The Center for Educational Resources & Counseling can provide testing areas for students with registered disabilities who require testing accommodations (e.g., extended time, distraction-reduced environment). Only students with a documented disability or temporary disability (e.g. broken writing hand) may test at Center for Educational Resources & Counseling. Educational Resources & Counseling does not handle make-up exams for the general student population. Due to limited space and the large number of students testing at the center, all exams must be scheduled in advance on a first-come, first-served basis.

Much of the responsibility of scheduling special exams falls to the student; however, there is important information for instructors to keep in mind as well.

If a student’s course accommodation form from Disability Services for the current semester lists "extended time" and/or a "distraction-reduced environment," there are several options for handling this. Preferably, the instructor can provide a suitable testing environment (e.g., in the instructor’s department, or in the dean’s office of the student’s school or college). Alternatively, the instructor can ask the student to make special exam arrangements at the Center for Educational Resources & Counseling. In order to request to take a special exam at ERC, the student must use ERC’s Exam Request Form. ERC uses this form to schedule the student's exams, with their proper accommodations.

Filling Out an Exam Request Form (also known as "the blue sheet")

1. The student should complete the top section, listing the student’s contact information.

2. The instructor should fill out the instructor’s contact information (it is important to provide us multiple ways to contact the instructor in case we need to do so before, during, and or after the exam is administered).

3. The instructor should fill in the dates, start times and length of each exam. Please pay careful attention to the space labeled "Amount of Time the CLASS Gets for Exam." You do not need to calculate the amount of time the student needs with extended time accommodation; Educational Resources & Counseling will calculate that based on the time the class is allowed.

4. The instructor should fill out the bottom of the Exam Request Form labeled, "VERY IMPORTANT," and sign and date. This last section tells the exam proctor exactly what is allowed and what is forbidden in the testing environment. Under no circumstances are the students allowed backpacks in the testing environment.

5. The instructor is encouraged to make and keep a copy of the completed form.

6. The student is responsible for delivering the completed form to ERC. ERC requires a minimum of four days notice before scheduling an exam and seven days notice before scheduling a final exam. Instructors should not turn in the exam request form on the day of the exam, with the exam, because ERC needs this information ahead of time in order to make appropriate arrangements. Instructors should use ONLY the Exam Request Forms to schedule an exam, as these forms conveniently organize all of the important information needed. Requests made by email or hand-written on paper or envelopes, though well intentioned, often do not have the information we need to schedule an exam. If Educational Resources & Counseling receives an exam request form fewer than four days in advance of an exam (or seven days in the case of a final), Educational Resources & Counseling will make every effort to accommodate the student, however, there is no guarantee testing space will be available.

PLEASE NOTE: Educational Resources & Counseling only holds special exams on Mondays through Fridays, 8:30am to 5:00pm (except for Finals Week when we are also open Saturday and Sunday, 8:30am to 5:00pm). If a class exam begins at 8:00am, Educational Resources & Counseling will begin the exam at 8:30am. If the exam is held, or will extend beyond, 5:00pm, it must be rescheduled to our business hours. In addition, students taking final exams with extended time accommodations must begin early in the day for four-hour finals. If the student has a time-and-a-half extension, the final exam must begin no later than 11am to finish at 5:00pm. If the student has a double time extension, the final exam must begin no later than 9:00am to finish at 5:00pm.

Please note, if the date, time, or length of the exam are not filled in, or if the exam time is listed outside of our business hours, the student is not authorized to take the exam at Educational Resources & Counseling. Instructors must make any changes and additions to the exam request forms either by phoning, emailing, or visiting Educational Resources & Counseling in person. The student may NOT change the form without one of these methods of instructor approval. Whenever possible, Educational Resources & Counseling prefers that all of the exams for the entire semester of a course, including the final exam, be listed on a single form, rather than scheduling exams one at a time.

Special Exam Accommodations: Important Information for Instructors

If Special Exam Accommodations are Handled by the Instructor or Non-ERC staff

The instructor (or test proctor) should understand the nature of the accommodations the student is to receive (if there is any doubt or question, please call Disability Services, before the test date, at 862-8433).

If Special Exam Accommodations are Handled at the Center for Educational Resources & Counseling

Fill out the appropriate sections of the student’s exam request form completely, and give the form back to the student as soon as possible (the student is responsible for bringing the completed form to ERC at least 4 days before the exam, or 7 days before a final).

Bring enough copies of the exam to the center in a timely manner (ideally the day before the exam).
Pick up completed exams (or send an authorized person from your department to pick them up). Any unused exams (due to no-shows or cancellations) are destroyed one week after the scheduled exam date. Any completed exams not claimed by the instructor are destroyed after one year.

Special Exam Accommodations: Important Information for Students

At the beginning of each semester, you will need to keep in mind several things when scheduling your exams. First, come to the Center for Educational Resources & Counseling front desk and request your Course Accommodation Form which contains the accommodations approved for you at Tulane. At the front desk, you will also need to pick up blue exam request Forms, one for each instructor.

Next, bring these forms to your instructors, who should keep a copy of the Course Accommodation Form for their records. You are responsible for filling out the top portion of the blue Exam Request Form, which calls for your name and contact information. The instructor fills out the remainder of the form, and gives it back to you to bring to Educational Resources & Counseling. (It is always a good idea to check to make sure that the instructor filled out all of the form). You, NOT the instructor, are responsible for returning the completed exam request form to Educational Resources & Counseling. If the instructor offers to drop off the form, remind the instructor that you are responsible for the delivery of the form. Regardless, if the form is not delivered to the ERC four days before an exam or seven days before a final exam, you may not receive your full testing accommodations.

Once the Exam Request Form is received by Educational Resources & Counseling, your exams are scheduled accordingly. We schedule on a first-come, first-served basis so it is imperative that you turn in your exam request forms as early as possible. We also recommend that you remind your instructor a day or so before the exam about your special exam arrangements.

If you cannot take an exam at the scheduled time, you must obtain permission from your instructor. The Educational Resources & Counseling proctors exams, but has no authority to excuse students from taking their scheduled exam. Neither does the Center for Educational Resources & Counseling have the authority to schedule or reschedule exams without the explicit permission of an instructor. Only the instructor can make changes regarding an exam request. If the instructor reschedules an exam date for the class, the instructor must also contact Educational Resources & Counseling by phone, email, or in person, to reschedule the exam here.

You are expected to be at the center on time for your scheduled exams. If you are late for an exam, you will not be allowed to make up the lost time, just as if you were late to the class exam.

Students are only allowed to bring into the testing room materials specifically listed by the professor on the exam request form.

Once the exam has started, a student may NOT:

1. Leave the Educational Resources & Counseling building.
2. Make or receive phone calls.
3. Have a book bag or backpack in the testing room.