Academic Success
Registration & intake
Exam accommodations
Instructional/classroom accommodations
Information for Instructors
Instructor responsibilities
UBC Policy LR7 outlines the responsibilities of faculty in the delivery of academic accommodations and outlines students’ responsibilities who request access to those accommodations. All faculty members must be familiar with Policy LR7. Policy LR7 mandates the work of the DRC and faculty to ensure that the university meets its legal obligations to accommodate students with disabilities and chronic medical conditions.
DRC Info package for instructors
Instructor Portal
New to UBC? Learn how to use the accommodations portal by reviewing the DRC accommodations portal user guide for instructors.
The Accommodation Portal is used by students and faculty to manage academic accommodations. Instructors use their CWL credentials to log in to the Portal where they can:
- View student’s accommodation letters
- View student’s exam bookings
- Provide their exam information directly to the DRC Exam Team
- The exam form must be completed at least two business days before the date of the scheduled quiz/test/exam.
Access “how-to” videos for instructors:
How to: acknowledge accommodations
How to: enter information for testing
Types of Academic Accommodations
During each term, generally, at the beginning of the term, instructors will receive Accommodation Letters from each DRC registered student in each of their courses. Listed on each accommodation letter are the individualized accommodations for a student registered with the DRC, along with a detailed description of each accommodation. These may include exam, classroom, or procedural accommodations.
Exam Accommodations
Instructor Information
Students are required to request their exam accommodations through the DRC Student Portal by the relevant deadline:
- Midterm exams: At least seven (7) days before the date of a quiz/test/exam.
- Final exams: At least seven (7) days before the start of the final exam period.
If a student misses the DRC exam booking deadline, the instructor is not obligated to provide accommodations for the exam. Instructors may choose to provide accommodations to the student at their discretion.
Note: Exam accommodations are applicable for any timed evaluation, including quizzes, tests, midterms, and final exams.
Instructor Responsibilities
IMPORTANT: If a student books their exam through the Portal by the deadline, an instructor must complete the following steps:
- Six (6) business days before the exam: The instructor receives an email reminding them of their responsibilities leading up to the exam date. The instructor may log in to the Portal to view a list of students who requested accommodations.
- No later than 2 business days before the exam: The instructor must provide the exam information to the DRC by completing the “Test Information” page requested in the Portal.
- For in-person exams: Instructors must provide exam information and upload or deliver the exam copy to the DRC.
- For online exams:
- The DRC requires the exam information but does not require a copy of the exam. In the online environment, it is the instructor’s responsibility to make sure that the accommodations are set up properly in Canvas.
- The instructor is required to create their exam in Canvas and publish the exam. Once the exam is published that will enable a DRC Exam Coordinator to check the settings. If they wish, instructors can publish the exam and add question content later.
- Exam Coordinators will check exam settings in Canvas two (2) days before the exam to ensure that they are correct and will meet the students’ extended time accommodations. Instructors may choose to opt out of the Canvas checks.
Guide for Instructors:
Instructions for scheduling exams in Canvas
Online Accommodated Exams
The DRC will provide invigilation for online exams when:
- The student is not able to use Respondus Lockdown Browser due to their disability.
- The instructor is invigilating using Zoom and prefers that the DRC invigilates extended time accommodations.
- The student has:
- An adjusted start time (AST); or
- An approved out-of-time (OOT) request.
The DRC does not invigilate when:
- The class is not being invigilated.
- The student is not going to use their exam accommodations.
- The student has a take-home window exam.
Adjusted Start Time (AST)
The DRC does not invigilate exams past 9:30 pm. Evening exams invigilated by the DRC may have an AST time or the student may request an out-of-time (OOT) exam on the following day. An Exam Coordinator will manually adjust the exam time accordingly in our system.
Exam security for an AST
All students sign an exam confidentiality agreement. If a student finishes their exam before the regular start time of that exam they will be supervised by an invigilator until 30 minutes past the start time of the regular exam.
Opting Out of Canvas Checks
An instructor may “opt-out” of having an Exam Coordinator confirm their exam settings in Canvas. If they so choose, the instructor must check the “opt-out” box in the Portal when providing their exam information at least 2 business days before the exam.
- By opting out, the instructor takes full responsibility for ensuring the settings are accurate and correct as per the accommodation request.
- If an instructor has opted out and the DRC is contacted by a student during an exam to indicate their accommodations are not correct; the DRC will:
- Attempt to contact the instructor and request that they change the Canvas settings.
- If the instructor cannot be reached, the Exam Coordinator may go into Canvas and attempt to correct the exam settings.
Student responsibilities for online exams
- Students are responsible for finding a distraction-reduced space to write their online exams.
- Students who require adaptive technology should already have it on their personal computers.
Additional resources from the Centre for Teaching and Learning
What happens if exam accommodations are not met?
All efforts are made to provide accommodations to students who booked their exam by the deadline. However, there may be times when the accommodations and/or technology do not work out and result in a failure to provide accommodations. If a student/instructor becomes aware that the student did not receive accommodations, please email the details to drc.exams@ubc.ca as soon as possible.
DRC liaisons for each faculty
Each Faculty at UBC Okanagan has an assigned Accessibility Advisor Liaison (see below). If you have specific questions about providing accommodations to your students, you can contact your Accessibility Advisor Liaison or attend a drop-in session.
- Bree Sproule
- Faculty of Health & Social Development
- Okanagan School of Education
- Tina Marten
- Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies
- Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
- College of Graduate Studies
- Jason Taylor
- School of Engineering
- Faculty of Management
- College of Graduate Studies
- Co-Op
- Zoë Bigwood
- Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science
- Access Studies
- NITEP Vancouver (Indigenous Teacher Education Program)
Resources for Instructors
Designing for accessibility
The DRC has published a concise guide with tips for instructors on how to design for accessibility. When creating courses and course material, following this guide can help to reduce barriers for students with disabilities. View the complete Designing for Accessibility Guide here, or see each of the sections below:
- Designing for users on the autism spectrum
- Designing for users of screen readers
- Designing for users with low vision
- Designing for users with dyslexia
- Designing for users with physical or motor disabilities
- Designing for users who are deaf or hard of hearing
- Designing for users with anxiety
Supporting Students with Disabilities in BC Postsecondary
The Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) has published a free course for BC Post-Secondary instructors who are teaching and supporting students with disabilities in BC. The course provides practical information and easy-to-use strategies to help instructors to better support the learning of students with disabilities.
