An accommodation is a different way of completing a task allowing a student work better and more efficiently. Accommodations level the playing field without lowering the standards or compromising the integrity of a course or program. Some examples of accommodations include:

• Using a computer to type answers
• Physical access to attend class
• A quiet, distraction free room to write tests/exams
• Extended time for tests/exams
• Recording of lectures
• Preferential seating in class
• Assistance with note-taking (computerized, software, volunteer)
• Alternate formats (braille, large print, tests read aloud)
• Use of assistive technology for reading, writing, studying
• Use of FM system

The Student Accessibility office works with students who may experience barriers related to a temporary, chronic or permanent disability or medical conditions. These include, but are not limited to:

• Students who had individual education plans in high school
• Students who suffer from a permanent or temporary injury that limits their ability to attend class or participate in course work
• Students with chronic or temporary medical conditions that inhibit academic life
• Students with temporary or permanent disabilities
• Students who suffer from test anxiety
• Neurologically diverse students such as those with ADHD, autism, OCD, dyspraxia, or dyslexia

Welcome! In order to receive accommodations for disabilities or medical conditions, there are a few steps for you to take to become a registered SAS student.

First, you will complete the Student Information Form and, if possible before your meeting with the SAS Coordinator, have your registered health professional complete the Medical Questionnaire Form. The Medical Questionnaire Form can also be completed after your meeting with the SAS Coordinator.

Next, you will be contacted by the SAS Coordinator for a meeting. You will review your documentation and discuss your needs and possible accommodations. Once those accommodations are determined, the SAS Coordinator will email you and your professors a copy of your accommodation letters to outline your accommodations.

Once those steps are completed, you are a registered SAS student.

SAS requires that you fill out the Medical Questionnaire Form with a registered health professional. If you or your registered health professional are unsure about the type of information required, please contact our office directly.

Don’t worry! If you do not have documentation to support your accommodation request, you can discuss how to obtain the necessary documentation during your initial meeting with the SAS Coordinator.

First, you will request your accommodation letters.

If your accommodation needs HAVE NOT CHANGED, please request your accommodation letters.

If your accommodation needs HAVE CHANGED, please schedule a meeting with the SAS Coordinator to discuss these changes.

Once your accommodation letters have been requested, please meet with your professors about your accommodations.

Finally, please submit your requests for any resources or services you require. This includes alternate format materials, test/exam accommodations, assistive technology or tutoring.

Yes, you must request accommodation letters every term! We need to know what professors to send your accommodation letters to so that they are aware of the accommodations you require.

Students experiencing disabilities have the right to:

• Reasonable accommodations.
• Confidentiality.
• The opportunity to discuss academic accommodations in a private setting.
• Be accommodated with dignity and courtesy.
• A respectful, fair, timely, and confidential process to reach accommodation decisions.
• Access support throughout the appeal process, including the services of the Brandon University. Student Union.

Students experiencing disabilities have the responsibility to:

• Pursue their studies with the same diligence of all students and accept responsibility for their role in achieving course and program outcomes.
• Identify their needs to SAS in a timely manner.
• Provide relevant and current documentation to SAS, or be willing to undergo assessment to demonstrate eligibility for accommodation and service.
• Develop an Accommodation Agreement with SAS.
• Complete an application for a Canada Student Grant, or inform SAS that they are ineligible.
• Ensure that sufficient notice, as defined by SAS, is given to SAS to provide necessary accommodations.
• Contact SAS each term to review their accommodations and inform themselves of SAS procedures.
• Communicate with appropriate faculty and SAS regarding any concerns with the recommended accommodations.

For more information, please read the Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Procedure and Policy documents.

• Provide necessary accommodations in classes (recording lectures, preferential seating, providing notetakers, and more)
• Provide alternate format materials
• Provide assistive technology
• Provide testing accommodations
• Provide tutoring
• Assist in application for funding and scholarships

No! Due to issues of confidentiality, only students whose accommodations include “permission to record lectures,” will be given the option to record lectures, and only if those students inform their professors PRIOR to recording.

Alternate format materials refers to textbooks and course materials in a different, appropriate format for the student’s disability. This includes materials in electronic formats, audio formats, large print, coloured paper, and braille. SAS obtains or creates these materials, and you must fill out the alternate materials request form.

One-on-one or small group tutoring may be available for students registered with SAS for some first and second year courses.

Funding for tutors is available through the Canada Student Grant for Students with Disabilities (CSG) and Employability Assistance for People with Disabilities (EAPD). Students without funding will be responsible for paying SAS at the end of each academic year for the full amount of tutoring services used. If you’re interested, please fill out the tutor request form.

Tutoring services are subject to the availability of a qualified tutor. You will be notified via your BU student email when a tutor is found. 

Read&Write is a literacy support toolbar that assists in tasks such as reading text out loud, defining unfamiliar words, online research, and proofreading written work. The software and web extensions are available for free for all BU students, staff, and faculty.

Glean for Education provides audio note taking support. It can create notes, audio recordings, study cards, and tasks. It is available on a cost-recovery basis for SAS students.

If you are new to assistive technology, you will receive an appointment for training. Our student resources page has more information about assistive technology offered by SAS.

Glean licenses must be reactivated each term. You can reactivate Glean by filling out the request.

If you receive testing accommodations, you will complete and submit the test/exam request form. This form must be submitted a minimum of five days before the test/exam.

Two days before the test/exam, you will remind your professor that you receive test accommodations and that you will be writing your test/exam in the SAS test center.

On the day of the test/exam, you will come to the SAS test center no more than ten minutes before your test is scheduled. An SAS staff member will review your test accommodations and instructions with you, and you will write your test/exam in the SAS test center.

Please note that only in-person tests/exams are written in the test center. Online tests/exams are administered by the professor, and so you must communicate your testing accommodations to them prior to the online test/exams.

Email us with your name and course information (class name, course and section numbers, professor’s name) to make changes for scheduled tests.

Email us with your name and course information (class name, course and section numbers, professor’s name), and we can look up the date and time of your test.

In the future, you can have a copy of your test request form emailed to you by selecting the email receipt option at the end of the test request form.

When the term’s final exam schedule is finalized, SAS will send an email to all SAS students reminding them to book their final exams in the test center. We also have SAS Final Exam FAQs with information about writing final exams in the test center.