Testing Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

At Loyola College, we welcome and support students with disabilities, and appreciate the diversity they bring to the College. Consistent with our core values and in support of our strategic plan, we must provide appropriate and reasonable accommodation in test taking so that students may fully participate in the intellectual life of the College. Test taking adjustments are one accommodation that some students with disabilities receive.

Loyola College complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and state and local requirements regarding students with disabilities. You may be aware that these laws prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities. They state that "no otherwise qualified individual with a disability shall, solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of a public entity."

Representatives from the Disability Support Services Office, the Center for Academic Services and Support, and the Jenkins Third Floor Study have developed procedures for providing alternative test taking services. These procedures enable students with disabilities and their professors to work together to effectively arrange alternative procedures for test taking. Please familiarize yourself with the attached handout, Students with Disabilities: Requesting Services for Exams. This handout outlines the steps for students and faculty members to take when needing to arrange this type of accommodation. These procedures have been reviewed by and have the strong support of the deans.

You may direct questions regarding this alternative accommodation process to Marcia Wiedefeld at 2062, or mwiedefeld@loyola.edu.

Students with Disabilities:  Requesting Services for Exams

Testing Accommodations:  Appropriate accommodations for exams are provided for students with disabilities registered with Disability Support Services (DSS) or the Center for Academic Support and Services (CASS). These students must have testing modifications as one of their academic accommodations. Faculty members will know students have testing accommodations from letters (from either the DSS or CASS accommodations coordinator), which students are told to give to their instructors at the beginning of each semester.

Testing Site:  The Jenkins Third Floor Study offers a site where testing accommodations for students with disabilities can be provided. Please note that if the student and instructor feel that full amount of extra time can be provided in the classroom, the student should be accommodated in the classroom. The Study should be used when a student needs a minimal distraction environment; a reader; a scribe; a computer; or extended time (when schedules prohibit it from being provided in the classroom).  Testing in The Study can be scheduled Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am until 8:00 pm (testing end time), Friday from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm (testing end time) and Saturday only during FINAL EXAMS WEEK from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm (testing end time).

Test Accomodation Process

Student's Responsibilities:  After conferring with their instructors, students will notify their accommodations coordinator a week before the exam.  This can be done by accessing the Student Alternative Testing Request Form at www.loyola.edu/dss, e-mail or by telephone. Students must provide the faculty member’s name, course and the date the exam is scheduled for the class.

Accommodation Coordinator's Responsibilities: The Accommodations Coordinators work with a Graduate Assistant who coordinates testing. This Graduate Assistant will notify the instructor by e-mail that the student has requested a testing accommodation for an upcoming exam. The e-mail will have a link to the Faculty Alternative Exam Request Form that can be opened, completed and submitted electronically. If needed, the Graduate Assistant will also follow up with a telephone call to the faculty member to inform him or her e-mail has been sent (and to let the faculty member know the information can be faxed if needed). After the form is returned the coordinator will reserve a space in The Study; arrange for a proctor (or a reader or scribe); and calculate the amount of time the student will receive.

Faculty's Responsibilities:  Upon receipt of the e-mail (or fax) with the Faculty Alternative Exam Request Form, the faculty member will complete the form and return it to the student’s accommodations coordinator. The e-mail will also explain that the faculty member is responsible for getting the exam to The Study and methods of delivery will be described (e.g., the exam can be faxed, attached to an e-mail sent to the student's accommodations coordinator, or hand delivered.)

Proctor's Responsibilities:  A graduate student proctor will administer the test using the guidelines outlined by the faculty member and the accommodations approved by the student’s accommodations coordinator. The proctor will check the student's identification before the exam; have the student sign the Honor Code Pledge; and take the student's belongings that are not allowed in the testing room. The proctor monitors the student during the exam and takes the exam when the allotted time is up.

Test Return:  Completed tests are returned in sealed envelopes via graduate students to the department within twenty-four (24) hours. A department representative must sign for the test before it will be returned. If preferred, faculty members may pick up tests from The Study, and this preference should be noted on the Faculty Alternative Exam Request Form. Please note, tests that cannot be signed for will be returned to The Study and kept in a locked file until they can be returned to the person designated by the faculty member.