Academic accommodations

Academic Regulation A-6 outlines the definitions and legal obligations in terms of academic accommodation. Accommodation Services work in collaboration with the academic community and stakeholders to assess, establish and implement appropriate academic accommodation measures for students with disabilities. Students who require academic accommodation are strongly encouraged to contact Accommodation Services as soon as possible. Professors are not to determine academic accommodations themselves.

Professors normally receive an email from Accommodation Services early in the term, with the list of students requiring academic accommodations, and the nature of the accommodations (exam and/or teaching accommodations). However, it is highly recommended that professors proactively verify the information available via the Ventus portal. If there are students requiring academic accommodations for timed assessments in a course (quiz, mid-term, exam, etc.), the professor must fill out a notice of examination for each, no fewer than ten calendar days before the assessment date.

Religious accommodations

The University maintains a list of commonly recognized religious holidays that will be considered for religious accommodation purposes. The conditions for granting a religious accommodation are governed by Academic Regulation A-5. A student who wishes to make a request for accommodation based on religious observance must do so by submitting a request to the professor in charge of the course. The request for accommodation must identify the nature of the religious observance and the accommodation requested. The student must assist the professor in their efforts to provide reasonable accommodation.

Exam schedule conflicts accommodations

After informing students of the final exam date, you should advise students to report any conflicts in exam schedules to the Faculty’s Undergraduate Studies Office. There are three types of valid exam schedule conflicts:

• Type 1: Two exams at the same time on the same day
• Type 2: Three exams within a 24-hour period
• Type 3: Two in-class exams back-to-back

For Type 1 conflicts, the Faculty’s Undergraduate Studies Office will contact the professor to discuss possibilities for accommodating the student. For Type 2 conflicts, the Faculty will proceed the same way as for Type 1 conflicts, but only if requested by the student. Type 3 conflicts are recognized for students with special learning needs only. In these cases, the Faculty will refer the student to Accommodation Services.

The above exam schedule conflict rules do not apply to:

• take-home exams
• conflicts between exam and travel schedules (train, plane, etc.); or any other situation the Faculty deems invalid
• exceptional circumstances (fire, bomb scare, inclement weather, bridge closure, etc.) resulting in the cancellation or postponement of an exam during the official or supplemental exam period
• misreading the exam schedule or forgetting about an exam