hall between the hours of 8 AM and 4 PM (please ring the doorbell upon arrival), or delivered to the AES testing lab in UL 3135 H.
• A reminder email will be sent the business day before a scheduled exam.
• Extended time for paper exams is calculated using the student’s extension (1.5x or 2.0x) and the amount of time the rest of the class receives. AES proctors serve as timekeepers. Instructors should let AES know how long the class will have to complete any exam being proctored by AES.
• AES will default to the length of the class period if no time limit is provided.

Returning Completed Exams:

• When sending or delivering paper exams to AES, instructors should indicate how they would like to receive the completed exam. Exam return methods include:
• AES can scan and email the completed exam,
• AES can hand-deliver completed exams to offices on campus.
• Instructors can pick up completed exams in Taylor Hall (UC 100).
• AES requires that someone sign for delivered exams, unless given specific instructions otherwise.

For Online Exams:

• Instructors are responsible for extending time in Canvas.
• Canvas offers a tutorial through their Help Center on how to adjust the time on quizzes and exams to accommodate students. Additional support exists in this UITS Knowledge Base article.
• If you are using an IP filter for your tests, you will need to include the following AES Testing Lab IP addresses in the exams filter:
  149.166.25.0/27
  149.166.159.137
  149.166.158.107
  Copy and paste the whole list: 149.166.25.0/27,149.166.159.137,149.166.158.107
  (You can find more information about Canvas test settings, including IP filters here.)

Distraction Reduced Environment

• The AES Testing Lab is in room 3135 H of University Library (UL 3135 H). It is a small group testing space with a maximum of 12 test takers at a time.
• If you would like to proctor your own accommodated exams, please consult with AES about alternative distraction reduced environments.

Note Taking

• IF the student is approved for a note taking accommodation, it may be satisfied by:
• Note-taking software
• Peer notetaker*
• Instructor notes
• Recorded class session/lecture
• Transcript of recording

* Either the student or AES staff may request that the instructor solicit a peer notetaker from among the class participants. Peer note-takers receive a $40 stipend from AES at the end of the semester. Please direct peer note-takers to AES for completion of required paperwork.

Extended Time on Assignments (Upon Instructor Approval)

IF the student is approved for extended time on assignments the student must contact the instructor to request any deadline extension. Amended due dates should be confirmed via email. The length and frequency of deadline extensions are at the instructor's discretion. 

Disability Related Absences

IF the student has the disability related absence accommodation, we ask that you review these files:

Disability-Related Absence Overview

Disability-Related Absence Implementation Guide

These files provide an overview of of the responsibilities, procedures, and policies for the student, their faculty, and Accessible Educational Services.

What is Accommodate?

Accessible Educational Services (AES) at IU Indianapolis, has implemented a new method of communicating with faculty and students regarding approved accommodations. The new method of communication is as follows: 

• The student receives an email message from AES via software called Accommodate. This message includes the student’s approved accommodations and the classes for which they have registered. It also includes instructions for students and faculty describing the methods of implementation for some of the most common accommodations. The message will originate from iupui-accommodate@symplicity.com  (aes@accommodate.symplicity.com). Accommodate is the name of the software and symplicity is the name of the publisher. 

• The student forwards this message to each of their instructors while also copying aesproj@iu.edu on the message. This communication serves to notify faculty of the approved accommodations and also alert AES of the notification. Upon notification, the approved accommodations are considered “active.” 

Explore Accommodate 

Faculty are not required to use Accommodate at all. However, some faculty may find it helpful to have all their students’ accommodation information in one centralized location. If you are interested, you can explore Accommodate. Instructions for locating students with accommodations in your classes using Accommodate: 

• Go to https://iupui-accommodate.symplicity.com/faculty and login using your IU login credentials

• Click on Courses in the short list on the left  

• You will see your course catalogue that lists all the courses you are teaching. Scroll to the course you’d like to look at and click on the course title, this will open that course 

• You should see three tabs, Course Details, Enrolled Students, and Room Booking. (We are not using the room booking feature currently) 

• Click on the Enrolled Students tab 

• Click on More Filters 

• Click on Yes under Approved Accommodations for this Course 

• Click the on Apply Search - - this will give you a list of all of the students in your course that have approved accommodation and what those accommodations are 

 If you want to check the Catalog # (nee “section number”) for the course you are viewing you can scroll back up and click on the Course Details tab. The Catalog # (a.k.a. section number) can be found at the bottom under Course Unique ID. The Catalog # (section number) follows a four-digit code that identifies the semester in our system. 

Why the change? 

This is essentially a paperless version of the flow of information that existed prior to the pandemic. When the university switched to remote instruction, our office had to immediately transition from an exclusive paper-based process to a completely paperless process. We chose to email accommodation information directly to each faculty member and to copy the student on each message. 

There are advantages to this approach, but there are also disadvantages. The primary argument against emailing faculty directly is that it diminishes students’ agency in the process. It took away some of their control. We received feedback from some faculty to this effect. 

The new process puts the student back in control of their accommodation information and gives them the responsibility of contacting their instructors. This is more consistent with our values of encouraging student self-advocacy.