FAQ: Instructors

General

Testing Services is located at 97 N. Razorback Road which is on the corner of Meadow Street and Razorback Road (across from the Razorback football practice field) on the University of Arkansas campus. Find the building on the University Campus Map.

Metered parking is available along the south side of the parking lot. They are open Monday – Thursday, 8am – 7pm, and 8am – 5pm on Friday.

More times than not, no; but there are a few exceptions to this. Please consider the following:

  • Standard test accommodations can be facilitated in an online environment. Global campus students and those with online exams taken outside the classroom will likely not need to test at Testing Services. Please contact your students to discuss how accommodations will be facilitated in your course and contact the CEA with any questions or concerns.

  • While some accommodations are still accessible within lockdown (i.e., extended-time & text-to-speech), some are not (i.e., Dragon). Contact your student to discuss any potential barriers then contact the CEA with any concerns.

  • Testing Services will not approve any appointments for ProctorU exams.

Please contact the CEA and/or Testing Services  with any questions or concerns.

Students are not required take their exams at Testing Services to receive accommodations.

In accordance with APS 1520.20, faculty are responsible for making arrangements to facilitate standard test accommodations (e.g., extended time, distraction-reduced testing environment, brief breaks, etc.) within their department in order to provide instructor access to students with disabilities during exams.

Testing Services is primarily proctoring complex test accommodations for in-class exams (i.e., assistive technology or alternative formats).

Both CEA and Testing Services Staff are available for consultation and guidance. From programming extended time to identifying departmental test spaces, we are here to help! Feel free to email us at ada@uark.edu or contact us directly via phone at 479-575-3104. 

Only if the exam format, instructions, and/or time parameters for your other section(s) are different. Please notify Testing Services staff at testing@uark.edu if these details are applicable or not applicable to your other course(s) section(s). 

Yes, students must be registered with the Center for Educational Access to receive accommodated exams. Any students interested in registering should be directed to our Getting Started.


Assistive Software

Assistive technology (AT) includes products, equipment, and systems that enhance learning, working, and daily living for persons with disabilities. 

The University has a variety of free assistive technologies (AT) available to all faculty, staff, and students, including text-to-speech, screen-reader & magnification, and more. Visit the University IT Services Get Software page. 

For questions/concerns or assistance related to assistive technology accommodations, please contact the Center for Educational Access at ada@uark.edu or 479-575-3104! 

Not necessarily, it ultimately depends on the specific assistive software and exam format. Generally, Testing Services is needed for in-class paper-based exams only. Most assistive software is accessible for online/computer based exams. 

For questions/concerns or assistance related to assistive technology accommodations, please contact the Center for Educational Access at ada@uark.edu or 479-575-3104! 

In short, it depends . The exam format and specific assisitive software needed are factors that determine compatibility. Please contact your students to discuss the format of your exam(s) and which AT software they intend to use, and contact the CEA (ada@uark.edu) with questions/concerns. Reading Software (Text-to-Speech) is the most commonly used. Please also consider the following: 

  • Respondus Lockdown Browser (LDB) and Text-to-Speech Software (TTS): 
    • ReadSpeaker (RS):  
    • ReadSpeaker is a built-in app within Blackboard featuring text-to-speech, enlarged font/text, screen masking, and more.  No downloads necessary. 
    • NEW! ReadSpeaker TextAid allows for text-to-speech on any website, as well as within iFrame embedded content inside of Blackboard Learn.

 

  • Read&Write (R&W): 
    • Read&Write is a more comprehensive software that's primarily used by  students taking paper-based exams. Will read aloud text-based files (word docs, PDFs) and website text. 
    • Respondus & Mac Devices - NOT Compatible:  R&W is NOT functional within Respondus for Mac users. Mac users are encouraged to use ReadSpeaker when Respondus is required and/or contact the CEA for assistance identifying other options. 
    • Respondus & Windows Devices - Compatible: R&W can be used within Respondus for Windows users only, but R&W must be opened before opening Respondus. 
    • Free to download for all UARK Faculty, Students, and Staff from  ITS - Get Software . 
  • ProctorU: 
    • Instructors must submit an Accommodation Request via ProctorU. It's important to provide ProctorU details of the accommodation to minimize disruption to student's exam. For example, that the Proctor may hear the voice of the assistive TTS software during the exam.
    • Students should also specify their accommodations in notes when scheduling with ProctorU. 
    • Contact gproctor@uark.edu with questions or for assistance related to ProctorU's processes. All technical support questions should be directed to University IT Services via help.uark.edu or their phone line at +1-479-575-2905. 

For any other AT compatibility related questions, contact the CEA and/or Testing Services via email (ada@uark.edu) or phone (479-575-3104). 


 Instructor Responsibilities

  • Step 1: Identify a space/classroom and proctor within your academic department to facilitate standard accommodations.

    • Note: Distraction-reduced testing environments can include empty classrooms, vacant offices, conference rooms, etc.

    • 25Live Pro is the classroom and event scheduling tool used by the Office of the Registrar. Contact the Test Center with questions/for assistance.

  • Step 2: Once a FNL is received, contact the student to discuss how their accommodations will be facilitated in your course.

    • Note: Students are not required to disclose medical details, such as their diagnoses, to instructors. We recommend discussing accommodations with students in a private, one-on-one setting during office hours or by appointment.

CEA Staff are available for consultation and guidance. From programming extended time to identifying departmental test spaces, we are here to help! Feel free to email us at ada@uark.edu or contact us directly via phone at (479) 575-3104.

 

Per APS 1520.20many test accommodations can be facilitated outside of Testing Services. Faculty are responsible for making arrangements to facilitate standard test accommodations (e.g., extended time, distraction-reduced testing environment, brief breaks, etc.) within their department in order to provide instructor access to students with disabilities during exams. 

Identify Space: Distraction-reduced testing environments can include empty classrooms, vacant offices, conference rooms, etc. 

  • 25Live Pro is the classroom and event scheduling tool used by the Office of the Registrar. Contact the Test Center with questions/for assistance. 

Extended Time: It is encouraged that faculty pro-actively program extended time into Blackboard upon receipt of Faculty Notification Letter (FNL). Visit Blackboard Tips for step-by-step instructions. 


Online Exams

Yes. Please first discuss with your student what specific test accommodations they are requesting to use on the exam. Then, notify Global Campus of each student's accommodation using their    Accommodation Request Form and, when applicable, program their extended time in blackboard.

Note: It is important to specify how accommodations are implemented in the request form, as some test accommodations may result in: the proctor hearing additional voices (ex: assistive software), the student being out of camera view temporarily (ex: brief breaks, access to medication/medical device), or having additional materials with them during the exam (ex: access to food/beverage, use of scratch paper).

Be prepared to answer student questions/concerns.  Please inform your students how to best reach you during exams.

Contact gproctor@uark.edu and  ada@uark.edu  with any questions/concerns regarding online accommodated exam proctoring. 

 


Miscellaneous

If a student is struggling academically, please contact them directly to discuss if they are experiencing any barriers to their academic success. Please provide them information on academic and other support services which may be useful to maximize their performance. If a student self-identifies or is regarded as a person with a disability, please refer them to contact the CEA's Getting Started Page.  If uncertain, please contact the CEA directly at ada@uark.edu or 479.575.3104 for further guidance. 

Please complete the following steps:

  • Using your UARK credentials, login to the CEA Faculty Login  

  • From the faculty homepage, click the “Courses With Eligibility” button. This will automatically download an Excel file titled “export.csv” which will contain the information of all students registered with the CEA in your course.

  • Please note that Excel's auto-formatting will drop the leading zeroes from the Student IDs if special care isn't taken. 

An accommodation is only “unreasonable” if it creates undue financial hardship, poses a direct threat to others, or fundamentally alters the nature of the course. Some resources (e.g., spell check or dictionary) may not be reasonable for certain course material (e.g., a spelling-based exam), but may be reasonable for other material (e.g., a composition-based exam). If you perceive an accommodation as unreasonable, please contact the CEA via phone (479-575-3104) or email (ada@uark.edu) to discuss the nature of concern and potential alternative accommodations.

There are number of ways to increase accessibility on your exams, and the benefits of doing so are advantageous to all students. Please consider the following:

  • Document accessibility: The software used and how a document is formatted influence accessibility. For more information, visit Understanding Accessibility.
  • Flexible exam dates/times: Flexible exam dates and times allows students to schedule their exams when they are available. With extended-time, students often run into scheduling conflicts when trying to schedule their exams. Flexible parameters to begin/complete an exam increases accessibility.