Accommodated Testing Procedures and Information
The Office of Accommodated Testing and Services (OATS) is located in Sears Library Building, room 440. OATS provides accommodated testing for Case Western Reserve University students registered with the Disability Resources office in compliance with Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
OATS facilitates the accommodated testing process in compliance with students' individual accommodations. Please contact the Office of Accommodated Testing and Services, at 216.368.0399 or testing@case.edu for questions.
Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during Fall and Spring semesters. Summer hours are Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays. Hours are extended on Friday Exam Blocks, Midterms, and Finals. Faculty may be asked to provide a TA to cover these times past the OATS hours.
For detailed information on policies and procedures, view the appropriate information below.
Undergraduate Testing Accommodations
Request your accommodations memo prior to each semester through the Disability Resource office.
Make accommodated test reservations using the Accessibility Information Management (AIM) system.
You are encouraged to make reservations once you receive your syllabus. The system allows multiple dates to be set with a single log in. During the semester, modifications are easily processed.
Book weekly quizzes one by one, or request The Office of Accommodated Testing and Services (OATS) to set a reoccurring appointment. Once the first quiz is reserved in the AIM system, send requests for reoccurring appointments to testing@case.edu.
In order to process requests, you must make reservations no later than one full week prior to the day of testing. Failure to make a reservation may result in forfeiture of ability to take that test in OATS. Unforeseen circumstances are handled on a case by case basis.
Visit the online tutorial page for detailed information on how to schedule a test in AIM.
Your professor will be notified of the request and provide testing materials directly to the OATS office. OATS staff relay student questions and professor responses during testing.
Arrive on time and be ready to test. Students taking accommodated tests are expected to uphold the University's Code of Ethics. Cameras monitor testing rooms, and all infractions will be immediately reported to the professor.
Testing Accommodations Policy Revised Summer 2018
Graduate Testing Accommodations
Request your accommodations memo prior to each semester through the Disability Resource office.
Make accommodated test reservations using the Accessibility Information Management (AIM) system.
You are encouraged to make reservations once you receive your syllabus. The system allows multiple dates to be set with a single log in. During the semester, modifications are easily processed.
Book weekly quizzes one by one, or request Office of Accommodated Testing and Services (OATS) to set a reoccurring appointment. Once the first quiz is reserved in the AIM system, send requests for reoccurring appointments to testing@case.edu.
In order to process requests, you must make reservations no later than one full week prior to the day of testing. Failure to make a reservation may result in forfeiture of ability to take that test in OATS. Unforeseen circumstances are handled on a case by case basis.
Visit the online tutorial page for detailed information on how to schedule a test in AIM.
Your professor will be notified of the request and provide testing materials directly to the Office of Accommodated Testing and Services (OATS). OATS staff relay student questions and professor responses during testing.
Arrive on time and be ready to test. Students taking accommodated tests are expected to uphold the University's Code of Ethics. Data from the cameras monitor testing rooms, and all infractions will be immediately reported to the professor.
If regularly scheduled exam time occurs outside OATS office hours, we will work with you to alter the exam time or make other arrangements for proctoring.
Testing Accommodations Policy Revised Summer 2018
Accommodated Testing Process for Faculty
Once your student has requested to take exams, a Faculty Notification email is generated. This email includes the student's name and accommodation information. Students may request to meet with you to discuss their accommodations, but are not required to.
The Faculty Authorization Form (FAF) link is included in the same email. This form establishes the agreement between Office of Accommodated Testing and Services (OATS) and the professor to administer tests for their students.
Only one FAF form per course section/per semester is needed regardless of the number of students that have requested accommodated testing. The Office of Accommodated Testing and Services (OATS) staff request the FAF be completed least five days prior to testing.
Faculty may proctor accommodated exams within their department. Information on compliance and best practices are listed in the section below, or you may contact OATS staff.
Faculty teaching Graduate and Professional courses will need to proctor their own exams if:
- exam must be taken during regularly scheduled exam time which occurs outside Office of Accommodated Testing and Services (OATS) office hours; and/or
- the OATS testing center has reached capacity.
We will work with you to identify appropriate space and proctor for these circumstances.
If assistance is needed in securing an appropriate location for an exam, please contact the Coordinator for the Office of Accommodated Testing and Services (OATS) at exams@case.edu, or call 216.368.0399 at least five days in advance.
Disability Resources and the Office of Accommodated Testing and Services (OATS), insist that students taking tests with OATS uphold the University's Code of Ethics. All infractions will be reported immediately to the professor.
Tests (Quizzes and/or Exams)
Materials requested 24 hours prior to the test start time, may be provided in the following ways:
- Dropped off by an instructor or TA to the OATS, located in Sears 440
- Uploaded through the AIM system, using the link in the Exams Request email
- Emailed as an attachment to exams@case.edu
Office of Accommodated Testing and Services (OATS) staff will print uploaded exams and relay pertinent information provided by faculty.
For exams updates or corrections, either before or during the exam session, please send an email to exams@case.edu or call 216.368.0399.
Completed exams are available for pick up during OATS office hours.
Departmental offices off the Quad may request a courier. Delivery occurs between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. and same day delivery is not guaranteed.
Single-page quizzes or answer sheets may be scanned upon request. Materials subject to scanning issues require pick up or delivery by courier to departmental offices off the Quad. Allow up to 24 hours of completion for scanned materials to be sent.
Students cannot be asked or required to return completed exams.
Guidelines for Providing Testing Accommodations
Some best practices for faculty members when providing appropriate testing accommodations are as follows:
- Meet with the student to discuss the student's individual needs for testing accommodations as listed in the student's accommodations memo. Maintain the student's confidentiality by discussing the accommodations with only the student and necessary support staff.
- Review the student's Faculty Accommodation Notification to review the need for any possible equipment required to take the exam so that it can be prepared in advance.
- Choose a suitable testing area. Some students cannot take their test in the usual classroom setting; be sure to ask. If you feel student's needs cannot meet, please contact us for assistance in locating an appropriate testing location. It is strongly recommended you contact the Office of Accommodated Testing and Services (OATS) at least five days prior to the scheduled exam.
- Identify the appropriate time for the student to take the test. It is preferred that students with testing accommodations test at the same time as their peers, but that is not always possible due to other course commitments. Student can work with you to determine if they would begin earlier, stay later, or schedule an alternative time in order to make use of their testing accommodations.
Referrals for Testing Accommodations
If a student requests testing or any other accommodation from the professor, and the professor has not received an accommodation notification from Disability Resources, the professor should refer that student to Disability Resources. Professors are under no obligation to meet an accommodation request unless an official Faculty Accommodation Notification has been provided by Disability Resources. Please remember that it is inappropriate for any faculty member to advise students against using their accommodations.
Testing Accommodations Policy Revised Summer 2018
Extended Time Testing Using Canvas
For more information regarding extended time testing in Canvas, visit the Canvas website.
Testing Accommodations Policy Revised Summer 2018