POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

• Each semester, students must complete a Request for Accommodations in ClockWork to receive accommodations for that term. By completing this request in ClockWork you will be able to send a copy of your accommodations letter to the professors of the courses in which you are enrolled. Please refer to our Clockwork Guidelines for more information.
• Although students are providing their accommodation letters to their professors electronically, professors and students are expected to discuss the accommodations to make sure all parties are clear on what is needed. LSS staff are available to answer any questions or concerns and can help facilitate conversations between students and faculty. Students who would like assistance communicating with their professors should contact LSS.
  
• Arrangements need to be made in advance for all accommodations, but especially for extended-time testing. The Falvey Test Center provides test proctoring services when professors are unable to provide all required testing accommodations for a student.
• When professors are unable to provide all required testing accommodations, students must book their quizzes, tests, and final exams at least 3 business days in advance through ClockWork to take their test with the Falvey Test Center. With few exceptions, students are expected to take a test on the assigned date. The accommodation of extended test time does not mean extended preparation time.
• Faculty members cannot retroactively provide academic accommodations for course requirements for students who have not previously presented a letter from the Learning Support Office supporting such requests.
• LSS recommends that students send a copy of their accommodation letter to their academic advisor and/or athletic academic advisor. Please refer to our Guidelines for Sending Additional Accommodation Letters to learn how to do this in ClockWork.
• Students in the College of Nursing who have more than one professor listed for a course will have the option to share their accommodation letter with the person listed as the primary professor. The primary professor will share it with the appropriate faculty member(s).

• Professors and students are expected to discuss the accommodations to make sure all parties are clear on what is needed. This should be done as early as possible in the semester. You do not need to identify your disability; however, explaining how you learn best and how you can best be assessed will be helpful.
• If your accommodation is for extra time on tests, you will need to discuss how and where your test will be proctored. Potential conflicts exist if you or the professor has a class immediately following a test. Potential solutions may be starting ahead of time in the professor’s office, taking the exam back to the office after class, taking it in a nearby conference room or office, or arranging to have it proctored with the Falvey Test Center.
• All of your professors will have posted office hours. Villanova professors do encourage their students to make full use of the office hours. They are available to help you with your coursework and questions, so take full advantage of this one-on-one opportunity.
• Ask for any advice they might offer on learning the material, studying for exams, or otherwise performing well in the class. Do they post their notes or practice problems? Do they conduct review sessions before exams? Will they review a rough draft for any writing assignments?
• It is appropriate to share with them what works for you (or doesn’t help you) in the course and to compliment them on the techniques that you find aid your learning. For example, “The outlines of your notes are very helpful in following the lecture or when you are writing on the board while explaining a problem, but I am unable to follow you (or hear you) when…”

Students who have an approved accommodation for notetaking support should contact LSS to coordinate the type of notetaking assistance they will receive.  Below is an overview of the note-taking options students can choose from. LSS covers any costs associated with notetaking accommodations for students who have been approved for this accommodation. Students should email LSS to ask how to access the note-taking option they want to use.

Note-taking Technology:

• OneNote: OneNote is a digital notebook that helps you keep all your notes organized and can be used to record audio. This software is available for free to all Villanova students through Office 365. To access OneNote (and other Office 365 features) sign in with your Villanova username and password. 
• AudioNote: AudioNote enables you to type notes and link them to an audio recording. Your notes will be time-stamped, allowing you to playback the recording from that point in the lecture so you can fill in any missing notes. You can also upload pictures and lecture slides to enhance your notes. You can download AudioNote to your computer, smartphone, or tablet. Check out the AudioNote video that describes several features of AudioNote. LSS will reimburse eligible students who purchase AudioNote for their notetaking accommodation.
• Livescribe Smart Pens: Livescribe Smart Pens are pens that record audio while you take notes. That audio is time-stamped to your notes (similarly to AudioNote), allowing you to seamlessly review notes, fill in gaps, and create study guides without missing a word. Check out the Smart Pens video about how to use the Livescribe Smart Pens. LSS can provide eligible students with a Livescribe Smart Pen to borrow for the academic year.

Other Notetaking Options:

• If the above technology options do not meet your notetaking needs, please email to discuss the other notetaking options available.

Many students will participate in pre-approved summer courses at another university as well as study abroad programs for a semester, a summer, or a year. In both cases, it is of the utmost importance that students make contact with the program director for the planned program.

For a Summer Course at another University:

Students need to find out if a letter from LSS verifying the accommodations received at Villanova will be sufficient or if they need to send a full copy of their disability documentation. LSS can provide this to the summer university with students' written permission.

For a Study Abroad Program:

The process begins with accessing the Office of Education Abroad to explore the many program offerings. It is important to learn more about the provision of accommodations in the various countries and begin to identify potential access barriers and how they can be proactively addressed. Laws similar to the U.S. may or may not exist in the countries being considered. For example, some medications for ADHD that are commonly used in the United States are illegal in other countries. Or students may only receive an extra 25 minutes to complete an exam, regardless of the length of the test, rather than getting the full 50% extra time that they would receive in the United States. 

Once a program is chosen, students must communicate with the Program Director to find out what documentation is needed. Students need to find out if a letter from LSS verifying the accommodations received at Villanova will be sufficient or if they need to send a full copy of their disability documentation. LSS can provide this to the study abroad program with students' written permission.

All Villanova students are required to follow Villanova's Code of Academic Integrity. 

Taking Tests in LSS Test Centers

Learning Support Services oversees both the Falvey Test Center and the Tolentine Test Center. Both Test Centers provide test proctoring services when professors are unable to provide all required testing accommodations for a student or when a student needs to make up an exam for illness, athletics, or other concerns. Check out the Villanova Test Centers Webpage for more information on the different Test Centers.

For reasons such as back-to-back class schedules, approved accommodations, and availability in the LSS Test Centers, students sometimes need to take exams at a different time or on a different day than the rest of the class. Providing information to other students about the content or structure of an exam or seeking information from other students about an exam is forbidden. Cheating is in the form of using unpermitted notes, study aids, or unsanctioned electronic devices. The policy states, “While taking a test or examination, students shall rely on their own mastery of the subject and not attempt to receive help in any way not explicitly approved by the instructor; for example, students shall not try to use notes, study aids, or another's work. Such cheating includes trying to give or obtain information about a test when the instructor states that it is to be confidential.”

Note-Taking

Some students are approved for note-taking support, including permission to record lectures. Any recordings are solely for the student’s personal use and should not be shared publicly or privately with any unauthorized individuals. Students with permission to record lectures are responsible for ensuring that the recording is not shared, posted online or used improperly by others.

Accommodations for Episodic Conditions

A select number of students have documented episodic conditions that require flexibility with attendance and/or assignment deadlines during flare-ups. Using these accommodations for reasons unrelated to disability is “misrepresenting oneself or one's circumstances to an instructor” and a clear example of academic dishonesty.

LSS staff members are required to report any suspected cheating or violations of academic integrity.

Students who have an approved accommodation to receive textbooks and other materials in an alternate format will be signed up for Bookshare and Learning Ally. If you haven’t received confirmation that you’ve been signed up to access these programs, please email LSS.

For ALL alternate format arrangements:

• In most cases, the student must purchase the textbook.
• Requests will be handled in the order they are received. The closer to the beginning of the semester, the longer the wait time. It is best to put in your requests as soon as you know which textbooks you will need.
• Students with an approved accommodation to receive textbooks and other materials in an alternate format should sign up for Bookshare.
• Students who are not eligible for alternate text formats based on their documentation are still welcome to utilize TextHelp’s Text-to-Speech Tools. Many publishers offer textbooks for purchase in multiple formats.
  

Students who have a disability or condition that is episodic in nature may experience unpredictable flare-ups that affect their attendance and/or ability to submit assignments on time. Please refer to the Accommodations for Students with Episodic Conditions webpage for additional information on attendance modification, deadline adjustment and how we work with students and faculty to implement reasonable accommodations for students with episodic conditions.