In order to receive exam accommodations, students must first be affiliated with the DRC and they must submit their quarterly request for use of their accommodations each quarter. Exam accommodations can be supported in several ways. Once approved for exam accommodations, course faculty will advise the student on how they intend to provide those accommodations. These accommodations are delivered to the student in one of the following ways:
- Supported directly by course faculty
- Supported by a departmental or divisional exams coordinator or center
- Supported by the DRC Testing Center
- Combination of the above
Some accommodations require time to coordinate, and departmental or divisional exams coordinators or centers may have additional deadlines for coordinating accommodations for midterms and final exams. Course faculty will let students know where they should direct their exam accommodation requests for their class.
Important Information
- Communicate with the faculty members – After students received or requested their Accommodation Letters, they should confirm with their professor that they also received a copy and understand its contents. This is also a great opportunity to verify where a student’s faculty member wants the student to take their accommodated exams.
- Directions to the DRC Testing – Students with these accommodations will have a DRC Exam Assistant assigned to their exam and this will be coordinated
Accommodation Requests
For students with the associated accommodations, exams scheduled at the DRC Testing Center will automatically have scribes, readers, and/or assistive technology assigned to test room bookings.
For exams taking place outside of the DRC Testing Center, an Assistive Technology & Exam Assistant Request Form should be completed at least 5 business days prior to the scheduled exam.
Students and the DRC Testing Center
All students taking exams at the DRC Testing Center will be held to the same standard as all students as outlined in the UCSC Student Handbook and University Policies and the Academic Misconduct Policy for Undergraduates, which includes the following:
“The cornerstone of intellectual life at UC Santa Cruz is a commitment to integrity in all forms of teaching, learning, and research.”
Exam Accommodations Supported at the DRC Testing Center
Due to limited space the DRC Testing Center does not support all exam accommodations.
Requesting an Exam
Exam room booking requests can be submitted as early as the first week of the quarter and it is requested that they be made no later than two weeks in advance. If the student is placing a test room booking request after this cutoff, please contact the Testing Center by email after the request has been submitted in Accommodate for confirmation.
If the student’s course faculty member has directed the student to the DRC Testing Center for their course’s exam accommodations the student can place their request using the Accommodate portal and following the instructions outlined on the How To – Request a Room at the DRC Testing Center form.
If the student is unsure where they are supposed to be taking their accommodated exams, they may reference the course syllabus or reach out to their course faculty member for guidance. Once the student’s request has been approved Testing Center staff will coordinate directly with then on any questions they may have.
Testing Day at the DRC Testing Center
Students should arrive within the noted grace period, with their student ID, to the Testing Center office so the proctor has sufficient time to check the student in. Please refer to the Exam Room Booking in Accommodate for the exam time and grace period. If the student arrives after the grace period the exam may be canceled and needs to be rescheduled with their faculty member.
**Be sure to visit the Testing Center’s location prior to the exam date to avoid getting lost on the day of the exam**
After the proctor has checked the student in they will confirm the student’s testing information and instruct them to store their cell phone and all belongings, except for those approved testing materials, in a provided locker. The student will be directed to their testing station and will begin their exam when the proctor instructs them to do so.
Students may go to the proctor to ask questions about the exam but proctors are not allowed to answer questions about the exam themselves. The proctor will connect with the student’s professor, or in-class proctor and relay their questions to them directly. If the student needs to use the restroom or get a glass of water, they should inform their proctor. All testing and non-testing materials will be left in the testing room. If the student leaves the testing room for any other reason without a proctor, their exam will be sealed and they will not be allowed to finish.
Once the student has completed their exam they will return it to the proctor. The proctor will confirm with the student that they are finished and will sign them out. Once the exam is completed it will be uploaded to the student’s faculty member and submitted using Accommodate.