Information for Professors about Scheduling Exams

The Goldman Office of Disability Services (ODS) maintains testing areas for students with documented disabilities. These areas are made available to students who require testing accommodations such as extended time or distraction reduced environments. Only students who have completed the Tulane ODS review process and have a documented disability may test in ODS; testing rooms may not be used for the general student population. The following is a list of commonly asked questions about testing accommodations and professors' responsibilities.

How do I know if a student has a registered disability and testing accommodations?

• A Course Accommodation Form (CAF) will be used as verification that a student is registered with disability services. The CAF is the official ODS document outlining the approved accommodations as recognized by Tulane University. If you have any questions or concerns regarding these accommodations please contact ODS IMMEDIATELY. Note: It is unlawful to ask the nature of a student's disability.
• Testing accommodations should be implemented after the student has presented the professor with a CAF.
• CAFs must be dated within the current semester and signed by the Director or Assistant Director of ODS.
• Students who disclose to the professor that they have a disability but do not have a CAF should be referred to ODS before any accommodations are granted.
• We recommend that professors make an announcement, either verbally or in the class syllabus, to students with disabilities. This general statement would be a request for a student needing exam accommodations to meet with the professor as soon as possible and present the CAF.
• Although we recommend that professors make an announcement at the beginning of the semester, students have the right to disclose their need for accommodations at anytime during the semester. Accommodations, however, are not retroactive. Professors are not obligated to change the grade of an assignment/exam if a student self discloses after the assignment is complete.  Neither may a student disclose a registered disability and the need for accommodations during the exam.

How do I make sure my students receive their testing accommodations?
The professor and the student should collaborate and decide how best to handle the student's accommodations, but ultimately, professors have the right to decide if testing students themselves is feasible or not. Once you sign the CAF, you are responsible for ensuring the students receive their testing accommodations. You may decide to test students yourself or have them test in the ODS testing center.

Students are not allowed to mandate where they test. The ODS testing center is a service to professors provided by the university.

Should the professor decide to test the student, the staff at ODS is available for questions as needed.

I choose not to test a student with accommodations myself, how do I schedule a student to test at the ODS?
The primary responsibility of scheduling tests at ODS falls in the student's hands. Once a CAF is signed and received by the professor, the student should also submit a blue Exam Request Form  (“the blue sheet”). The ODS uses these forms to schedule tests at our testing center. The student will fill out the top portion and professors are responsible for the following sections.

We ask for the following information:

• Contact information, which gives us multiple ways to contact the professor before, during and after a test.
• Dates, start times, and length of exams. We ask that the professor list the length of time the class will have for the test. We will calculate the amount of time the student registered with ODS will be permitted. It is very important that the professor remember that the ODS Testing Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  All tests must be taken during those hours. More than one exam may be listed on the blue sheet, and we do prefer that you list all exams, including the final, if at all possible. During the peak testing times,  the ODS Testing Center will extend hours to better accommodate students and faculty. The last section requests the professor to indicate what is allowed and/or forbidden in an exam room (e.g. textbook, note card, calculator, ruler, or periodic table).
• Finally, sign and date the blue sheet. We suggest that you keep a copy for your records.
• Students are responsible for bringing the blue sheets to the ODS. Professors are not required to bring the blue sheets to ODS.
• We request that all blue sheets be turned in 4 days before an exam and 7 days before a final.
• We ask that the professor only use blue sheets to schedule exams.
• Should the professor decide to change the date of the test after a blue sheet was submitted to ODS, an email from the professor will be sufficient to change the date of the exam.
• If a student needs to change the date of an exam due to illness, scheduling conflict, etc., a student  must obtain written permission from the professor that the test may be rescheduled. ODS has no authority to change the time or date of the test without a professor's permission.
• If a student presents the professor with a blue sheet fewer than 4 days before a exam or 7 days before a final, we will make every effort to accommodate them.  However, due to limited space we cannot  guarantee all accommodations will be met. All exams are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.
• The professor is responsible for delivering and picking up the exams. We ask that exams be dropped of at ODS, preferably 24 hours before the test, and no later than 30 minutes before the test time.

What if I cannot bring in or pick up the exam? 
Exams may be delivered or picked up by an Instructor, TA, GA, authorized student worker, or one of the    professor's office staff during our business hours. Upon professor's explicit written permission, students taking the exam may also deliver the exam to the professor in a sealed and signed envelope from ODS.

Professor's may opt to have the tests scanned and returned via e-mail. Please note: Tests taken in blue books cannot be scanned. ODS makes no guarantees about the quality of scanned tests taken in pencil.

What if I forget to bring in the exam? 
The professor's office will be called by ODS staff. Students may choose to try and locate the professor to obtain the test. Students will be sent to the testing location with an envelope. Professors should sign and seal the back of the envelope after including the test. Note that students are not required to try and find the professor to locate a test. 

Should the student decide to wait at ODS for the test to be delivered, the student will be required to wait 30 minutes, after which time the test will need to be rescheduled by the professor and student.

What happens to tests that are not picked up? 
Unused exams are shredded one week after test day. Completed exams not picked up are destroyed after 6 months.  Scanned/e-mailed tests will be held in ODS in a secure location until the complete of the following semester in which the exam was taken, at which time they will be shredded.

How do I know that my test is secure at ODS? 
ODS staff administers all tests and makes sure test papers are under direct supervision or locked in a secure location at all times. Students in testing rooms may be monitored by video camera. The ODS staff or the professor may check in on students with or without knocking. Under no circumstances are the students allowed backpacks or mobile phones in the testing rooms. 

Any student suspected of cheating may be questioned by ODS staff or the professor. Should a student be caught cheating, all materials in the testing room will be confiscated, including the materials being used to cheat. The professor and the dean of the college will be contacted. All evidence will be submitted to the dean of the college in which the student is enrolled.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Office of Disability Services 862-8433.