Frequently Asked Faculty Questions
Students are being advised to self-advocate and reach out to faculty to clarify their accessibility needs. If you do not hear from a student you know is registered with DAS (or if you anticipate a student may benefit from accommodations), it is okay to reach out to them.
Please always remember to communicate about any accessibility need privately, never in a public space or forum.
These students should be referred to DAS. Any new or changed academic accommodations will be communicated to faculty via Accommodate Faculty portal.
- Students who have never worked with DAS will have to begin the registration process by visiting the DAS website for new students.
Please note: Students can register with DAS at any point during their education. If a student begins the process right before an exam or before the end of the term, they will not have a finalized accommodation plan in place prior to either event.
- Students who are already registered with DAS should reach out to schedule a meeting with DAS. The DAS contact is listed on their accommodation letter for reference.
If faculty are concerned about an accommodation or have questions, they are encouraged to reach out directly to Dr. Allison Butler, Director of Accessibility Services, at allison.butler@emory.edu.
How will Accommodations Work Online?
Students’ testing accommodations are all still applicable and must be honored in the online environment. DAS will not be involved in administering in-person or online exams for students with extended time.
The most commonly used online learning platforms allow faculty to extend the time of their exam for students who have accommodations.
More information about how to extend the time on an exam
Please note that for an 80 minute exam, a student with 50% (i.e. time and half) extended time should be given 120 minutes while a student with 100% (i.e. double time) extended time would get 160 minutes.
Reasonable accommodations are modifications or adjustments to a course, program, service, job, activity, or facility that helps to ensure that an equal opportunity exists for students with disabilities and provides access to these programs and services. Access may be achieved through the provision of auxiliary aids, assistive technologies, and modification of instructional and examination practices.
If you are administering an exam online, students are responsible for finding an environment that can work for them. If possible, consider setting up your exam in a way that does not have to be taken at a specific time of day (for example, a student can take the exam anytime on Monday March 30). This may allow students who are in a busy household to take the exam at a time of day when their house is quieter.
A take home exam that is not timed does not qualify for the “extended time on tests” accommodation. (As a distinction: if a take home exam was open for 24 hours, but within that time frame a student had a 2 hour time limit to work on the exam, then the exam would qualify for extended time.) If a take home exam has a due date, but the students are not timed while completing it, there is not need to offer extended time.
Students who are serving as note takers will receive communication from our office that they are still expected to take notes if any audio or video lecture material is being presented. If you or the student have specific questions about how notetaking will work for them please contact oas_notetaking@emory.edu.
If you have a student who needs to use a reader or scribe for their exams, please consult with the DAS staff member listed on the Accommodation Letter so we can work this out with you and the student. Due to the online environment, there will need to be some flexibility considered when discussing solutions.
There are some students who may need to take frequent breaks during their exam. Depending on how you plan to administer your exam this may or may not need to be addressed. If you or a student has concerns about how this will work please reach out to DAS staff at Atlanta: accessibility@emory.edu or Oxford: oas_oxford@emory.edu.
If you have a student who needs to use a calculator for their exams, please consider setting up your exam in a way that does not prevent a calculator on their work surface. If an online proctoring service is used, it is important to inform the proctor of specific items that will be allowed during the testing session.
It is understandable that many University students might be experiencing issues with accessing their courses or submitting assignments on time. For students who have these approved accommodations, DAS staff can assist the student and professor in navigating what this might look like on a course by course basis.
DAS has been in touch with faculty of those students who use American Sign Language Interpreters or Communication Access Realtime Translation in the classroom. If you have a student in your class using these accommodations, and haven’t heard from DAS, please contact Atlanta: accessibility@emory.edu or Oxford: oas_oxford@emory.edu.
DAS strongly encourages the use of captions for any video or audio created. You can find additional information about captioning in Canvas or Zoom:
Emory has a procured vendor called 3 Play Media. You would be required to create your own account to upload any pre-recorded video to add captioning.
- If a class includes real-time discussion, an additional support would be having the discussion recorded and captioned after the class is complete.
- If a pre-made video is shown as part of the course lecture, this video must be captioned prior to making available for viewing.
- If there is a discussion component to the course, make sure that someone is monitoring the chat section so that students can type their questions or comments rather than participating orally. This would eliminate the need for any accommodation to facilitate an oral response by a student who is deaf or hard of hearing.
Please note that some students may have issues or concerns around using proctoring software for any number of reasons. You could consider using alternatives such as a “paper” exam that you email them, or design the exam in a way that would not necessitate proctoring software. Contact your program chair or academic deans to determine your approach.
If a student receives other accommodations that will be impacted by the change in course administration, please communicate with the student immediately to discuss options. DAS staff is available to assist as needed in conversations about how to apply accommodations.