Alternative Testing FAQs for Faculty

If you have been notified that a student in your class qualifies for testing accommodations, you need to submit an Alternative Testing Contract for the course. You are able specify on the contract whether or not you wish to utilize the A11y Testing Center for accommodated exams.

If you do NOT need Testing Center assistance:

• If there are no exams in your course
  • On the contract
    • select "My class has no exam" from the drop-down menu
    • click "Confirm" below to submit the contract
• If your exams will be in Canvas, or you will administer accommodated exams yourself
  • On the contract
    • select "I will proctor my own exams"
    • click "Confirm" below to submit the contract

If you would like the A11y Testing Center to administer your accommodated exams:

• The contract specifies testing details which allow the SAS/A11y Testing Center to administer the exams and quizzes to your specifications
  • Complete the full Alternative Testing Contract at the start of each term for each course and section
  • If you have questions about the testing contract, email testing.center@dartmouth.edu

Note: If you need to make a change to a testing contract after you have submitted it, please email testing.center@dartmouth.edu

You need to fill out only one contract per course section each term.  It will apply to all students iin your class with alternative testing accommodations.

To complete a contract, click on the link located inside the red box in your 'Faculty Notification Letter' email, or follow the instructions found on our Complete The Alternative Testing Contract page. The link provided in the letter is specific to the class and section that the student is requesting to use accommodations in. Please be sure you are using the correct link for the class you wish to complete a contract for. You can also log directly into A11y to locate and complete the Alternative Testing Contracts for your courses.

No. Reduced-Distraction seating means that the environment you provide needs to be less distracting than the main classroom. For example, if you are teaching a class of 100 students and 10 students have an accommodation for reduced-distraction seating, all of those students could be seated in a room together.

You can email Testing.Center@dartmouth.edu or call (603) 646-6520, and we will assist you in updating the Alternative Testing Contract.

Students need to schedule their own exams at the Testing Center through A11y. You will be notified when your students schedule with us. In the event that the student schedules an exam and there is an error, you are able to dispute their proposed time and or date.

To provide additional support to faculty with evening exams, the A11y/SAS Testing Center will now remain open until 7 PM every Wednesday and Thursday while classes are in session. We are also open until 7 PM every day during the finals period. If you plan to come to the Testing Center after 5 PM on one of those days, we recommend calling 603-646-6520 beforehand, as the Center will close when the last exam is completed.

If your exams occur outside the business hours of the Testing Center, you can choose to allow your student(s) to test on a different day or time than the rest of the class so that we can administer the exam for you. If this is not practicable, we suggest contacting your department to identify another solution.

We will always attempt to seat students, even those who request an exam late. If the Testing Center becomes fully booked, both you and the student will be promptly notified so we can work out an agreeable solution.

No, the A11y Testing Center serves only students who have approved testing accommodations with Student Accessibility Services.

If applicable, students with recent concussions generally benefit more from postponing an exam than from having additional time on an exam. We therefore recommend that you treat a student with a concussion who needs a makeup exam just as you would a student who is sick on the day of an exam.

At this time, we do not assist with the administration of exams delivered via Canvas. If you are administering Canvas exams, please select "I will proctor my own exams" and confirm in your Alternative Testing Contract.

For students with reduced-distraction accommodations, we believe they can locate a quiet place on campus to take the exam. Since the exams in Canvas allow for time adjustments (see the guide for Additional Time Accommodations for Exams & Quizzes in Canvas), the instructor is able to provide the additional accommodated time for approved students in Canvas.

We will do our best to seat all exams that occur during our normal business hours.  However, there may be times when we are booked on the date and time needed, as we have a limited amount of seating. Students can schedule their exams directly in A11y, so please encourage them to do so as soon as possible.

If the Testing Center becomes fully booked, both you and the student will be promptly notified so we can work out an agreeable solution. Exams occurring outside of our business hours cannot be booked.

Exams can be provided to us in a few ways:

1. They can be uploaded to A11y
2. They can be left in the dropbox outside the A11y Testing Center office (Berry L33)
3. You can contact us to arrange a time to drop them off directly with the A11y Testing Center staff

Note: You need upload your exam for only one of your students as long as you want all students in your course to take the same exam.

In the testing contract for your course, you specified a preference to either pick up exams OR have them scanned and uploaded to A11y (which is our secure method for digitally returning exams).

If you opted to pick up exams, we recommend coming to the SAS/A11y Testing Center between 8-4:30 M-F. If it's a Wednesday, Thursday, or during finals (when we stay open as late as 7 PM if exams are scheduled), please call (603) 646-6520 to ensure we are still open before you make your way.

If you opted for digital return, you will receive an email within 48 hours of the exam completion letting you know when the exam is ready for download from A11y.