UCLA
Center for Accessible Education

Addendum to Accommodation Instructions for Faculty for Remote and In-person Instruction

Does the CAE have any COVID-specific accommodation guidelines for faculty at this time for students who are struggling but are not approved for CAE services?

This is a great question, and we understand this comes from a place of wanting to support your students. If the student identifies as having a disability or thinks they may, I would suggest that you refer them to the CAE to seek registration with our office. Many students at this time, however, are experiencing increased anxiety, stress, and depression during this time but may not qualify as having a disability. We do recommend having flexibility and empathy in how you work with students given the circumstances. We recommend that you determine your own policy regarding how to support these students who are not registered with the CAE, similar to having a policy related to absences for appointments or emergencies. Further, try to create consistency in how you respond to these requests (e.g. if a student cites COVID-related anxiety, perhaps a standard 1-2 day extension on an assignment). We recommend you discuss this further with your department chair and colleagues to identify best practices and how others have found ways to support students. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have additional questions.

Please see the following instructions for the most common accommodations approved by the CAE that you might see on the Accommodation Letter. If instructions are not listed for a particular accommodation that you have questions about, please can contact the CAE for clarification. Please continue to review this page throughout the quarter, as we will continue to update this as other questions arise.

Instructions for Viewing Accommodation Letters

To view your student’s accommodation letters, please watch our YouTube video for instructions. While students are encouraged to request their accommodation letters at the start of each quarter, there may be various reasons why a returning student might request their letter later on in the quarter, and new students will become registered with the CAE throughout the quarter. Thus, it is recommended that faculty review the Faculty Portal on a weekly basis for student accommodation letters.

Changes to Exam Accommodation Procedure

What to do if you have a student with exam accommodations in your course:

Students will no longer make their request for exam accommodations through the CAE Student Portal. Professors are to review the accommodation letter for exam accommodations listed, and automatically adjust the time on students' exams. This would include timed quizzes, midterms, and finals.

  1. Extra time: If providing an exam through CCLE, you are able to adjust times for students with an extra time accommodation. Instructions for how to do so can be found at the following link: Timing and Accommodating requests from CAE for additional time.
  2. If your course has transitioned to Bruin Learn, you can add extra time by following the instructions at this link: Allowing extra time on quizzes
  3. General information related to Bruin Learn can be found at the following link: Prepare for Remote Teaching in Bruin Learn

The CAE Testing Center will be proctoring exams on a case-by-case basis. Of particular note is the process for faculty to request support for testing/proctoring services. The procedure will no longer involve students requesting accommodations for each exam; rather, after reviewing the accommodation letter, faculty, if necessary, will immediately email caetesting@saonet.ucla.edu to request CAE assistance, or fill out this form to submit their request for proctoring support.

How Faculty Can Request Proctoring Support:

  1. First, instructors view the accommodation letters in their Faculty Portal. After clicking on “View Letter,” please complete Steps 1 & 2: Review the Accommodation letter, and Confirm Receipt of the accommodation letter.
  2. After reviewing the accommodation letter, instructors, if necessary, will immediately fill out this form to submit their request for proctoring support. Please email caetesting@saonet.ucla.edu to request CAE assistance with this process.
  3. We recommend faculty follow up with their CAE students and contact the CAE Testing Center at least 7 days before the first exam, if assistance is needed.

**Suggestion: even before knowing that you have students with exam accommodations in your course, you can fill out the above form to indicate that proctoring support may be needed. CAE Testing Staff will then monitor whether any students in your class request accommodation letters.

Clarification of specific exam accommodations

We encourage faculty, when possible, to consider implementing alternative exam formats that do not involve proctoring. Please review UCLA’s Alternative Assessment Recommendations for more information about alternative assessment ideas.

  • Extra time options:
    • 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%
    • LD Formula
    • Other formula (i.e. 100% ≤ 1hr; 50% ≥ 3hr)
  • LD Formula 100% ≤ 1hr; 75% < 3hrs; 50% ≥ 3hrs (100% default), means the following:
    • For exams less than or equal to an hour, the student receives double time
    • For exams between 1-3 hours, the students receives 75% extra time
    • For exams 3 hours or longer, the student receives time and a half
  • Extra time only:
    • The student is only approved for extra time and does not need an adjustment to the exam environment
  • Guidelines for Take Home Exams
  • Other exam accommodations such as: Computer/Writer/Reader for exams, Distraction-Reduced Exam Environment, Frequent Breaks will likely not be relevant given the remote learning environment. If you have any questions regarding proctoring services, please contact the Testing Center directly at caetesting@saonet.ucla.edu.

Temporary Changes to Classroom Accommodation Procedures

What to do if you have a student approved for Adjusted Assignment Deadlines in Consultation with CAE in your course:

Please see more information about the accommodation and faculty responsibility at Adjusted Assignment Deadlines. Procedures have not changed, however, be aware of the following procedures for which you are able to change assignment due dates:

What to do if you have a student approved for any Notetaking Support accommodation in your course:

Notetaking Support accommodations can include Glean, Otter Voice Notes, Livescribe Smartpen, Audio Record Lectures, Notetaking Express, and peer notetaking.

To ensure CAE students with an assigned note-taking accommodation are reasonably accommodated, course instructors are to do the following, depending on course modality:

In-Person courses:

  • Your student will be instructed to use their approved notetaking support accommodation and instructor-provided recordings are not necessary, unless you have the means to do so.

Remote courses:

  • Bruin Learn:Please record your Zoom lectures to Bruin Learn if a CAE student with any assigned notetaking support accommodation is in your class. You can record your Zoom meetings to the cloud and easily add them to your Bruin Learn site. Guidance for how to do so can be found at the following link: Record a Zoom Meeting and Add it to Bruin Learn

What to do if you have a student approved for Captioning in your course:

Faculty with a student who uses this service will be contacted directly by Arlyn Ramirez, CAE Administrative Coordinator, with specific information about how live captioning will be provided. Captioners will be using a platform called Streamtext; through this method, captioners will provide the student using services with the Streamtext link, and the student can resize the Streamtext window and place it underneath their Zoom window. Using this method, there is no need for the professor to designate the captioner in Zoom, however you will need to give the captioner the Zoom link for the course. If there is any reason why this route is ineffective, faculty should let the assigned Realtime Captioner know as soon as possible in order in order to ensure continuity of service.

Alternative Format:

Many students have alternative format approved as an accommodation, which means that their textbooks and other classroom material are converted to an accessible electronic format, which can be read aloud using a screen reader or text to speech (TTS) software, enlarged, etc. Specialized formats such as Braille or raised graphics can also be produced, As courses will be offered remotely for the Spring quarter, it is essential that the documents, materials, and overall online environment is accessible to students that require the use of screen reader services and other technologies. The Accessible Course Resources and Information is a modified a toolkit of information and resources provided by Explore Access to support faculty in creating accessible materials. If you need additional support, the Disabilities and Computing Program may offer direct support.

No changes made to the following accommodations procedures, some of which may not be relevant to the remote learning experience:

  • Adjusted attendance requirements in consultation with CAE: Please see our CAE Accommodation Guideline to learn more about this accommodation and what your responsibilities are.
  • Computer for notes in class: You do not need to do anything for this accommodation. This means that the student is able to use their computer to take notes in class.
  • Powerpoints or handouts provided at least one day before the class, when possible: The CAE and the student will discuss this with you if-needed based on lecture style. If this is needed but is not possible, please contact the CAE to discuss a reasonable alternative.
  • Breaks During Class: You do not need to do anything for this accommodation. There is no limit to how many breaks can be taken. The student is expected to come back to class after break. Student should still be in class for the majority of class time.
  • Disability Seating: This means that the student has a seating need. The student will first see if they are able to access their needed seat/desk. If not, the CAE will consult with facilities to provide the required seating accommodation.
  • Preferential Seating: You do not need to do anything for this accommodation. The student understands it is their responsibility to identify their preferred seating.

Have questions about accessible course content and accessibility?

Please contact the Disabilities and Computing Program (DCP).

Have questions about accessibility remote tools or access to technology?

If faculty are aware of CAE students in your class who require a technology based accommodation, please email UCLA Online Teaching & Learning. They can provide you with solutions to meet those technology requirements. Additionally, you can contact the CAE counselor listed on the Letter of Accommodation for additional support.

What are the remote approved tools or guidance?