CLASS Program - Accommodations: Faculty Guide

Notice to Faculty, Fall 2009

Contacting CLASS

For questions you might have about scheduled tests and notetakers for CLASS and Access students, please contact the Accommodations Specialist at 612-330-1353.

For questions regarding a student's performance or questions not related to testing or notetakers, please contact either the CLASS front desk at 612-330-1053, or the Access Center at 612-330-1749.

How Instructors are notified that a student has a disability

It is a student’s decision and responsibility to disclose a disability to a member of the Augsburg community, but academic accommodations will not be provided through the disability services offices without the instructor having been notified. Students present a Professor Letter to their instructors as soon as they decide to access accommodations. This letter confirms the student’s affiliation with CLASS or the Access Center and indicates which accommodations he/she is eligible to receive during the given semester. The instructor signs the letter and keeps the white copy and the student returns the yellow copy to the Accommodations Specialist. Only when the student returns this letter to us may he/she receive any testing accommodations through the Groves Lab.

Taking Tests in the Groves Lab (CLASS)

The student must fill out the online Test Proctor form for any test the student chooses to take in the Groves Lab. The instructor will receive an email with instructions. The student must complete this at least one week (7 days) before the test date. Tests should be either handed to a worker in the Groves Lab or, if the lab is closed, placed in the "test drop box" outside the door to room Foss 17A. Please do not place tests in the drop box if the lab is open.

On the day of the test, students come to the Groves Lab (Foss 17A) instead of going to class (unless the instructor indicates that the student needs to attend part of the class period).

If a student is caught violating the college-wide academic honesty policy, testing is stopped immediately and the instructor is notified of the circumstances. Students leave books, notes, book bags, and purses outside of the testing rooms unless the instructor indicates on the Proctor Request form that the student may use certain items during the test. Proctors check on the students periodically during testing. Unless their Professor Letter indicates otherwise, students must complete each test in one block of time; however, short breaks are allowed under the proctor's supervision.

If necessary, students may ask the instructor’s permission to schedule a test earlier or later in the day in order to allow time to finish the test without conflicting with another class.

Tests are returned to the instructor’s office in a sealed envelope with the CLASS Office stamp across the seal. Tests cannot be returned to an instructor’s campus box. Included in this envelope are: the test, any scratch paper used, "Agreement for Taking an Exam under Special Circumstances" form, a copy of the Proctor Request form, and a copy of the Proctor Report form.

Notetaking Services

Students may present an Instructor Letter indicating that they are eligible to receive copies of another student’s lecture notes. Very often students prefer to select their own notetakers, otherwise they may approach the instructor and ask that an announcement be made to the class that a student needs a notetaker. The confidentiality of the student must be considered at all times and the instructor should take care not to disclose the name of the student to the entire class. Please have Notetakers contact the Accommodations Specialist in Foss 17a for instructions. Notetakers are paid a stipend for the semester and will be evaluated on the notes they take on a sample lecture. Students must be present and on time in class to receive their notes. Notetakers must have notes available in the Groves lab within 24 hours after the class.

Taped Textbooks

Some students are eligible to receive alternative format versions of their textbooks. When texts on CD are not available, CLASS will scan the text into Kurzweil, a text-reading program. Because of the time involved in acquiring books in alternative formats and scanning books, we encourage instructors to select classroom texts as early as possible before the start of the term. Taped texts may arrive in installments throughout the semester. If you have questions or would like further information/resources, please feel free to contact the Center for Learning and Adaptive Student Services (CLASS) at (612) 330-1053 or at class@augsburg.edu.