Accommodated Testing
Accessibility Services (Blundon Centre) is proud to offer an Accommodated Testing Service for students with disabilities. Each year over 10,000 exams are written with our testing office. Only on-campus courses are administered by our testing office. Tests and exams for online courses are administered by CITL.
Contact Information
Accommodated Testing
Accessibility Services (Blundon Centre)
Student Life
Memorial University, St. John's Campus
University Centre, 4th Floor UC-4000
Email: blundonexams@mun.ca
Phone: (709) 864-6787
Important Test and Exam Booking Deadlines
- Quizzes and term tests must be booked at least 2 weeks prior to the test date, using the Clockwork web portal
- Final exams must be booked at least 4 weeks prior to the first date of the final exam period, using the Clockwork web portal
Criteria for booking accommodated tests and exams
Not all courses, and/or tests and exams are eligible (or required) to be booked with Accessibility Services (Blundon Centre). Read the criteria below carefully to determine if your course, test or exam are eligible for booking:
Courses and exams that are eligible for booking with Accessibility Services include:
- On-campus courses with in-person, invigilated tests or exams
Courses and exams that are not eligible for booking with Accessibility Services include:
- Tests or exams for online courses. These tests and exams are scheduled by CITL. Exam schedules for online courses will be available at Memorial Self-Service (for online courses view "Online Learning Exam Schedule").
- Test or exams that are completed online (Brightspace, etc.) and are NOT invigilated (i.e. supervised). These tests and exams can generally be written
If, after reviewing the above criteria, you are still unsure if your course, test or exam is eligible for booking with our office, please email us at blundonexams@mun.ca or call (709) 864-6787.
Booking Accommodated Tests and Exams
All accommodated tests are booked using the Clockwork web portal. Term tests and quizzes are required to be booked 2-weeks prior to the testing date. All final exams are required to be booked 4 weeks before the final exam period begins. After these deadlines pass, we are unable to guarantee our ability to accommodate your test or exams.
If you have trouble booking your exam or test through the Clockwork web portal, please contact our office at blundonexams@mun.ca or (709) 864-6787.
If you miss the booking deadline and still require testing accommodations, we encourage you to contact your instructor for guidance.
Cancelling a test or exam
If, for any reason, you are unable to write a booked accommodated test or exam with us, we ask that you please cancel the test booking in the Clockwork web portal no later than 48-hours before the scheduled test or exam.
If you need to cancel and the 48-hour cancellation window has passed, please email us at blundonexams@mun.ca or call (709) 864-6787 to cancel your booking.
Deferred Tests and Exams
Tests and mid-term exams: If you are prevented from writing a test or mid-term exam due to illness, bereavement or other acceptable cause you should reach out to your instructor to request a deferred test or exam.
Granting of a rescheduled mid-term exam is not guaranteed. Instructors may opt to prorate grades in lieu of a rescheduled test or mid-term, or may require a comprehensive final to be written.
Deferred Final Exam: If you are prevented from writing a final exam due to illness, bereavement or other acceptable cause, you may apply, with supporting documents, to have the final examination deferred. Please see the university regulations to learn more about this process. If you have questions about this process please contact your course instructor or Department Head.
Booking a deferred test or exam
Students who are granted permission by their course instructor to write a deferred test or exam are able to be book their accommodated test with Accessibility Service (Blundon Centre). Please note, however, that these bookings are handled differently than regularly scheduled tests and exams.
Deferred tests and exams are not booked using the Clockwork web portal.
To book a deferred test or exam, students need to confirm with their course instructor that they have been granted permission to write a deferred exam (usually in the form of an email) and forward that confirmation along to Accommodated Testing in Accessibility Services (Blundon Centre) at blundonexams@mun.ca. The student and instructor should identify a mutually agreeable date and time (inline with the timelines below) when scheduling a deferred test or exam.
|
Semester |
Test/Exam Type |
Deferred Exam Date(s) |
|
Fall, Winter, Spring/Summer |
Term tests, quizzes, etc. |
Prior to end of current semester |
|
Fall, Winter, Spring/Summer |
Final exam |
First 2 weeks of the following semester |
|
Intercession |
All tests & exams |
As soon as possible |
If you need to make changes to a deferred exam that has already been scheduled, please contact us at blundonexams@mun.ca or call (709) 864-6787.
Formal Testing Accommodations
Accessibility Services (Blundon Centre) supports students in accesing a variety of test and exam accommodations. Our Accessibilility Advisors work with students to determine what testing accommodations are appropriate and reasonable to support your access to equitable assessments.
Below are some examples of the test/exam accommodations:
Specified extended time (e.g., time and a quarter) is the most common and perhaps easiest accommodation to implement. The appropriate amount of additional time will depend on the specific circumstances of each individual student.
Students with disabilities who have difficulty concentrating may need to write their tests/exams in a quieter, less distracting environment. Students with hearing loss may also benefit from this accommodation as it can be distracting for them to write their tests/exams in large group settings because their hearing aid(s) generally can pick up a lot of background noise such as foot shuffling and coughing.
For some students with chronic illnesses, the time of day a test is given is important (e.g., energy levels may be reduced at certain times during the day, or a student may have a pre-determined medication or treatment schedule).
Reader
A reader is a person who is designated to read the test/exam aloud to the student. This accommodation is commonly used, for example, by students with certain types of learning disabilities and visual impairments.
Scribe
Scribing is the process whereby a student dictates responses to a designated scribe, who does the actual writing. Details of this accommodation should be carefully explained to the student and the scribe, including spelling, grammar, and punctuation requirements. This accommodation is commonly used, for example, by students with limited manual dexterity or certain types of learning disabilities.
This accommodation allows students to use a computer to record answers, use assistive technology like speech-to-text or text-to-speech applications like Read&Write, Kurzweil or Dragon Naturally Speaking. This could also involve talking calculators, hand-held spelling and grammar checkers, closed-circuit televisions (print magnifier), etc. This technology is commonly used by students with print disabilities including those with certain learning disabilities, visual impairments, and motor disabilities to the hands and arms.
Some students with disabilities (e.g., those with limited manual dexterity, visual impairments, certain learning disabilities, etc.) may find it difficult or impossible to complete computer score sheets. An alternative solution is to have the student answer directly on the test paper, with a designated individual transferring the answers to the score sheet. Alternatives should be discussed and agreed upon by both the student and the professor.