Information for Faculty
Our office uses Accommodate software to facilitate academic accommodation services. Faculty are asked to use their Accommodate Faculty Portal to identify students in their class with accommodations, acknowledge students’ accommodations, and upload exams. Please be sure to review the Faculty Accommodate Guide for detailed instructions.
Faculty Handbook for Academic Accommodations
Course Outline
Guidelines for communicating with students about their academic accommodations
Accommodated examinations
Accommodated assessments
Final examinations
Additional information
Contact us
Faculty Guide to Academic Accommodation
Academic accommodations are meant to remove or reduce barriers to students experiencing disabilities to ensure equitable treatment and opportunity in their academic pursuits. This is consistent with the spirit and provisions of the Alberta Human Rights Act and with Mount Royal's policies, procedures, and practices.
MRU's Access and Inclusion Services works with faculty and students to ensure accommodations that uphold academic standards and maintain the integrity of the program and course outcomes.
It is important that student confidentiality and privacy are maintained. This includes identifying students with accommodations in class and discussing students with other faculty without first notifying the student. Conversations with the student about their accommodations should be done in a private setting. Faculty cannot ask students to reveal their specific diagnosis and do not have access to the student’s medical documentation kept in Access and Inclusion Services.
Please reference our Academic Accommodation and Mount Royal Faculty Handbook for more detailed information.
Additional recourses:
Course Outlines
A statement regarding academic accommodations is required. Please include the following:Academic Accommodations
If you are a student registered with Access and Inclusion Services and have academic accommodations, please share those accommodations with me via your Accommodate Student Portal as soon as possible. Some accommodations may require us to communicate about how they will be implemented within the design of this course.
If you require Academic Accommodations for practicum or clinical placement, please contact your Access Advisor in Access and Inclusion Services to discuss your specific needs and obtain an Accommodation Letter.
If you are a student experiencing a disability who may require academic accommodations and have not yet registered with Access and Inclusion Services you are encouraged to contact them as soon as possible. You must be registered with Access and Inclusion Services to access Academic Accommodations.
If you require non-disability related Academic Accommodations under other protected grounds (i.e. religious observance, family status) please contact Access and Inclusion Services to explore what accommodations may be available in order to participate fully in your academic studies.
Access and Inclusion Services can be contacted at 403-440-6868 or accessibility@mtroyal.ca.
Guidelines for communicating with students about their academic accommodations
Students are expected to notify instructors of their accommodations. If a conversation is needed, it should take place in a private setting (by phone, email, virtually, or in person). Faculty are encouraged to review the course design, outcomes, and assignment/evaluation expectations with the student. If there are no concerns with the accommodations, faculty will need to acknowledge the identified accommodations to Access and Inclusion Services. If there are any questions or concerns, please contact the student’s Access Advisor.
Accommodated Examinations
Exam seating accommodation protocols align with the Office of the Registrar's exam seating guidelines:
- Students are permitted clear water bottles, pens/pencils, and any materials specified by their accommodations or course instructor in the exam room.
- Students are invited to leave personal belongings in their lockers if they have one. Otherwise, bags, coats, and cell phones are to be left either outside or at the front of the exam room, depending on the exam location (Please note that Access and Inclusion Services does not search students or their belongings).
- If students require their cell phone for D2L access (i.e., multifactor identification), they are observed logging in and then their cell phone is removed from the exam room or left with an invigilator.
Accommodated Assessments
All assessments written with Access and Inclusion Services occur in Y201, Y210, W240 and/or other satellite locations. Seatings begin on the hour throughout the week. Students are asked to submit their requests at least 7 days in advance, overlapping or as close as possible to their class writing time (Please note, if Access and Inclusion Services is at capacity, students will be booked on another day and/or time from when their class is writing). Faculty must provide the exam 3 business days before the student will be writing with Access and Inclusion Services or the student will be rebooked.Faculty, or their delegate, are asked to pick up completed assessments from the Accommodated Exam Centre (Y201) before the start of the final exam period.
Final Examinations
All of the procedures above apply to final examinations, with the following exceptions:- There are four (4) accommodated exam seating times: 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
- Hours of operation during final exams are Monday through Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Please note: on evenings when exams are not scheduled until 9:00 p.m.,the office may close earlier. Please note, that the last day of the final exam period is often used for deferred exams. Faculty are encouraged to remind students that they are to be available for the entire final exam period in the event they need to complete an exam on the last day of the final exam period.
- Completed final exams can be picked up outside of Y201. Any questions or concerns can be directed to our office at 403-440-6868.
Additional information
Additional information about the academic accommodation process can be found in the Faculty Accommodate Portal and in some of the following documents:
- MRU Policy 517 Academic Accommodation for Students Experiencing Disabilities
- MRU Parent Policy 517 and Guidelines
- MRU Policy 1702 Human Rights Policy
- Alberta Human Rights Commission Interpretive Bulletin: Duty to Accommodate Students with Disabilities
- Appeal Checklist-Flowchart
Contact us
For general questions on accommodation or how to create an inclusive learning environment, please get in touch with our office at accessibility@mtroyal.ca or 403-440-6868.For queries related to an individual student, please contact the student’s Access Advisor.
All other concerns may be directed to the main Access and Inclusion Services office at 403-440-6868 or accessibility@mtroyal.ca.