Accessible Learning exam protocols

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 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 1 hour after the start time will not be permitted to write the exam as per Laurier's exam regulations.

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.
• Headphones without Bluetooth (to reduce noise or use assistive technology).
• A 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.

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 seat 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.

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).
• 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 formula sheets and scrap paper.

Online Exams

Once the student completes their online exam or the time is up, the proctor will print out the student’s answers to the online exam.  After reviewing and confirming completion, the student will be asked to sign the front page.