Fall 2025 Student Updates

Student Disability Services (SDS) has recently updated the process for managing attendance modification accommodations.

Previous Process

In the past, students eligible for this accommodation were asked to answer questions about the attendance policy for each of their courses before SDS sent Faculty Notification Letters.

New Process

• Faculty will continue to receive Faculty Notification Letters from SDS.

• Faculty are then directed to their Instructor Portal, where they complete a questionnaire regarding attendance expectations in their course.

• The questionnaire includes the same questions that faculty were asked to complete in the past.

Accessing Faculty Responses

• Once your faculty member has completed the questionnaire, only students who are eligible for attendance modification and have requested to use this accommodation will be able to view the responses.

• To access these responses:

  1. Log in to mySDS Online Services.

  2. On your SDS dashboard, under the “Accommodations” box, select “Flex Plan.”

  3. Review your faculty member’s responses.

Additional Support

If you have any questions or concerns about your attendance modification accommodation, please reach out to your SDS disability specialist for further guidance.

● Login to SDS Online Services
● Navigate to the "Accommodation Requests" section of your dashboard. Select “Add Requests”
● In the “Accommodation Requests” box, choose the courses for which you need accommodations from the dropdown menu. You can also select “Apply the same accommodations to all selected courses” if you would like to apply that feature.
● Once you have selected your courses and “Continue to Next Step”, select your accommodations (checkboxes) that you would like to apply to each course (or select the box indicating that you do not need accommodation in the course).
● When you are done making your accommodation selections, click the “Submit Request” button located in the “Step: Final Step” box to complete the accommodation request.
● SDS will review your requests and process them. Once approved, Faculty Notification Letters (Accommodation Letters) will be sent to you and your instructors.
● It's a good practice to follow up with your instructors to confirm that they have received the letters and to discuss how the accommodations will be implemented.

● Login to SDS Online Services
● In the “Overview” tab, you will see the accommodation requests that you have already submitted for your current classes
● Under the “List of Accommodation Requests:” section, select the course that you would like to modify.
● In the “Accommodations” tab, you can see which accommodations have been selected for the class (indicated by a blue check mark). In this section, you can select accommodations that you did not previously select, or remove accommodations that you previously selected.
● After the selections have been made, select the black box titled “Update Request”.
● If you would like to remove all accommodations for the course, select the black box titled “Cancel Request”

● Login to SDS Online Services
● Navigate to the “Alternative Testing Tab” on the left hand side located in the “Accommodations” section
● Select your course in the dropdown menu in the “Select Course” section and then select “Schedule an Exam”
● In the “Available Exam Dates” section, select the exam date from the dropdown menu that you are requesting. If you do not see an exam date listed, your Professor has not yet entered the exam date in the testing contract.
● Select the time that you would like to take the exam at the SDS office. Please note whether or not the exam must be taken at class time according to the testing contract completed by the Instructor
● In the “Services Requested” section, select the accommodations that you would like to apply to the exam request (i.e. - “Extra Time 1.50x”)
● The total exam length will auto-fill according to the length entered by your Instructor in the testing contract. If you select an extra time accommodation, the system will automatically apply to the time multiplier to the exam request.
● Complete the additional note field if there is anything that you would like to indicate to the SDS staff. This field is not required.
● Lastly, select “Add Exam Request” at the bottom of the page.
● Once approved by SDS Staff, you will receive an email reminder of the exam request 3 business days prior to the exam date. Any exam requests submitted less than 7 days before the date of the exam will be marked as “late”.

● Login to SDS Online Services
● Navigate to the “Alternative Testing Tab” on the left hand side located in the “Accommodations” section
● You can view the exam requested that you have already submitted in the “Upcoming Exams Scheduled” section
● Select “view” next to the exam request that you would like to modify
● You can request to change your start time or requested accommodations in the “exam request” section and then select “Update Exam Request” in the “Form Submission” section

● Login to SDS Online Services
● Navigate to the “Alternative Testing Tab” on the left hand side located in the “Accommodations” section
● You can view the exam requested that you have already submitted in the “Upcoming Exams Scheduled” section
● Select “view” next to the exam request that you would like to cancel
● If you would like to cancel your exam request, select the “Cancel Exam Request” section, select a “Cancellation Reason” from the drop down menu, and then select “Cancel Exam Request” to submit the request.

● If you are eligible for the “E-Text” accommodation, you can submit a “Work Order” request in your SDS Portal.
● Login to SDS Online Services. On the left-hand side, select the tab labeled “Alternative Formats” under the “Accommodations” section.
● In the Alternative Formats tab, select “Review Requests”
● In the “Reading Material” section, select your class that the textbook applies to from the drop down menu.
● Complete the remainder of the “Reading Material” section with the textbook information and then select “Submit Request” in the “Form Submission” section.
● Next, click the “Upload Receipt” box in the top right corner of the page. Upload a file, such as a jpg or pdf of your receipt, and select the checkbox of the course that the book applies to. You also have the option to complete the “Notes” section if there is anything that you would like to communicate to SDS Staff.
● Please note that a receipt must be included with each work order for SDS to be able to process the request.
● Your E-Text copy will be emailed to you as soon as SDS receives it from the publisher.

● Login to SDS Online Services
● Navigate to the "Accommodation Requests" section of your dashboard. Select “Add Requests”
● Choose the courses for which you need accommodations from the dropdown menu. Once you have made your accommodation selections, you will click the “Submit Request” button located in the “Step: Final Step” box to the upper-right of the selection menu.
● SDS will review your accommodation requests and process them. Once approved, Faculty Notification Letters (Accommodation Letters) will be sent to you and your instructors.
● If you selected the "Attendance Modification” accommodation in your request, the Faculty Notification Letter will list the accommodation and instruct your Professor to go to their Faculty Portal to complete the Flex Plan questionnaire.
● Your Professor will complete a questionnaire indicating the attendance policy for the course in relation to your Attendance Modification accommodation (i.e. maximum number of additional absences, the procedure for submitting coursework and make-up exams during absence, class participation, etc).
● Once your Professor completes the Flex Plan questionnaire, you can review their responses by logging into SDS Online Services and selecting the “Flex Plan” tab on the lefthand side of your dashboard.
● Within the tab, you will see each of your classes listed in which you requested the Attendance Modification accommodation. Under “Status”, select “View” next to the course to see your Professor’s Flex Plan questionnaire responses so that you are aware of attendance policies. If “View” is an option, it means that your Professor has completed the questionnaire.
● If the Professor has not yet completed the Flex Plan questionnaire, under “Status”, it will say “Not Initiated”.
● SDS will send out reminders every 3 days to your Professor until they have completed the Flex Plan questionnaire.
● If you have any concerns about your Professor’s submission in the Flex Plan questionnaire, or need further clarification about their responses, please contact your SDS Specialist.
● You are also welcome to follow up with your instructors to discuss how your accommodations will be implemented.