Descriptions of Common Accommodations
For some students, accessing PowerPoint slides before attending the lecture allows for greater accessibility. Earlier access allows students to convert the slides into more accessible formats for screen reader use or note-taking access. It can also allow students to review unknown vocabulary so that they can better keep up with the lecture material in real time. Students may be approved for this accommodation for a number of reasons, including but not limited to, ADHD, learning disabilities and auditory processing disorders. Previewing material can also strengthen attention during class by preparing students with what to expect.
Students whose disabilities affect the ability to handwrite efficiently or legibly, including but not limited to dyslexia and dysgraphia, may be approved to use a laptop for in-class note-taking, written assignments, and essay tests. While laptops may be prohibited for general classroom use, students with this accommodation must be permitted to use their laptops as needed to fully participate in the course.
Students approved for this accommodation are expected to use their laptops only for course-related activities during class. If a course has a policy restricting laptop use, that policy may still apply to all other students.
Faculty are encouraged to include a statement in their syllabus addressing this accommodation, such as:
“Computers and laptops may not be used during class unless the student is registered with Learning Support Services (LSS) or Accessibility and Disability Services (ADS) and has laptop use approved as an accommodation.”
This statement may be incorporated into the syllabus section that outlines the process for requesting and implementing accommodations through LSS or ADS.
If you have concerns about students using a laptop to write an essay test, consider setting up their test on LockDown Browser. This will ensure that students continue to have access to their accommodations and are able to take their test in a more secure environment. Please refer to the guides available for Brightspace Quizzes and LockDown Browser on Brightspace or speak with UTS to learn more about how to set this up properly.
In some cases, the format of an exam may present barriers for a student with a disability. When the exam format is an essential component of the course or learning outcomes, modifying that format may not be a reasonable accommodation. However, if the format is not essential to the course, an alternative assessment method may be considered.
When a faculty member receives a letter indicating this accommodation, please note that students are expected to initiate a conversation with their instructor to discuss whether any adjustments to the exam format may be appropriate. LSS staff are available to support this discussion.
If a student has a disability that prevents them from regularly contributing to class discussions, faculty are not required to waive participation requirements. Instead, we ask that students speak proactively with the faculty about the barriers they face in service of figuring out potential alternative ways for students to contribute. Students may be approved for this accommodation for several reasons, including but not limited to anxiety and panic disorders, aphasia, or speech disorders.
Students with this accommodation are permitted to have disability-related absences excused when those absences are communicated to their instructor, but this accommodation does not excuse participation and is not unlimited. Students are responsible for obtaining missed class and coursework, submitting work on time and communicating with the professor regarding absences in a timely manner.
Faculty and students should discuss how this accommodation will be implemented as early as possible, including expectations for communication and understanding what a reasonable number of absences may be in the course. If the number of absences begins to interfere with the essential requirements of the course, faculty should contact the student and LSS to discuss options.
Faculty are also responsible for timely communication regarding a student’s ability to meet the course requirements, especially for participation. If the student is not able to meet the course requirements because their level of understanding has been compromised by their absences, please be in contact with the student and LSS to discuss options, if any, at the earliest sign of difficulty. This accommodation is typically approved for students with chronic health conditions, mental health disabilities, and other disabilities or conditions that are episodic in nature and may unpredictably affect their ability to attend class.
Students with this accommodation may receive reasonable extensions on assignment deadlines when a disability-related flare-up or exacerbation affects their ability to complete work on time. This accommodation is not intended to provide unlimited extensions or excuse students from completing coursework. Students are responsible for communicating with their professor promptly, requesting extensions as needed, and completing all assigned work.
Faculty and students should discuss how this accommodation will be implemented as early as possible, including expectations for communication and reasonable extension timeframes. If the number or length of extension requests begins to interfere with the essential requirements of the course, faculty should contact the student and LSS to discuss options.
This accommodation is typically approved for students with chronic health conditions, mental health disabilities, and other disabilities or conditions that are episodic in nature and may unpredictably affect their ability to complete coursework by established deadlines.
Many courses require presentations. If it is an essential element of the course, it is important that the student meets the requirements. For students with disabilities that create barriers to this type of assessment, we ask that students and faculty discuss potential alternatives. Some examples may include presenting to the faculty member during office hours, recording the presentation, using text-to-speech, or if it is a group presentation, potentially taking on the project alone or planning to take on a greater role in the research or preparation of materials in lieu of presenting. Students may be approved for this accommodation for a number of reasons, including but not limited to anxiety and panic disorders, PTSD, aphasia, or speech disorders.
Students approved for this accommodation require access to course materials in formats that differ from those typically available through the bookstore. In most cases, this means providing electronic versions of textbooks that are compatible with assistive technology. While accessible formats are more readily available than ever, each semester Learning Support Services (LSS) works with students, publishers, and organizations such as Bookshare and Learning Ally to obtain accessible versions of required texts.
Unless you are contacted directly by the student or LSS, no action is typically required beyond allowing students to use materials in the format that best meets their accessibility needs. If you provide PDF versions of readings, please upload them to Brightspace. A software called Ally can then help ensure those documents are accessible to students who use assistive technology. Students will be able to utilize the text-to-speech program, ReadSpeaker TextAid, which is available under the Villanova Resources on Brightspace, to engage with these accessible texts.
Extended time (typically 50% additional time and, less commonly, 100% additional time) means that a student is approved to receive extra time beyond the amount provided to the rest of the class. This accommodation may be approved for a variety of disability-related reasons.
Extended time should be calculated based on the amount of time available to the class, not on the amount of time an assessment is expected to take. For example, if an exam is designed to take one hour but all students are given two hours to complete it, a student approved for 50% extended time would receive an additional hour, for a total of three hours.
Please note that this accommodation is generally intended for traditional timed assessments, such as quizzes, exams, and in-class tests. Clinical assessments, labs, presentations, and other nontraditional assessment formats should be considered on a case-by-case basis. Similarly, take-home exams or assessments that are available over an extended period of time typically do not require additional testing time. Students who anticipate accessibility-related challenges with these types of assessments should discuss their needs with the instructor and LSS as early as possible.
Implementing testing accommodations is a shared responsibility between students, faculty, and Learning Support Services (LSS). Faculty are encouraged to provide approved testing accommodations whenever feasible. When an instructor is unable to provide all required accommodations, LSS offers test proctoring services.
Students should first consult with their instructor to determine whether the instructor can administer the exam with the approved accommodations. If the instructor is unable to do so, the student should schedule the exam in advance through ClockWork to take the test with the office in which they are registered.
In lectures and/or class discussions, students capture course content through the process of note-taking. Students use their notes to process and organize information and build study aids to be later used for quizzes and exam preparation and/or writing papers. For some students with disabilities, note-taking itself is a barrier — affecting their capacity to access, obtain, retain, and use course content effectively. LSS offers two approaches to support students with disabilities with these barriers:
- Note-taking assistance addresses comprehension challenges that make it difficult for a student with a disability to independently produce a useful set of notes. A student with ADHD, for example, may experience information processing difficulties due to concentration lapses or distractibility, interrupting their capacity to follow and take notes during a continuous lecture or class discussion. A student with a learning disability may struggle to differentiate between key concepts or main themes and background information in real time, or may process spoken information at a pace that makes it impossible to both comprehend and record content simultaneously. The provision of a summary of notes or use of a peer notetaker through this accommodation gives the student access to course content they were unable to fully capture on their own.
- Permission to record addresses a related but distinct need. A student may be able to follow a lecture or class discussion and recognize critical information — but concentration lapses, processing pace, or momentary distractions can leave gaps in their notes. The ability to record and revisit the session allows the student to fill in those gaps, reinforcing their own notes with content they identified as important but were unable to capture in the moment. Recording is a personal study tool and is not intended for distribution or use beyond the individual student's academic preparation.
Students approved for a private testing room should be provided with a space where they can complete quizzes and exams without other test-takers present. If an instructor is unable to provide this accommodation, Learning Support Services (LSS) can assist with arranging an appropriate testing environment.
Students may be approved for a private room for a variety of disability-related reasons, including, but not limited to, the use of assistive technology that could be distracting to others, the need for a reader or scribe, or other accommodations that require a private testing room.
Please note that LSS testing space is limited. As a result, students may need to take an exam at a different time or on a different day than the rest of the class in order to receive this accommodation. If an instructor is unable to provide a private room, students should reach out directly to the Falvey Test Center to schedule their exam.
Students approved for a reader for quizzes and exams are permitted to have test questions read aloud. When exams are administered through Learning Support Services (LSS), this accommodation is typically provided in one of the following ways:
- Reader Pen: A handheld assistive device that scans printed text and reads it aloud to the student.
- Text-to-Speech Technology: Assistive technology that reads digital exam content aloud from a computer screen.
- Human Reader: A trained LSS staff member who reads the exam questions aloud to the student.
The method used depends on the student's needs, the format of the exam, and the assistive technology available. All methods are designed to provide access to exam content without altering the content or expectations of the assessment.
Students approved for a reduced -distraction testing environment should have the opportunity to complete quizzes and exams in a setting outside the main classroom that minimizes visual and auditory distractions. This accommodation is intended to provide a quieter testing space that supports the student's ability to focus and demonstrate their knowledge.
A reduced -distraction environment does not require complete isolation. Rather, it is typically a quiet room with a limited number of test-takers and fewer distractions than a standard classroom setting. At Learning Support Services (LSS), this accommodation is generally provided in a testing space that seats up to 20 students.
This accommodation may be approved for a variety of disability-related reasons, including but not limited to ADHD, anxiety disorders, and other conditions that significantly impact concentration or test-taking performance. If an instructor is unable to provide an appropriate reduced -distraction environment, students should book in advance through ClockWork.
Although uncommon, some students are approved to use a scribe for quizzes and exams. With this accommodation, the student dictates their responses, and the scribe writes exactly what the student says without providing assistance, clarification, or editing. When exams are proctored through LSS, the scribe is typically a trained LSS staff member.
Some students may use speech-to-text technology instead of a human scribe. This assistive technology allows students to dictate their responses verbally while software transcribes their speech into written text. Both accommodations are designed to provide access for students whose disabilities significantly impact the physical act of writing or typing.
Longer exams, such as final or comprehensive exams, may need to be administered in multiple sessions. For example, a student approved for double time on a 2.5-hour exam would be entitled to 5 hours to complete the assessment. In some cases, providing the full accommodation in a single sitting may not be reasonable, and faculty may be asked to divide the exam into two separate testing sessions. Students may be approved for this accommodation for various reasons, including the need for extended time or health conditions that affect stamina, endurance, or fatigue.