Norman and Distance Learning Student Accommodations
Students must initiate their request for reasonable accommodation through the Accessibility and Disability Resource Center. Accommodations are provided on an individual basis dependent on the need for services and documentation of disability as stated in the Documentation Guidelines. Students will meet with an ADRC team member for an initial intake and to jointly identify appropriate accommodations through an interactive conversation. Students should update their request for accommodation at least each semester, or as needed.
Accessible Electronic Textbooks (E-Text)
E-Text requests will be accepted for students registered with the ADRC who are approved for Accessible Electronic Textbooks (E-Text).
You must fill out the E-Text Request form for each textbook you are requesting and a Textbook Proof of Purchase/Rental form each semester. Be sure to include all the requested information on the forms, or it may take longer to process your requests.
Accommodation Requests for Outside Entities
In order for the Accessibility and Disability Resource Center to release information regarding services and/or documentation on file, the student must sign and submit the Consent for Release form specific to the ADRC. Requests are processed in the order in which they are received, with most documents being sent within 5-15 university business days of when we received the signed Consent for Release form. Please allow sufficient time between contacting our office and the deadline for submission, as requests received fewer than 15 university business days out are not guaranteed to be completed prior to the submission deadline.
Standardized Assessments
If a student requires accommodation on a standardized assessment such as the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, etc., it is the student's responsibility to contact the testing board to obtain information about their accommodation procedures. There is typically a request form that is required by these entities and many have recency requirements for documentation.
Another Institution
If a student requires accommodation for courses at a different institution, it is the student's responsibility to contact the disability services office at the other institution to obtain information about their accommodation procedures. Often, a Letter of Accommodation from our office and/or the student's documentation will meet the new institution's needs.
Advocacy
The Accessibility and Disability Resource Center will provide advocacy to students in the areas of consultation and conflict resolution. In addition, ADRC will provide information and referrals to community resources as well as student organizations and activities. ADRC staff will assist students in interpersonal skills development and leadership opportunities. Although the ADRC staff advocates for student needs, it is equally important that students learn to advocate for themselves. Students need to understand their strengths, learn to identify areas for improvement, know their rights and responsibilities, and know where to go for assistance. Early in the semester students should schedule a meeting with their instructors, and be prepared to discuss their needs and refer the instructor to the ADRC if they need additional information to assist them in providing the appropriate accommodations.
Alternative Testing
Test-proctoring services are available at the Accessibility and Disability Resource Center between the hours of 8:30 am and 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, with the exception of Finals Week when exams are proctored 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Please note that exams must be completed by 4:30 pm.
Students may use the Accessibility and Disability Resource Center Self-Service section in iAdvise to schedule an exam, and are expected to do so no later than 3 university business days in advance; please see Student [Exam] Responsibilities for further information.
Instructors are automatically notified when a student signs up for an exam to be taken at the ADRC, and exam materials should be sent by every professor who has received notification of a student's exam accommodations, regardless of whether or not the student signed-up with the ADRC for that individual exam.
Complete exam expectations and procedures may be found under Testing Center in the navigation pane.
Email Usage
The Accessibility and Disability Resource Center team has found that the use of e-mail has increased the speed and effectiveness of the way in which we communicate information of interest and address the concerns of students. Students are encouraged to routinely check their e-mail to obtain information on scholarship opportunities, activities, workforce recruitment, priority enrollment dates, and other items of interest to the disability community.
Student e-mail accounts on the OU system are automatically set up; however, new users must activate their account. E-mail accounts can be checked from any university computer lab or on their personal device by visiting the University's email portal.
Faculty Notification
The Accessibility and Disability Resource Center will notify the Instructor of Record and Course Coordinator(s) [if applicable] of specific accommodations via their university e-mail accounts at the student’s request. To submit a request for instructor notification, students will need to visit iAdvise through the ADRC Self-Service section and navigate to Request Accommodation.
Once there, students have the option to choose a specific course from a dropdown menu for which to request accommodations. The accommodations approved for that individual student will populate, allowing the student to select the specific accommodation(s) they would like to use in that course. Because accommodation needs may vary depending on class format and structure, this process must be repeated for each individual course.
This process must be completed each semester in order to receive accommodations for each course. Accommodations may be requested beginning one week prior to the start of the semester through the last week of the regular semester. Requests are processed in the order in which they are received and may take 3-5 university business days for completion. Testing accommodations requested less than 3 university business days prior to an assessment are not guaranteed implementation for that exam/quiz.
Students are encouraged to be self-advocates and are expected to identify themselves to their instructors and discuss the specific accommodations authorized by Student Affairs. Download this template to help you introduce yourself to your instructors via email.
Interpreter and Real Time Captioning Services
The Accessibility and Disability Resource Center will coordinate interpreter and real time captioning services on campus. We strive to provide the highest quality accommodations by hiring qualified interpreters and captionists. Students are encouraged to pre-enroll to ensure availability of interpreters and real time captionists. It is important to provide schedule information to the ADRC as soon as possible and to communicate with ADRC staff about class schedules at pre-enrollment.
Interpreter and Real Time Captioning Service requests for events outside of the classroom should be submitted at least 5 university business days in advance of the requested date. Requests for interpreter services made less than 3 university business days in advance may not be filled due to the availability of interpreters/transcriptionists.
Note-Taking Assistance
In most situations, students are approved the use of audio recording when note taking assistance is needed. Students who are approved for audio recording of lectures are responsible to use their own personal device to record class content and understand that any recorded information is for personal use only and will be deleted when no longer needed.
In the event a student requires the use of a live note taker, a volunteer peer note taker will be utilized. With the student's permission, the faculty member is contacted to assist in identifying a volunteer peer note taker from the class. Students should expect a one- to two-week period to pass before note taker accommodations are completely implemented. It is the student's responsibility to coordinate with the note taker to retrieve the notes.
Students are expected to take their own notes in class and to use the notes from the note taker as a supplement to ensure that they are getting complete and accurate information. Note takers are not a substitute for class attendance, and notes will not be provided for class sessions where the student is not in attendance.
Office Hours
Office hours can be scheduled with an Accessibility and Disability Resource Center team member by appointment for one-to-one sessions on an as-needed basis. Appointments may be scheduled through iAdvise by registered ADRC students.
