August 13, 2020
Letters of accommodation from the Student Access Center
Submitted by Jason Maseberg-Tomlinson
The Student Access Center has moved to a new online system for managing accommodations called Accessible Information Management, or AIM.
Faculty and staff will notice a change on the homepage with new sign-in links. A new "Student AIM Portal" and "Faculty AIM Portal" have been created. The Faculty AIM Portal will give faculty new tools. Students and faculty log in with their K-State eID and password through the K-State single sign-on service.
One of the biggest changes for faculty will be that letters will not be emailed or delivered by students. Letters of accommodation will be sent to faculty and instructors via email, using the names associated with the course in KSIS. The email will appear as coming from:
KState — Student Access Center <noreply@bear.accessiblelearning.com> on behalf of Jason Maseberg-Tomlinson <jasontom@ksu.edu>
This not only shows you that the letter is coming from our office, it also states which access advisor in the center is working with the student. The subject of the email will contain course information, so it is easy to connect emails to the course. Within the letter, links will be embedded to direct faculty members to information for the SAC Test Center, if a student has testing accommodations. Starting this summer, faculty can also sign into the Faculty AIM Portal to see which students have requested accommodations for their class. This is helpful for situations where faculty lose track of letters of accommodation.
Faculty who use the SAC Test Center for accommodations on exams will use the system to input exam information for students with testing accommodations. Students will schedule their exams with our office through the system as well, with faculty approval. To assist us with exam organization and social distancing, exams can be uploaded to the site as well and they will be kept organized with the student information. In the following weeks, we will email faculty with students using exam accommodations and update them on using our system as well as where to direct students. The SAC is currently changing test center locations to accommodate students during COVID-19.
If you work with students who need academic accommodations, please refer them to the Student Access Center website as usual. If they are a student who has not registered with our office, they will use the "Register with the Student Access Center" link on the right side of the page. Returning students can already sign into the "Student AIM Portal." Students will be able to sign in and pick the pre-approved accommodations needed for each course. Once SAC staff have reviewed their request, a letter of accommodation will be sent to faculty.
This system will allow students to request letters of accommodation online; send faculty letters of accommodation directly — rather than waiting for students to deliver them; allow for students to upload their documentation; organize our test center; and make it possible for faculty to sign in and review requested accommodations in their courses. We have moved from a manual process to a process that is student-focused, responsive and data-rich. It also moves many aspects of our letter process online so that we can continue to improve services during our remote operations.
We have information on the Student Access Center website for students and faculty. In-person meetings will be limited in our office; please visit our website and learn more about our system.