Remote Learning FAQ

Yes, SAC is still operating Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. All appointments and services will be conducted remotely until further notice. SAC will be unable to proctor exams while virtual instruction is in place at Spelman College.  If you have a question or concern, please email SAC at sac@spelman.edu.

SAC will not be able to proctor exams while the College’s instruction remains online only. Please communicate with your instructors to discuss your exam accommodations in their courses. SAC is available to instructors and students to consult about unique circumstances.

• - Some instructors may opt for alternative assessments (e.g. essays or untimed exams) which would not require exam accommodations.
• - If your instructor is creating online timed exams, please notify your instructor if you will need extended time. Academic departments are responsible for setting up extended testing time in Moodle and Respondus.

Once you have learned from your instructor on how they will adapt the course for virtual instruction, please let your Access Specialist know if you would like to continue receiving notes.

You may find that you no longer need a note-taker due to the course design changes. For example, lectures that are prerecorded videos can be watched at your own pace. On the other hand, some instructors may still opt for scheduled class meetings with real-time communication.  Regardless of your decision to continue receiving notes, please notify SAC of your decision no later than Friday, March 27, 2020.

Reasonable modifications to the structure of extension and flexible attendance agreements may be needed with the shift to online instruction. Please contact your instructors to discuss any additional barriers presented by changes to the course format. Let your Access Specialist know if you need any assistance right away. 

If you are not currently registered with SAC, please complete the registration forms under the New SAC Students column here. 

If you are a SAC-registered student, please complete the Accommodation Review Form and return to sac@spelman.edu.

We acknowledge the significant effort required to quickly adapt your courses to online instruction. We want to collaborate with you to maintain and ensure access for students with disabilities through this transition.

Some students may encounter disability-related barriers with online instruction or assessment (e.g. students who use assistive technology, or students with medical limitations on screen usage). SAC staff will be available for consultation regarding best practices and accessibility. Email us at sac@spelman.edu) 

 

Below are some tips to keep in mind as you are creating virtual course content (adapted from DO-IT):

• Use clear, consistent layouts and organization schemes for presenting content, and make instructions and expectations clear for activities, projects and assigned reading.  

• Offer outlines, scaffolding tools, and adequate opportunities for practice to help students learn. 

• When selecting new materials, try to find videos that are already captioned, and articles that are available in a text-searchable format (meaning you can highlight and search the text within the document. See an example here.  

• Images can be made accessible to blind and low-vision students by providing captions or inserting "alt text" into the image. Use large, bold fonts on uncluttered pages with plain backgrounds and color combinations that are high contrast.

• Provide flexibility and understanding as this experience may cause disruption to the student’s home life and available resources, which may negatively impact a student’s disability symptoms.   

For more tips, visit:

• Accessibility on Moodle

• Explore Access article "Designing an Accessible Online Course"

Extended time on exams as an accommodation generally only applies to traditional, time-limited exams. If you decide to offer alternative means of assessment (e.g. essays, non-timed exams, project work), then a student’s extended time may no longer be applicable. We encourage you to speak with registered students if that is the case. 

SAC will not be proctoring exams while the College’s instruction remains online only.  All exams should be administered online or through other remote assessment methods by faculty. Academic departments are responsible for setting up extended testing time in Moodle and Respondus.  

Please communicate with your students to discuss their exam accommodations in your courses. SAC is available to instructors and students to consult. 

Prior to making time allotment adjustments, please confirm how much extended time each of your students should get for their quizzes/exams. You can view the extended time multipliers (1.5x or 2x) for ALL of your students by following these steps: 

1. Log into myspelman.edu and click on the link to ‘Spelman Arch’

2. Click on the envelope icon to access ‘My Conversations’ 

3. View any messages with “Academic Accommodation Letter Attached” indicated in the Topic to view Accommodation Letters for students in your courses

4. Depending on the students in your classes, you may see time and a half or double time exam extension modifiers on the letter

You can also confirm an individual student’s extended time multiplier by contacting SAC.

Reasonable modifications to the structure of extension and flexible attendance agreements may be needed with the shift to online instruction. Students with flexible attendance or extended time on assignments should be contacting you to discuss any additional barriers, if any, presented by changes to the course format. SAC is available to instructors and students to consult.

(Adapted from SLDS at the Ohio State University with supporting resources from Washington University, Moodle, and Explore Access.)