Guidelines for faculty
We need your help to ensure legal requirements are met in your classroom to ensure students with disabilities have equal access to their education. In this section, you’ll find resources available to you to ensure that students with disabilities are able to be successful in their Washburn journey.
If you have any concerns or questions regarding how to best accommodate a student with a disability, please reach out to us at 785.670.1622 or accommodations@washburn.edu.
Accommodate faculty portal
Washburn utilizes an accommodation management system called Accommodate to manage accommodation requests. Faculty/instructors and students each have an individual portal to manage their accommodations.
The faculty/instructor portal includes access to the following:
- View accommodation letters (previously signed and those still needing to be signed)
- View students with accommodations enrolled in your individual courses
- Upload and receive exams/quizzes in a secure area
- Review resources for accommodations
To ensure the security of examinations given in the SASO Testing Center, all examinations and testing information should be uploaded and completed in the faculty portal under "Course" - "Exams". Please view the instructions or video tutorial below for detailed steps for submitting examinations via Accommodate. If you are choosing to drop off and pick up your exams from SASO, you must drop off the exam at least by 8 a.m. the day of the student's scheduled exam.
If your examination requires a scantron, the faculty/instructor is responsible for dropping off and picking up the exam from SASO in the Plass Learning Resources Center. SASO can provide scantrons to students if necessary.
SASO carries the following supplies for students to utilize during exams if the information provided in Accommodate verifies it. If the Accommodate information provided by faculty does not mention specific supplies, the student will not be allowed any materials.
- Pencils, pens, erasers
- Headphones for exams requiring a listening portion
- Blue and orange scantron sheets
- Scientific calculators
- Graphing calculators (TI-89)
- Rulers
All exams that are scheduled by students with testing accommodations require faculty to utilize the Accommodate Faculty Portal when submitting an exam. Our office will accept exams to be dropped off, however, you are still required to provide information that is listed in the Accommodate portal so our office can properly administer the exam.
Students are required to schedule their exams at least 24 hours prior to the time needed. Prior to the scheduled exam date/time, faculty receive at least three email notifications providing information regarding the student’s exam. Faculty are asked to review these in case there is a discrepancy between the date/time the student scheduled. Please notify SASO staff if this is detected. If you are choosing to drop off and pick up your exams from SASO rather than using the Accommodate portal, you must drop off the exam at least by 8 a.m. the day of the student’s scheduled exam.
If a student misses an exam, the student is responsible for contacting their instructor to determine the next steps to reschedule their exam. Once determined, students will need to contact SASO to reschedule. Students are not allowed to cancel or reschedule their exams in the Accommodate portal – they must contact SASO to process any changes made.
Unless otherwise specified, students are not allowed to bring backpacks, cell phones, smart watches, coats, purses, or any other unauthorized item into the testing room. Students must place large items in the designated area and place small electronics (phones, smart watches, earbuds) into a locked box prior to entering their testing room.
An exam will be discontinued if a student becomes ill, engages in inappropriate behavior, or is found to be cheating. All students must adhere to the Student Code of Conduct. If a student is caught cheating, SASO staff are required to fill out an Incident Report Form to document the event which goes to the Associate Vice President of Student Life for further action.
Flex Plan for modifications for attendance policies and extensions for assignments/exams
Faculty have the right to establish attendance and late work policies. However, if a student has a disability that is chronic or episodic in nature, it may occasionally impact their ability to attend class and complete tests or assignments at the scheduled time.
Therefore, modification to attendance policies, assignment due dates and exam scheduling may be considered an appropriate accommodation. The number of allowable absences and length of assignment extensions depends on the interactive and participatory nature of the course, or is based on department, college or accrediting agency rules.
The Flex Plan addresses attendance and assignment related issues for students with disabilities. The Flex Plan is intended to create a reasonable modification, where appropriate, to the classroom attendance and assignment deadlines policies of each course and is not intended to serve as an attendance or assignment submission waiver. Students are expected and encouraged to attend class and meet deadlines for assignments and tests.
If you are receiving a notice that a student receives accommodations for modifications for attendance or extensions with assignments, you are required to fill out our faculty survey embedded in the accommodation letter you receive in your Faculty Accommodate Portal. Once you have completed the survey, our professional staff will meet with students receiving those accommodations to develop their Flex Plan based on your feedback, student's self-report, and our staff's professional knowledge of their disability.
If the SASO does not have information regarding a specific course, we will base the information off of other courses taught by the faculty. If the SASO has no data reflecting any courses of a faculty member, we will base the information on our knowledge of courses to the best of our ability.
If you have any questions regarding the Flex Plan you receive, or the process please contact our office at 785.670.1622 or email accommodations@washburn.edu.
GET IN TOUCH WITH Student Accessibility Services
Washburn University
Plass Learning Resources Center
Room 315
Mon–Fri: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
& by appointment
Washburn Tech
Student Services North
Building A
Mon, Wed & Fri: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
& by appointment
Connect
785.670.1622
accommodations@washburn.edu
