Access Center

Yes. However, for some or all classes you may find that either a few accommodations are no longer needed, or some accommodations may need to change, and/or you need additional or new accommodations.  

It depends on how you might be impacted and if these barriers are directly related to your disability. Since you may not know how the change to remote learning will impact you in each of your courses, you are encouraged to contact your Access Advisor to explore possible changes to accommodations, if you are experiencing challenges. Reasonable modifications to accommodations will be determined and faculty will be informed accordingly.

Please email your Access Advisor directly with your concerns or contact access.center@wsu.edu to schedule a Zoom appointment.  (Email addresses below). 

If you are not yet registered with the Access Center, please review our Application Processes Overview. You are also invited to make a Zoom appointment if you wish to speak with an Access Advisor to learn how the Access Center may be able to assist you.

Access Advisor names and emails: 

Rochelle Dach                           rochelle.dach@wsu.edu 

Ashley Detore                           ashley.detore@wsu.edu 

Meredyth Goodwin               m.goodwin@wsu.edu 

Davi Kallman                              davi.kallman@wsu.edu 

Roberto Morales                      robert.l.morales@wsu.edu 

Yes, our full-time staff are available via email and Zoom for all communication and appointments. Our physical location will be open for reduced hours for scheduled exams. In-person drop in appointments are discouraged. 

Students who need to speak with an Advisor right away are encouraged to use the drop-in Zoom hours listed here (Summary of changes web page)

Students who need to schedule an appointment can do so through one of the following methods: 

• Send an email directly to your Access Advisor with your questions.
• Send an email to access.center@wsu.edu to request that your Access Advisor contact you.
• Request an appointment time through MyAccess using the "Request appointment" feature located in the left-hand navigation bar

We encourage you to email your Access Advisor with your concerns, especially if they are connected to your disability. We can help connect you with helpful campus resources as well as provide guidance on how to reduce or remove barriers you may face. 

If you are concerned about time management, the Academic Success and Career Center offers academic coaching using Zoom: Academic Coaching – Academic Success & Career Center – Washington State University (wsu.edu)/

If you are concerned about having access to tutoring, outside of what your instructor can provide, ASCC tutors are available using Zoom.

It will depend on the nature of your online exam and the nature of your accommodations.

If online testing does not present a barrier for you, you are expected to take your exams online (with testing accommodations) from your place of residence or other location.

If you are concerned about taking proctored exams in the online environment,  please complete the Fall 2020 in-person exam survey Sign-Up Sheet in MyAccess. Your Access Advisor will reach out to you within 3-5 business days to discuss your needs. The purpose of this “Sign-Up” sheet is to help our advisors keep track of students who may need additional support for online exams.

This form can be found in MyAccess. After signing your E-forms for this term, you will find the Sign-Up Sheet in a drop-down menu at the top of your Dashboard page.

Your instructor is responsible for extending your time in the online exam environment. Remind your instructor 1 - 2 days prior to each exam to extend the length of time in the online environment for you.

The time allotted should be visible in Blackboard next to the title of your exam. If your time has not been extended, notify your instructor ASAP and copy access.testing@wsu.edu so that we may reach out to your instructor as well.

Do not begin the exam until you have verified that the extended time has been put in place. 

The Access Center Proctoring office will be open on a very limited basis, dependent on student needs. Please review the “Pullman- Update to Access Center Proctoring” E-Form agreement carefully for more information. This form is read and signed when you login to MyAccess for the first time in a semester, and once signed, can be reviewed under “My E-forms” located in the left-hand navigation bar of MyAccess.

The following accommodations/situations may require modifications in the online testing environment.  In these situations, please contact your Access Advisor and instructor to discuss what is possible. 

• The use of approved memory Aids/Reader/Scribe/Calculator/Assistive Technology
• Experiencing barriers that virtual proctoring creates
• Needing paper exams due to the nature of my disability/medical condition

No. Since your faculty members will be administering the online exams, it will be the responsibility of instructors to increase the length of time for each student who receives accommodations. 

Our advice, with regard to taking exams in the online environment:   

Remind your instructor 1-2 days prior to EACH exam to extend the length of time in the online environment for you.

Do NOT begin the exam until you have verified that the extended time has been put in place.  The time allotted should be visible in Blackboard next to the title of your exam. If your time has not been extended, notify your instructor ASAP and copy access.testing@wsu.edu so that we may reach out to your instructor as well.  

Student Responsibilities

• Communicate with your instructor about the accommodations you will need for the remote learning environment.
• Communicate with your Access Advisor right away if you need to adjust your accommodations. 
• Communicate with your instructor and your Access Advisor if you experience difficulties with the new environment (technical or otherwise).
• If you have been approved to take your exams at the Access Center, directly contact the Alternative Testing Services Coordinator to schedule your exams. Email access.testing@wsu.edu.

Instructors’ Responsibilities

• Put accommodations in place for students working with the Access Center. (e.g. extend time available for exams and quizzes, arrange with students logistics for other testing accommodations (i.e memory aids),provide access to lecture materials on an ongoing basis for students with lecture capture accommodations, etc).
• Communicate with student’s Access Advisor if they feel an accommodation is unreasonable or does not work for the course structure.
• Partner with the student and the Access Center in determining and implementing reasonable accommodations for students. 

 

Instructors who are pre-recording lectures and making them available to all students should leave these open and available on an ongoing basis for students to access.

Instructors using synchronous meetings (lectures/presentations that occur at a specified time) may not be recording these sessions. If this is the case:

Students with accommodations for recording lecture will need to record the lecture using their laptop, cell phone, smart pen, or other recording device. Please contact Kyle Gonzalez at access.books@wsu.edu if you have questions on how to do this. 

Students with Access to PowerPoints will need to follow up with their instructor to request that PowerPoints (if they are used) are sent to them separately.

Students approved for peer notetaking for Fall 2020 will be processed on a case-by-case basis. Students are encouraged to consider each class carefully with respect to notetaking requests. Please email your Access Advisor or access.notes@wsu.edu if you have any questions or concerns.

Due to the remote delivery of courses this Fall, flexible agreements should be discussed via email, Zoom, or phone. Finalized parameters of these agreements can be submitted to the Access Center via email. A physical signature is not required, as long as approval by both parties is documented via email.

Academic Outreach and Innovation has prepared training material for students. Please view the TechReady Student Trainings web page for more information.

For questions or concerns regarding this training material, please contact aoi.li@wsu.edu.