Accessible Learning exam protocols

Students writing accommodated exams with Accessible Learning are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with our exam protocols before each exam.  

Exam Time and Location

What to Bring

During the Exam

Breach of Academic Integrity

Completing the Exam

Campus Closure

Exam Time and Location

Confirm your Exam Time and Location 24 hours before the start of your exam.

Arrive at the exam room:

• 15 minutes before the start of quizzes, tests, or midterms.
• 30 minutes before the start of final exams.

Adjusted Start Time - Accessible Learning cannot run exams past 10:30 p.m. and may adjust an exam start time to ensure exams end on time.  Students are responsible for confirming their exam start time and exam location in Accessible Learning Online 24 hours before and arriving on time. 

Start and end times will not be adjusted for students arriving late.  Students arriving more than 30 minutes after the start time will not be permitted to write the exam as per Laurier's exam regulations.

Exam Location

Visit Accessible Learning Exam Spaces for building locations and basic directions to our exam rooms.

What to Bring

Be sure to bring the following to your exam:

• OneCard or other photo ID.
• Accessible Learning email confirming your exam accommodations.
• Writing tools.
• Allowable test aids.
• Allowable medical devices.
• Earplugs or headphones without Bluetooth (to reduce noise or use assistive technology).
• Fully charged computer for online exams.
• Clear water bottle with no label.

During the Exam

Be sure to record your name and student number on the exam paper, scantrons, booklets including scrap paper, and any other parts of the exams.

Confirm Your Accommodations

Before beginning your exam, confirm that all the accommodations you requested when booking your exam are in place. Speak immediately with the proctor about any discrepancies. If they are unable to resolve the issue, ask to speak with an Accessible Learning staff member.

Students can refuse to write an exam if the accommodations they requested in their exam booking are not fully in place. In these cases, Accessible Learning will follow up with the instructor and the student about rescheduling the exam with the correct accommodations.

Questions

While some instructors take student questions during exams, they are not obligated to do so. 

Accessible Learning does not guarantee that instructors will take student questions or their availability during exams. 

Students should notify the proctor if they have questions about the exam.  The proctor will try to contact the instructor who will either visit the exam room in person or speak with the student by phone.

If the instructor is unavailable, the student should note the questions they had on their exam paper and follow up with the instructor afterward.

Food

All students are permitted to drink water from a clear water bottle without labels during the exam.

Only students with the accommodation Permission to bring/consume food and drink are permitted to eat in the exam room.  Food consumed in the exam room as an accommodation must be allergen, pungent aroma, and noise-free and may be inspected to ensure compliance with academic integrity.

Students without this accommodation may ask the proctor for a brief break during which they can leave the exam room to eat food in the hallway.  The proctor will monitor the student during this break, but the student’s exam end time will not be extended to accommodate this break.

Washroom Breaks

Students who need to use the washroom during exams must signal the proctor and can leave their seats only after a proctor grants permission.  A proctor will record the time of the student’s exit and return to the exam room, and they may also accompany the student to the washroom. Students are prohibited from accessing their personal belongings during washroom breaks.

Medical Devices

Where possible, medical devices must be placed on the desk and remain visable to the proctor for the duration of the exam. This includes cellphones that serve the function of a medical device. All medical devices must be placed in 'Airplane' mode (where possible) and students can access these devices only with proctor permission and oversight. This includes viewing any notifications. 

Breach of Academic Integrity

Proctors are required to report all incidences of breaches of academic integrity to their supervisor who submits an Exam Irregularity Report to the instructor.

Examples of academic integrity breaches include:

• Using unauthorized aids (e.g., notes, cellphones, unauthorized websites).
• Unauthorizd use of medical aids (i.e., cellphones that serve as a medical device).
• Communicating with or helping another test taker.
• Leaving the test room without permission.
• Submitting another person’s work as their own or fabricating data.
• Continuing to write the exam after being told time is up.

Completing the Exam

In completing the exam, students must:

• Remain in the exam room for at least 30 minutes after the start of the exam
• Stop writing their exam at the specified end time unless their time has been extended due to exceptional circumstances.
• Remain seated, quiet and refrain from accessing personal items until they are permitted to leave
• Return all materials to the proctor, including the exam/testing questions, formula sheets, scrap paper, Scantrons, and exam booklets (if applicable).

Computer Accommodation

For students completing a paper-based exam using a computer as their accommodation, the proctor will print out the student’s answers once the exam time is up.  After reviewing and confirming completion, the student will be asked to sign the front page.

Campus Closure

In the rare event the University closes a campus due to inclement weather, power outage, or other hazard, Accessible Learning will observe the following protocols for managing canceled in-person accommodated assessments including quizzes, tests, midterms, or finals:

• automatically reschedule all canceled in-person accommodated exams - students do not need to rebook exams canceled due to the closure.
• confirm rescheduled arrangements in Accessible Learning Online - students must log in regularly for updates.
• resources permitting, reschedule canceled accommodated exams for the same day and time the exam is rescheduled for other students in the course.
• resources permitting, reschedule canceled accommodated exams during the next available time slot, up to 10 days after the original exam date.
• when safety issues arise for students and/or staff, reschedule any accommodated in-person exams scheduled before the closure time announced by the University (e.g., exams scheduled to start at 3 p.m. when the campus is ordered closed at 4:30 p.m.).