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OSD Exam Accommodation

Students with a documented disability may be eligible for testing accommodations. The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) is responsible for determining reasonable accommodation based on the individual’s current functional limitations. Only students who have been issued an Authorization for Accommodation (AFA) letter by the OSD are eligible for accommodations. Students are responsible for promptly meeting with OSD quarterly and ensuring that their AFA letters are finalized, up-to-date, and are received by the OSD liaison and their professors. 

The Chemistry OSD Liaison (chemosd@ucsd.edu) will work directly with the student and instructor to facilitate exam accommodations for courses offered by the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. 

See below for frequently asked questions and policies relating OSD exam accommodations in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Procedures for Requesting Exam Accommodations:

Students need to contact their instructor to let them know they have classroom, assignments and/or exam accommodations. Please plan to meet with them briefly or send them an email outlining what accommodations are listed on your AFA letter.

For remote exams...

  1. Students are responsible for contacting their course instructor to set up their exam accommodations for the quarter. For remote assessments, all exam accommodations are handled by the course instructor, not the OSD Liaison.

 

For in-person coursework...

  1. When contacting their instructor regarding their accommodations, students are encouraged to ask whether or not the course instructor will be taking care of the student's exam accommodations that quarter, or if they are going to set up the exams through the Triton Testing Center (TTC). If they indicate that they will be handling your exam accommodations, then please follow up with your instructor the week before your exams to schedule your accommodations.

For Exams Hosted at the TTC: 

  1. NEW!!!!  If your professor is not directly handling the exams themselves, they will be hosted at the Triton Testing Center (TTC).
  2. You will first need to create an account with their system (if you haven't already in past quarters). Information on that is here. Please allow 2-3 business days for your account to be created. It's important that you do this as soon as possible. You do not need to immediately schedule all of your exams but you should create your account with the TTC. 
  3. Once your account is created, you will be able to login to RegisterBlast (their scheduling system) and directly schedule your exams. You must schedule the exam at least 3 days in advance. The system will lock you out of any open seats that are not three days in advance. 
    1. Important Note: If you are unable to schedule an exam with the TTC due to capacity, you may then reach out to the OSD liaison for scheduling. We will not schedule any last minute requests, unless there are extenuating circumstances. 

Frequently Asked Questions for Students are here: https://tritontesting.ucsd.edu/faq/students.html 

Additional Testing Information and Policies are here: https://tritontesting.ucsd.edu/for-students/index.html

 

 

FAQs

What should I do after I receive my AFA letter from the OSD?

After submitting accommodations via the student portal, the student must email the course instructor to ensure they have received the AFA letter and to establish that you require accommodations.

Simply submitting an AFA letter through the online portal will NOT grant you exam accommodations. It is the student's responsibility to contact both the instructor and OSD Liaison after an AFA is submitted through this portal.

You should also inquire with your professor how they are handling your exam accommodations. There are a few ways that they can choose to do this: 

  • They can handle the accommodations themselves, in which case they will arrange for everything between the instructor and the student. 
  • The Chemistry OSD Liaison (chemosd@ucsd.edu) will administer the exams on the instructors behalf. You will need to submit the submit this Exam Request Form at least 72 university business hours prior to the exam. Requests submit less than 3 days before the exam are not guaranteed. 
  • The professor might reserve space in the Triton Testing Center to sign up for their testing slots. This requires registration and approval prior to sign-up so it is important that you do this early. 

Please establish communication with your professor first! They will be able to direct you to the appropriate channels, as well as helping with you your non-exam accommodations. By doing this early in the quarter, you ensure that you will have enough time sign up via the appropriate channels.

You can always email the Chemistry OSD Liaison if you have questions. If the student decides to take the exam in class or if the instructor elects to handle exam accommodations directly, the Chemistry OSD Liaison is not expected to provide any exam accommodations. We cannot administer exams without instructor permission. 


Notes:

  • All email correspondence to the OSD Liaison must be sent to chemosd@ucsd.edu
  • Students must allow a minimum of 3-5 university business days, excluding weekends and holidays, for accommodation arrangements to be made for any exam.
  • All communication regarding exam accommodation will be sent via the student’s @ucsd.edu email account. It is the student’s responsibility to read and respond (if necessary) to email correspondence in a timely manner. 
  • Private room, extended time, scribes etc. all take several days to set up, so waiting to contact until only a few days before the exam doesn't leave us enough time to arrange for all the accommodations you may need. Please ensure that you are contacting early enough to arrange for all of your accommodations. 

What if I don't have an AFA letter?

Unfortunately, no accommodations will be or can be arranged. 

Students who are in the process or are interested in accommodations will not have accommodations arranged for them. We are not allowed to offer any accommodations, even with instructor's permission, for students without AFA letters. Please refer to the OSD for information on how to request accommodations. 

What if my professor is handling my accommodations.

You will need to contact your instructor for additional information regarding scheduling. Please expect to take the exam at it's regularly scheduled time unless otherwise instructed. If you have an alternate time accommodation, please contact your professor as soon as possible.

What if Student Affairs is handling my exam accommodations?

You will need to contact chemosd@ucsd.edu at least 72 university business hours prior to the exam. Requests submitted less than 3 days before the exam are not guaranteed.

We are often scheduling exams in order, so we may not get to your request until around 3-4 business days before your exam date. Please feel free to email chemosd@ucsd.edu for an update. 

What if my instructor tells me that I'm taking it at the TTC?

The Triton Testing Center (TTC) is a  pilot program that aims to offer convenient, easy to use, and integrity-centric testing services to UCSD students across all departments. This program is still new, so you likely haven't heard about it before! 

 

FAQS for the TTC are here. 

If you are having issues, please send an email to tritontesting@ucsd.edu and they will be happy to help.

I'm taking my exam with Student Affairs, what should I expect?

Before the exam: 

  • Once the OSD Liaison sends the student their exam schedule, it is the student's responsibility to thoroughly check for any discrepancies and bring any concerns to the attention of the OSD Liaison immediately.
  • The student is responsible for his or her testing accommodation schedule; the student must notify the OSD Liaison immediately if there is a scheduling conflict with his or her classes and/or other exams.
  • Once an exam is scheduled and confirmed, it cannot be rescheduled except for in extenuating circumstances. Both the instructor and OSD Liaison must approve of any changes. 
  • Every student will check in in York Hall 4010. Please come to our office for your exam to drop off your personal belongings and prepare for your exam. We will walk you to your testing room.
  • Students should arrive at least 5-10 minutes before the exam start time so that staff has time to store away any belongings and bring them to the exam room.

During the exam: 

  • Students will be placed in general use space in York Hall or a nearby building.  As a result, testing locations will vary and the department does not have control over the noise level. As such, although we will do all that we can to provide a distraction-reduced environment, there is no guarantee that the testing area will be quiet or completely free of distraction.
    • That said, if the student has any concerns during the exam (noise, environment, etc.) they are encouraged to come to the Student Affairs Office or let their proctor know right away to report it. We will do what we can, within our means, to remedy the situation.
  • For test-related questions, students are expected to come to York Hall 4010 immediately. We will do our best to contact the student's instructor and/or TA. Students should not wait until the end of the test to bring in their questions as this will not provide sufficient time to obtain an answer. 
    • This is only permitted if the instructor allows questions for all students during tests.
  • Students will not receive extra time on their tests if they are late. The test begins at the scheduled start time. There are no exceptions.
  • The test ends at the scheduled end time. Students will not receive extra time to fill out their Scranton, complete their test, etc. 
  • Integrity of Scholarship and adherence to the Principles of Community are essential in an academic environment and will be strictly enforced by the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department
  • Students may bring standard earplugs (non-electronic) to any exam or ask for a one-time use pair of earplugs from the Department Liaison.

After the exam: 

  • The Department Liaison works to ensure that completed exams are handed back to instructors/TAs in a timely fashion.

What about my classroom accommodations?

Students seeking classroom accommodation in any course offered by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry must work directly with their course instructor. Students are responsible for communicating with their instructor about specific needs as dictated by the AFA.

What about my lab accommodations?

Lab accommodations require time and are often unavailable on short notice. Contact the following staff as soon as you get your AFA letter for a Chemistry lab:

Vanessa Redondo, OSD Liaison (chemosd@ucsd.edu
Craig Corrigan, Staff Research Associate (chemistry labs) (ccorrigan@ucsd.edu)
Mary Sever, Lab Instruction Supervisor (chemistry labs) (msever@ucsd.edu)

Contact for Exam Accommodations: Vanessa Redondo (chemosd@ucsd.edu). Please contact Vanessa if you have exam accommodations listed on your AFA.

Contact for Extended Time in Lab: Craig Corrigan (ccorrigan@ucsd.edu). Please contact Craig if you have extended lab time listed on your AFA.