Accommodations are individualized plans made so students can access information, participate in learning, and demonstrate their skills and knowledge. Accommodations help KPU meet its legal duty under the Human Rights Act. Students, staff, and faculty share responsibility for planning accommodations and making them happen.
Online learning eliminates some barriers for students, but creates others. We have customized our accommodation plans for students given an exclusively online environment. We hope the information below supports you in understanding your students’ accommodations.
Accommodated Exams
Written assessments are conducted on Moodle. Moodle has some technological limitations so alternative accommodations may be necessary.
Extended Time for Exams: The student must notify the instructor for those written assessments where they require extra time be applied. Please discuss how far in advance this notice should be given. Instructors are responsible for setting up extended time for a student who has this accommodation. To change the time allotment on Moodle for exam time extensions follow instructions provided on the Teaching & Learning Commons. For support contact: Mustafa Mohammed, Learning Technologies Systems Analyst.
Spell and/or Grammar Check: As spelling/grammar check functions are not supported in Moodle, please be lenient in grading on timed, online assessments (for courses where spelling/grammar is NOT explicitly part of the learning outcomes). If spelling/grammar IS explicitly part of the course learning outcomes please reach out to Accessibility Services (as per the Accommodation letter) to determine a solution.
Calculator/Formula Sheet for Exams: Please discuss the parameters of use for a calculator/formula sheet with the student (for courses where calculator/formula sheet are NOT explicitly part of the learning outcomes).
Scheduled Breaks: the student is to receive one 15-minute break per hour of exam time. An additional 15 minutes per hour has been added to the extended time for the online exam to provide the student with one 15-minute break per hour of exam time.
Audio recording of lectures
Students entitled to record classes as an academic accommodation will require a Recording Agreement for your course, which will be emailed to you if audio recording is required. This agreement will detail the plans you come up with together to support this accommodation. Should a student breech the terms of the agreement they will be held accountable through the Student Academic Integrity policy. This agreement is between the instructor and the student; it is designed so that you both understand and consent to the terms of lecture recordings. Please sign the agreement with the student. Keep one copy for your records and the other copy is returned by the student to Accessibility Services. Recordings cannot take place until both the student and instructor have signed the agreement. Should you have any questions about recording of lectures please contact the Accessibility Services contact on the Accommodation Letter.
Peer note-taker
The student may choose to secure a peer note-taker on their own. However, the student may elect to reach out to you for support to find a suitable peer note-taker from class. If this is the case, Accessibility Services asks for your help in identifying a peer note-taker in the class. Some instructors find it useful to ask their class, include a note in their course presentation, or by sending out an email to the class, asking if a student would be willing to share their notes as a peer note-taker in support of Accessibility Services. Please do not disclose the identity of the student receiving notes unless the student provides consent. Once a note-taker is identified, more planning can be initiated for how the notes are given to the student; this could include through you or through me. If you let us know who the note-taker is, we can also make sure they get credit as volunteer hours.
Attendance accommodations
The student is responsible for making up any missed work during any attendance accommodations and must communicate with the instructor to reschedule any assessments or required work that has been missed due to this accommodation.
Assignment accommodations
Modified/Alternate Assessments: Consider alternate methods for course assessment, such as allowing the student to write a paper instead of sitting an exam; do a project as a pair instead of part of a larger group; or deliver a videotaped project presentation instead of a written paper. The selected alternate format needs to satisfy the course outcomes.
Extended Deadlines: Extended deadlines are an accommodation that can be used to increase the amount of calendar time that a student has to complete an assignment. The student can work with you to discuss deadlines and possible extensions on a case-by-case basis. Deadlines can be tied directly to the learning outcomes. The amount of time granted for the extension should take into account assignment expectations and the amount of time that will adequately mitigate the disability-related barrier the student is experiencing. Please reach out to the Accessibility Services on the Accommodation Letter to work through extended deadlines.
Accessible course materials
Please provide a copy each lesson's Power Point slides and/or handouts/instructor notes to the student at least 24 hours in advance (if these materials are not otherwise shared in advance for the class). Please work with the student to determine an appropriate method for delivering this information. Please note the student is not to share this information (e.g. slides, notes etc.) without the permission of the instructor.