Monthly Archives: November 2020

FAQs about accommodations for December 2020 finals

Posted on by

This December, final exams are going to be different. We know you have questions about how your accommodations will work.

The most common questions (and answers!) are below. Hopefully, this will help you out. If not, send us an email at aesexams@usask.ca

Q. Yikes! I missed the deadline! Now what?

Unfortunately, the November 19 deadline is firm. Now that it has passed, you need to contact your instructors to see if they can provide accommodations without AES being involved.

Some instructors may be unwilling or unable to assist students who didn’t submit their requests through us. If they are unable to help you, you will need to write your exam(s) without accommodations.

Q. I submitted my requests a long time ago and they’re still “In Progress”! What gives?

“In Progress” means that we’re waiting to get information about your exam from your instructor.

Ten days before your exam date, our system will send an automated message to your instructor, telling them that a student requested accommodations and that we need information about the exam.

Once the instructor replies to that email, we insert the information they provided into your exam record and change the status to “Scheduled.”

We can’t change the status of your exam until we hear from your instructor. Some instructors are super prompt and we will be able to change the status 8-10 days prior to the exam date. Some instructors don’t reply to that first email, so we send a follow up about 3 days before the exam. Some don’t reply to that one either! If we don’t get a reply at all, we will make a note of that in your notebox, and change it to “Scheduled” anyway.

Because you followed the correct procedures, your accommodations are guaranteed to be provided. Do NOT worry if the status stays as “In Progress.” It just means that we don’t have information about the exam yet.

Q. What time does my evening exam start? I have two. My AES Exam Service tab says that one starts at 5:00pm and the other starts at 7:00pm. Is this really true?

The start time for evening exams in your AES Exam Service channel is just an arbitrary time chosen by our system. It is not necessarily correct.

If you have a 7:00pm exam, talk to your instructor about the start time NOW.

Some instructors might start the exams at 7:00pm, which means students with time and a half will have until 11:30pm to finish. Other instructors might start the exam early, so that they don’t have to monitor their email or WebEx room until late at night.

AES won’t necessarily get the start time from instructors, and even if we do, we might not get it until a day or two prior to the exam. It’s best to ask your instructor for this information well before the exam date.

Q. If I have a question while writing my exam, who can help me?

If your question is related to technology or to the exam material, reach out to your instructor by whatever means they offered. If your computer crashes, if you’re having trouble downloading your exam, if the timer doesn’t seem correct, or if you don’t understand a question, ask your prof during the exam. Do not wait until after the exam is handed in.

If your question is related to disability issues or temporary illness, email us at aesexams@usask.ca Our email will be monitored from 8:00am to 10:00pm beginning Monday, December 7 through Saturday, December 19 (excluding Sunday, December 13). We will reply ASAP after receiving your email; if you seem to be in distress, we will offer to open a WebEx room to facilitate an easier chat.

Q. I requested a reader and/or a scribe for my final exam. How will that work?

The reader and/or scribe accommodation is provided via WebEx.

The staff person scheduled to work with you will set up the WebEx room a few days in advance of the exam. They will also email you to introduce themselves.

The staff person is scheduled to open the WebEx room 15 minutes prior to the exam time. We encourage you to arrive a little early yourself, to introduce yourself to the staff person and discuss how to work on the exam. The exam itself should not begin earlier than the actual start time.

Q. I  have a question that isn’t answered here.

Email us at aesexams@usask.ca Our phone lines are not monitored while we work remotely.

Please keep in mind that our workload is very heavy during final exam periods. We work as quickly as we can but we do need to prioritize tasks. We will reply to your email as soon as we are able.

Good luck on your exams! Stay safe and enjoy the holiday break after your exams wrap up!

 

 

 

 

AES Exam Accommodations in an Online Learning Environment – Information for Instructors

Posted on by

When the U of S closed its campus in March 2020, the AES Exam Service team had very little time to adapt. Approximately 2500 exam requests had been submitted for April. There wasn’t time to contact each instructor regarding exam delivery and accommodations in the new online learning environment. As a result, we asked students to email their instructors directly, since in most cases, timing accommodations would need to be handled by instructors and other accommodations would need to be managed by the students at home.

What we found, in retrospect, is that most instructors prefer that AES stay involved in the accommodation process. AES is able to act as a gatekeeper, ensuring that all documents and communications are “official.” We also found that many students prefer that we stay involved since students aren’t always comfortable discussing their accommodation needs with their instructors.

Two other themes that emerged were:

  • Students were often unclear about how their timing accommodations would be implemented, which resulted in several in retroactive complaints.
  • Instructors are feeling overwhelmed with email.

To address these issues, the role of the AES Exam Service team was reconfigured and we worked with our IT support team to minimize the number of emails our system sends automatically to instructors. To ensure that students understood the changes, we sent monthly emails and also posted communications to our blog, PAWS channel, and website.

As of September 2020, the exam accommodation process ideally follows these steps:

  • Students request their Letters to Professors at the beginning of the term (or ASAP after registering) and send them to their instructors for informational purposes.
  • Students request accommodations for any sort of test by filling out the online AES request form.
  • The AES system automatically generates an email (with an attachment) for instructors 10 days before the exam date. The attachment:
    • Explains the role of AES in the accommodation process.
    • Asks for information about the exam (such as format and time).
    • Includes a list of ALL students writing the same exam on a specific date.
  • Instructors should fill out the exam information sheet using Acrobat Pro by Adobe or other means and email it back to AES.
  • AES transfers relevant information about the exam to the student’s online exam record, so that the student understands what to expect when they arrive at the exam.
  • The instructor adjusts the timer for timed online exams, as required.
  • AES arranges any accommodations that the students cannot manage themselves, specifically readers and scribes.

We do understand that instructors have had to make a lot of changes and adaptations, and that they have a lot on their plates. The form we are asking you to fill out and return is indeed one more thing. However, we are hoping that our new processes help by:

  • streamlining all requests for a single exam on a specific date into one email;
  • removing the need for instructors to keep track of the Letters to Professors and/or communicate with individual students regarding the accommodations for each exam;
  • requesting a very small amount of information; and
  • diminishing the number of student issues that need to be addressed retroactively.

We’ve had positive feedback from some instructors about these changes thus far. We’ve also seen a noticeable decrease in the number of retroactive student complaints. These processes do promise to improve things for everyone. Please take the short time required to complete and send back our exam information form.

If you ever have questions or concerns about the AES Exam process, please contact us. Our phones are not monitored while we work remotely. It’s best to reach out by email to this address: aesexams@usask.ca

Automated email – message body

Exam Information attachment

Take time to seek joy and comfort

Posted on by

Recently, Chelsea (Notetaking Coordinator) made a joke-y confession to me: she had ordered a new outfit, one that was really only appropriate for the office. She felt silly buying clothes that she currently has nowhere to wear. But I totally understood.

When my mom was in palliative care several years ago, my sister, my dad, and I would switch off staying with her. On my time away from the hospital, I would head home to spend time with my dog … and then I would often go to Value Village. I had been a vintage clothing reseller on eBay before my mom got sick. Skimming the racks at Value Village was something that I did weekly. For me, there’s a kind of mindlessness in focussing on the clothing racks in front of me, skimming my hands down the hangers, feeling for unexpected fabric textures. It was both a chance for my brain to unplug and for me to find some comfort in doing something routine, regardless of the chaos and sadness around me. And then, voila! There would be joy in brushing over a bit of crepe de chine or flocked velvet.

There’s comfort in doing things that we used to enjoy doing. It makes us feel less adrift. It makes us feel hopeful that things will return to some kind of normal, where we can do those kinds of things again. And just, really, with all the changes we have to adapt to, if we already know that something holds joy for us, why not just keep turning to it?

You may to adapt a little bit. Tanya (Exam Program Assistant) and I are concert buddies. We’ve gone to dozens of concerts together. We both desperately miss live music. Obviously, going to a 2019-style concert is just not going to happen. But, we’ve been to 4 drive-in concerts together. We sometimes watch the same online concert while texting about the show. And we’ve figured out ways to stay connected with our favourite artists, which is a big part of the concert joy for us.

Living through a pandemic is hard. There’s so much uncertainty and worry. Our movements are restricted. We’ve had to adapt to new ways of doing so many things. Seek joy in the small things, and relish the comfort that comes from experiencing that joy.

Need some ideas? Why not:

  • Play board games with friends over Zoom.
  • Get dressed up one night and get some take out or watch an online concert.
  • Handwrite and mail some letters or cards. Maybe your recipients will pay the favour back and you’ll find some joy in your own mailbox.
  • Revert to your childhood and build yourself a blanket fort where you can curl up with a good book and some snacks for the evening.
  • Make yourself a playlist that will get you up and dancing in the kitchen.

Joy doesn’t have to be 24/7. Just a little bit can give us the comfort we all so desperately need.

Wishing you moments of joy today.

Jacki for AES

Image courtesy of Dar Hosta James, Dar’s 52 Mondays Blog at: 

Monday #31: Mission Possible

November 19th deadline to request exam accommodations for December 3+

Posted on by

If you require accommodations for any exams in December 2020, please request those now. 11:59pm on November 19 is the deadline to request accommodations for any exams on December 3 or later.

HOW TO REQUEST ACCOMMODATIONS FOR FINAL EXAMS

Log into PAWS –> Go to the AES channel –> Click on “Exam Service” –> Click on the “Final Exam” link –> Fill out the form(s)

If your final exam does not show up when you work through those steps, it is not in the University’s final exam schedule. This commonly happens with lab finals and any exam outside of the final exam period (such as on the last day of classes). If your final exam does not show up when you use the final exam link, use the non-final exam link instead.

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT REQUESTING ACCOMMODATIONS

  • Even if your exam is online, fill out an AES request form if you require any accommodations at all.
  • AES only supports date and/or time changes for accommodation-related reasons. We will not change an exam date or time for personal reasons (such as travel, work, or family obligations).
  • If you need to change the date or time of an exam, you must get permission from your instructor BEFORE you submit your request. This includes situations where students have accommodations such as “no morning exams.” Even if you have an accommodation supporting a time change, you still have to talk to your instructor about it.
  • Please make arrangements with your your lab instructor/coordinator if you require accommodations for a lab exam.
  • If you need to change an exam date or time for religious reasons, visit this link: https://students.usask.ca/academics/exams.php#ReschedulingExams
  • AES staff is required to work remotely and cannot set up accommodations for on-campus exams in 2020. If you have an on-campus exam, please speak to your college regarding accommodations.

HOW AES IS SUPPORTING STUDENTS DURING FINAL EXAMS 

While the University is closed due to the pandemic, the AES Exam Program is functioning mainly as a liaison between students and instructors. Our goal is to streamline the process and minimize email communications between instructors and students.

  1. A student submits a request for accommodations using the AES PAWS form.
  2. The AES system creates an automated email for the instructor, asking for details about the exam format.
  3. Once the instructor sends those details, AES inserts them into the student’s exam request record.
  4. The student checks their AES Exam Service channel for the exam details, which will be posted ASAP after being received from the instructor (usually 1-3 days prior to the exam date).

In addition to assisting with information flow, we will set up scribes and/or readers via the WebEx conference app, if required.

Questions? Ask us! Since we’re working remotely, it’s easiest to reach us by emailing this address: aesexams@usask.ca