Stanford
Office of Accessible Education

Guidance on Exam Accommodations During Remote Instruction

Spring 2020

Review Remote Exam Advice from Learn Anywhere

Remote Final Exam Advice for Students is a list of resources and advice for preparing for, and taking, exams during remote instruction. 

Know the Guidance Offered to Faculty and Instructors

Teach Anywhere, in collaboration with OAE, provides the following clarification to instructors when applying accommodations to exams:

  • If a student has an academic accommodation for additional time on timed exams, this will be indicated on their letter from the OAE (example: 50% additional time on timed exams). If a student has an academic accommodation for additional time on take-home exams, the window to which that additional time applies will be indicated (example: 50% additional time on timed exams, including take-home exams of 72 hours or less).

During remote instruction, exam windows of 24 hours or less are considered timed exams. Windows that are greater than 24 hours are considered untimed exams (similar to “take-homes”), and additional time accommodations do not apply unless indicated in the student’s OAE letter.

  • If an instructor is administering an exam with a time window of 24 hours or less, and the exam is not timestamped, apply the extended time:
    • A student with time-and-a-half (1.5X) would have 36 hours to complete the exam.
    • A student with double time (2X) would have 48 hours to complete the exam.
       
  • Instructors must apply the additional time to the entirety of the timed window offered to students. Refrain from expanding the window for all students in order to avoid accommodating OAE students; this creates a discriminatory environment in which students without disabilities may enjoy additional time in which to reconsider and revise while a student with a disability must use the whole time to go through the exam but once. For an exam with a 2-hour window:
    • A student with time-and-a-half (1.5X) should have 3 hours for the exam.
    • A student with double time (2.0X) should have 4 hours for the exam.


For support in interpreting specific exam accommodations as they apply to your course, please contact the OAE disability advisor listed on the student’s academic accommodation letter. If a student asserts that their accommodation is not being interpreted correctly, please direct them to their disability adviser for clarification and/or revision.

 

​Reach Out for Help - We're Here

Contact your disability adviser to discuss any changes to your functional limitations and new barriers in the learning environment.

Contact your Resident Dean or the Graduate Life Office to discuss the nuanced stressors you are experiencing during shelter-in-place and seek advice for coordinating resources and support.

Your health is paramount. Put it first by staying in touch with CAPS and Vaden Health Services.

Refresh your whole learning toolkit: the Center for Teaching and Learning provides resources for remote learning such as academic coaching and subject tutoring.
 

Updated 9.15.2020