Testing accommodations are available to eligible students who experience barriers related to timed assessments or other aspects of evaluations. After the student has established testing accommodations with an AEC advisor, they should request their notification letters through AEC Connect.
What qualifies as an exam for the purpose of approved exam accommodations?
Students should have the opportunity to utilize their approved testing accommodations for all timed assessments (quizzes, midterms, and finals), both in-class and online. The accommodation for “extra time on exams” is intended for individual assessments (e.g. in multiple choice, short-answer, and/or essay formats) with a fixed time.
Extra time must be provided relative to the length of time the rest of the class receives to take the exam. The total time offered for every student in the class is the time that is used to determine the total time offered to a student with the extra time accommodation. As an example, a faculty member may design an exam to be completed in 40 minutes, but provide 2 hours total for the class to complete the exam. A student with 50% additional time in this situation should be provided 3 hours to complete the exam (50% extra time added to the two hours rather than the 40 minutes, because all students are given two hours to complete the exam).
Take home exams: If an exam is created as a take-home exam with an extended period of time to complete (e.g., a 24-48 hour window in which to complete the exam), the extra time accommodation is not generally relevant. Accommodation requests for this type of take-home assessment must be determined on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the AEC to ensure the student is adequately accommodated.
In-Class Proctored Exams
Instructors may be able to facilitate testing accommodations by assigning a teaching assistant to proctor in a nearby room or making other arrangements. If that is not feasible, AEC can facilitate testing accommodations for eligible students. During weeks 1-10, AEC proctors exams Monday through Friday from 8am-5pm. During finals week, AEC proctors exams Monday through Friday from 8am-8pm. In order for AEC to proctor exams, students and instructors must complete the following:
- Student sends their notification letter to their instructor via AEC Connect
- Instructor completes a testing agreement by following a link on the student's notification letter or logging into the instructor portal. The testing agreement provides AEC with the information necessary to proctor their exams.
- Student submits an exam request via AEC Connect for each exam by AEC's stated deadlines.
- Instructor provides exam to AEC by following a link on the exam confirmation email.
How to Submit an Exam Request & Deadlines for Submitting Exam Requests
See the AEC Connect login page for instructions.
Extending Time for Canvas Exams
Instructors are responsible for facilitating testing accommodations outlined on each notification letter for timed online assessments. This may include adding extended time in Canvas appropriately to facilitate testing accommodations. Instructors can view their students’ notification letters in one place by accessing AEC’s Instructor Portal. For more information related to setting up Canvas exams, we encourage instructors to consult with UO Online. If a student has already sent their notification letter and notices that extended time has not been applied to an online exam, the student should contact their instructor immediately.
AEC does not proctor exams that are conducted remotely and/or are not proctored for the rest of the class.
Assessment Options
The more choices presented to students to demonstrate learning, the less need there will be to address numerous individual accommodation needs. Traditional exams may not always allow students to demonstrate what they know, so we encourage instructors to consider alternatives for ensuring valid and accessible assessments. When online assessments are utilized, instructors are encouraged to consider the various options available for promoting academic integrity as setting restrictive time limits or only displaying one question at a time may not result in an accurate assessment of student learning and can create significant barriers. The UO Teaching Engagement Program (TEP) has compiled resources on alternative assessments for remote teaching as well as recommendations for preventing online academic misconduct.
Questions regarding testing accommodations? Contact aectesting@uoregon.edu or (541) 346-1074.