If you require accommodations for any exams in DECEMBER 2024, please request those now.

11:59pm on November 19 is the deadline to request accommodations for any exams on December 3 or later, including all midterms and finals.

We know this post is long! Please skim through and read the sections that are relevant to you.

~~~

SUBMIT A REQUEST WHENEVER YOU NEED ACCOMMODATIONS, INCLUDING REMOTE EXAMS

Always submit a request for accommodations through the Accommodate system, with only three possible exceptions:

• If the exam is for a lab, contact your lab instructor first. Some lab exams require access to materials, specimens, and/or specialized software and must be written in the lab. Your lab instructor will advise you.
• If the class is not based at the Saskatoon campus, contact the student services staff at the class’ home campus to find out how they want you to submit your requests.
• If your program and/or college has advised you to follow different procedures to access accommodations, follow their instructions, not ours.

~~~

USE ACCOMMODATE TO REQUEST ACCOMMODATIONS FOR YOUR EXAMS

• Log into Accommodate by navigating to this URL https://paws5.usask.ca/#aes.
• Make sure you’ve requested your Letters to Professors (LTPs). The system will not allow you to request exam accommodations unless you’ve requested your LTPs. Your AES advisor needs to approve your LTP request, which can take a few days. Do not wait until November 19 to request your LTPs.
• If you need help with Accommodate, please view the how-to guide at this URL: https://canvas.usask.ca/enroll/AFB4WF

~~~

PLEASE UNCHECK IRRELEVANT ACCOMMODATIONS

Please take a few seconds to review your listed accommodations and UNCHECK any that you DON’T need. Some examples:

• The accommodations of “text-to-voice software” and “reader” provide the same outcome. Please choose the one accommodation you want to use and uncheck the other one.
• It’s unlikely that a 5-function calculator will be needed for an English exam. Please uncheck it.

~~~

REMOTE vs IN-PERSON ONLINE

Remote exams are those that can be written anywhere.

In-person online exams are written on campus, using your own device.

In-person on paper exams are written on campus, with a paper-based exam.

You are required to write the exam in the same format as the rest of the class.

Please find out the format before submitting your request. It is absolutely critical that we understand how the exam will be delivered in order to set up appropriate accommodations.

~~~

CHANGING EXAM TIMES

• If you have an accommodation such as “morning exams only”, “afternoon exams only”, or “no more than one final exam per 24 hour period”, it’s up to you to negotiate a time change with your instructor(s) before the AES deadlines. AES will not arbitrarily change an exam time without knowing that you have discussed the change with your instructor and picked a date/time that the instructor is okay with.
• AES only supports date and/or time changes for accommodation-related reasons. We will not support a time/date change for personal reasons such as work, family, or travel obligations.
• If you have a remote or online exam that you need to start early, you must negotiate that time directly with your instructor, since your instructor will adjust your timer. AES is not involved in setting the times/timers for remote or online exams. This is especially critical for timed online evening exams. 

~~~

WHAT TO TYPE IN THE NOTEBOX

Your notes help us book you into an appropriate space. If there is anything that might impact where you write the exam, please note that here.

We need to know things like: open-book exams, open-note exams where laptops are allowed, and lab exams where specialized equipment/specimens or software is required.

~~~

EVENING EXAMS

We start most in-person evening exams early (usually 5pm for 3-hour finals) so that all students and staff can leave campus at a reasonable hour.

The table below has the most common scenarios for students with time-and-a-half, but if you are having trouble calculating your start time, please email aesexams@usask.ca for help.

~~~

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS

If you need to change an exam date or time for religious reasons, please use the appropriate tab in Accommodate to submit your request.

~~~

CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR EXAM LOCATION?

We try to have all exam locations indicated about a week before the exam date but sometimes we can’t meet that expectation. If your exam is less than 24 hours away and you still don’t see a location indicated, email aesexams@usask.ca to ask. If your exam is more than 24 hours away, please just be patient.

Since remote exams can be written anywhere, we expect that you will not write them at AES. If needed, we can provide advice regarding space for remote exams but we do not have bookable space to share. If you have nowhere to write your remote exam, email aesexams@usask.ca for assistance.

~~~

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS?

Ask us! It’s easiest (and usually faster too!) to reach us by emailing this address: aesexams@usask.ca

A few years ago, March of Dimes Canada (MODC) created the Disability Advocacy Network (DAN).

The DAN is open to anyone who self-identifies as having a disability, family members or caregivers of people with disabilities, as well as advocates, paid care providers, or healthcare professionals working with people with disabilities. We are hoping to ask for your help to spread the word to anyone who may be interested in being part of DAN. To register, follow this link.

Careers Day offers students a chance to connect with future employers and community partners.

September 24, 10am to 3pm at the PAC

All students are welcome.

The first hour, from 10-11am, will be a dedicated low-sensory hour. The event coordinators will also have a Student Prep Lounge where students can take a break and connect with a Career Peer Educator. There will also be therapy dogs in the lounge for part of the event.

Beginning Fall 2024, the Access and Equity Services (AES) Exam Program will be located in our new Access and Equity Services Exam Centre, located in a large dedicated and accessible space in the Williams Building. The main office will be located at Room 344, next to a roomy and comfortable lounge area that AES students are welcome to use as a gathering and/or study space. Exams will be written on the third and fourth floors of the building.

The Williams Building is located on Cumberland Avenue, has an elevator and is accessible with transportation drop-offs and pick-ups at the rear, accessible entrance. There are also hourly pay parking spots and a city bus stop in front of the building. Please note that AES has retained a small number of exam locations on the main campus for students with restricted mobility who are unable to arrange transportation to Williams.

The AES Exam Program no longer has a sustainable way of securing sufficient and suitable space for accommodated exams in other campus buildings. The Program has grown exponentially since its inception in 1996. During the 2023-24 academic year, the Program arranged accommodations for over 15,000 exams; 4,070 of those exams were written in April 2024 alone. We are very excited about the potential of the Williams Building as a home for the AES Exam Program and we look forward to seeing you in the new space and invigilating any accommodated exams that you may have.

An open house for the USask community will take place on Thursday, Sept 19 from 11 am –2 pm in the Williams building. Please join us for a come and go tour of our new space and meet with our exams team. Refreshments will be provided.

For more information, please email aes@usask.ca.

Mental Health Counselling

The Ability Hub has partnered with Elevate Counselling & Therapy to provide Free Mental Health Counselling to people in Saskatoon who don’t have benefits or cannot afford counselling.

Elevate believes in being an inclusive community committed to serving its clients. They view each person as a unique individual with their own set of beliefs and ideologies and are open and respectful to all backgrounds and lifestyles.

For more details, please visit this link: https://mailchi.mp/bb8d39b30279/nsilc-december-newsletter-17398801?e=e2cc7bcd6c

Join the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS), the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD), and the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities (MLPD) as we celebrate National Accessibility Week with a series of free, virtual webinars!

National AccessAbility Week (NAAW) occurs on the last week of May and celebrates the contributions and leadership of people with disabilities, the work of allies, organizations, and communities removing barriers to accessibility, and ongoing efforts to become a more accessible and inclusive Canada.

Visit this URL for details and sign-up links: https://mailchi.mp/bfaeb419ee84/happy-naaw-joyeux-sna?e=0c8676a236

The Government of Saskatchewan accessibility survey closes this Friday, May 10^th . This survey will help the government to identify accessibility barriers persons with disabilities may experience when they use government facilities, programs, and services.

Please share your experience of accessibility when accessing Government of Saskatchewan services. Feel free to share the survey link with your contacts. Results from this survey will guide the development of the Government of Saskatchewan’s accessibility plan which will be published by December 3, 2024.

The direct link to the survey is available here: https://accessiblesk.saskatchewan.ca/accessibility-plan-survey-2024

If you need assistance in completing the survey or require the survey in an alternate format, please contact the Saskatchewan Accessibility Office at:

14th Floor, 1920 Broad Street
Regina, SK S4P 3V6
Toll-free: 1-877-915-7468
TTY: 306-787-7283
Email: accessiblesk@gov.sk.ca

You’re invited to participate in an online survey to help shape the future of Fighting Blindness Canada

Fighting Blindness Canada (FBC) is in the process of developing a new strategic plan that will define FBC’s priorities and activities over the next five years. I invite you to help identify how FBC can best serve our community to have the biggest impact by taking our survey. Find out more at this URL: https://mailchi.mp/0cc4e2998ed3/strategic-plan-survey?e=a869f7625b

If you require accommodations for any exams in April 2024, please request those now.

11:59pm on March 19 is the deadline to request accommodations for any exams in April, including all midterms and finals.

~~~

We know this email is long! Please skim through and read the sections that are relevant to you.

Different programs, colleges, and campuses that are part of the University of Saskatchewan might ask their students to follow different steps than those outlined below. If anything below contradicts what you have heard from your program, college, or home campus, please check with the student services staff associated with those units or ask us for help by emailing this address: aesexams@usask.ca.

~~~

USE ACCOMMODATE TO REQUEST ACCOMMODATIONS FOR YOUR EXAMS

• Log into Accommodate by navigating to this URL https://paws.usask.ca/aes.
• Make sure you’ve requested your Letters to Professors (LTPs). The system will not allow you to request exam accommodations unless you’ve requested your LTPs. Your AES advisor needs to approve your LTP request, which may take a few days. Do not wait until March 19 to request your LTPs.
• If you need help with Accommodate, please view the how-to guide at this URL: https://canvas.usask.ca/enroll/AFB4WF

~~~

SUBMIT A REQUEST WHENEVER YOU NEED ACCOMMODATIONS, INCLUDING REMOTE EXAMS

Always submit a request for accommodations through the Accommodate system, with only three possible exceptions:

• If the exam is for a lab, contact your lab instructor first. Some lab exams require access to materials and/or specimens and must be written in the lab. Your lab instructor will advise you.
• If the class is not based at the Saskatoon campus, contact the student services staff at the class’ home campus to find out how they want you to submit your requests.
• If your program and/or college has advised you to follow different procedures to access accommodations, follow their instructions, not ours.

~~~

PLEASE UNCHECK IRRELEVANT ACCOMMODATIONS

Please take a few seconds to review your listed accommodations and UNCHECK any that you DON’T need. Some examples:

• The accommodations of “text-to-voice software” and “reader” are essentially the same. Please choose the ONE accommodation you want and uncheck the other one.
• You’re unlikely to need a 5-function calculator for an English exam. Please uncheck it.

~~~

REMOTE vs IN-PERSON ONLINE

Remote exams are those that can be written online anywhere.

In-person online exams are written on campus, using your own device.

In-person on paper exams are written on campus, with a paper-based exam.

You are required to write the exam in the same format as the rest of the class.

Please find out the format before submitting your request. We must understand how the exam will be delivered in order to set up appropriate accommodations.

~~~

CHANGING EXAM TIMES

• If you have an accommodation such as “morning exams only”, “afternoon exams only”, or “no more than one final exam per 24 hour period”, it’s up to you to negotiate a time change with your instructor(s) before the AES deadlines. AES will not arbitrarily change an exam time without knowing that you have discussed the change with your instructor and picked a date/time that the instructor has agreed to.
• AES only supports date and/or time changes for accommodation-related reasons. We can not support a time/date change for personal reasons such as work or family obligations.
• If you have a remote or online exam that you need to start early, you must negotiate that time directly with your instructor, who will adjust the timer for you. We are not involved in setting the times/timers for remote or online exams. This is especially critical for timed online evening exams.

~~~

WHAT TO TYPE IN THE NOTE BOX

Your notes help us to book you into an appropriate space. If there is anything that might impact where you write the exam, please note that here.

We need to know things like: open-book exams, open-note exams where laptops are allowed, and lab exams where specialized equipment/specimens or software is required.

~~~

EVENING EXAMS

We start most in-person evening exams early (usually 5pm for 3-hour finals) so that all students and staff can leave campus at a reasonable hour.

~~~

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS

If you need to change an exam date or time for religious reasons, please use the appropriate tab in Accommodate to submit your request.

~~~

CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR EXAM LOCATION?

We try to have all exam locations indicated about a week prior to the exam date but sometimes we can’t meet that expectation. If your exam is less than 24 hours away and you still don’t see a location indicated, email aesexams@usask.ca to ask. If your exam is more than 24 hours away, please just be patient.

Since remote exams can be written anywhere, we expect that you will not write them at AES. We can provide advice regarding space for remote exams but we do not have extra space to share. If you have nowhere else to write your remote exam, email aesexams@usask.ca for assistance.

~~~

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS?

Ask us! It’s easiest (and usually faster too!) to reach us by emailing aesexams@usask.ca.

Attention Students Interested in Graduate Studies!

The Canadian Disability Participation Project (CDPP) is a is a research partnership of 43 academics from across Canada, the United States and England and 31 partners from Canadian sport, exercise and play organizations and academic institutions. The goal of CDPP is to develop, test, implement and nationally disseminate, evidence-based programs that create quality sport, exercise and play participation for children, youth and adults with physical, intellectual, and sensory disabilities.

CDPP welcomes enthusiastic, creative and curious students to join our team! Please see the attached flyer for more information and visit https://cdpp.ca/get-involved to review our directory of academic partners taking graduate students for the upcoming year.

2024 CDPP Graduate Student Recruitment 2