The following letter was sent from the ODA Director to UNT Faculty on September 17, 2023. 

Good evening!

We hope this new academic year is treating you well!

For almost five years, I have had the privilege of collaborating with you to serve our amazing students with disabilities and to foster a campus culture of access and inclusion. In December 2022, I was honored to accept this position as Director in the Office of Disability Access as Dr. Katy Washington transitioned to her role as Chief Accessibility Officer at Virginia Commonwealth University. Since then, our office has promoted several team members to leadership positions and hired new Coordinators to enhance our services to the institution.

The email below will provide a few quick updates about our office, a few reminders about specific accommodations, and also our request to you to please fill out the Faculty Survey so that we can better serve you.

You are receiving this email because you have a student registered with the ODA in one or more of your courses. As an instructor, you may or may not have received notification from the Office of Disability Access (ODA) in the form of a letter of accommodation informing you of approved accommodations. If not, it is also possible that you may receive a letter from the ODA at any point in the semester.

The ODA's letters of accommodations are sent from our database system, called AIM. The AIM Instructor Portal is a platform created so that you can virtually manage which of your students has academic accommodations and what those accommodations are. For more information about AIM, please see the “What is AIM?” section below.

This letter has several links to documents (see below) to aid you in navigating AIM and working with students with disabilities enrolled in your courses. If any of the links fail to work, they can also be found on the ODA's website at the following link: Faculty Resource Guide
Please reach out to the ODA with any questions after you receive a student's accommodation letter. Feel free to visit the ODA's website to remind you of our semester hours of operation for the main office and the ODA Test Center. If you have a student who will need to use the ODA Test Center this semester, please complete the Alternative Testing Agreement; and see below for more information about the Test Center processes.
We are so happy to have the following new staff join our team!
• Bud Houck - ODA Coordinator (October 2022)
• Ella Pipes - ODA Coordinator (June 2023)
• Keeley Glogau - ODA Digital Accessibility Specialist (July 2023)

Faculty Survey
The Office of Disability Access would greatly appreciate your feedback on the services we provide and our partnership with you. The survey will take no longer than 5 minutes and will not be linked back to you. Please complete it as you are able. Thank you!
Survey link

Specific Accommodation Reminders
• Alternative Format Process
Students will directly request their textbooks through our office. If a student is a braille user, our office will send a message to faculty asking for any supplementary materials to be sent to us for conversion. Students who use Kurzweil may also need electronic copies of all the documents and handouts (often available on Canvas) to upload to their assistive technology software. Largely, there is not much that faculty need to do regarding this accommodation other than work to make sure that their documents are accessible.

• Furniture Modification
Some students have an accommodation approved for an adaptive chair or desk to accommodate their disability. UNT Facilities places this specialized equipment in the classroom for use by this student. We are asking faculty's help to ensure that the furniture stays in the location where it is placed and that other students do not use it. If you notice that the furniture is no longer in your classroom, please contact ODA immediately at Apply.ODA@unt.edu

• Access to Lecture/Notetaking
If a student has been approved for this accommodation, our Notetaking team (Notes.ODA@unt.edu) will reach out to you to collaborate on how this will be provided in your class.

• Alternative Testing: See below for additional reminders

The AIM Faculty Manual
The Faculty Manual is a step-by-step guide to help instructors navigate AIM and inform them of how ODA processes complement AIM. To access the manual: AIM Faulty Manual for Managing Students' Accommodations (pdf). It can also be found in the faculty section of the ODA webpage - under “Forms.”

Instructors who are currently teaching a course during a semester can log into the AIM Faculty Portal to review academic accommodations for students registered in the course (s) they teach as well as interact with the ODA Test Center. Please log in to access the following:

1. Students' Letters of Accommodation (LOAs) - Faculty will also have access to student letters and the student's accommodations when logging into the AIM Portal.

2. Alternative Testing - (1) Complete testing agreements for the ODA Test Center. (2) See all exam proctoring requests students have submitted to the ODA Test Center. (3) Upload exams to send to the Test Center

3. Note-Taker Services- Faculty will also be able to see ODA assigned note-takers in their courses and review notes that have been uploaded from note-takers. If a peer note-taker is not assigned for this course, Faculty will be able to see other notes ODA has made about this accommodation provision. Faculty can navigate to the AIM Instructor Login and sign into the login page using your university credentials. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions!

What to do if You Receive an ODA Letter of Accommodation? (LOA 101)
The function of an ODA Letter of Accommodation is to inform an instructor of the student's approved academic accommodations. AIM gives students the autonomy to choose which classes they want the ODA to send Letters of Accommodation (LOA), so only the instructors of those classes designated by the student receive accommodation letters. The student is copied on the LOA emails sent to instructors by ODA.

Please note the ODA emails accommodation letters to instructors. The email address that sends the letter WILL NOT come from the ODA's university address. An example is below. If you reply to the letter of accommodation, it will be re-routed to the student's Coordinator.

From: UNT - Office of Disability Access (ODA@post.accessiblelearning.com)
To: Instructor.name@unt.edu
Sent Date: Monday, August 26, 2019 at 05:41:02 AM
Subject: STUDENT NAME - ACCT 3270.xxx - COST ACCOUNTING (CRN: ACCT327xxx1) - ODA Letter of Academic Accommodations Fall 20xx

The ODA Letter of Accommodation will benefit faculty in the following ways:
A. Provide specific information such as semester of use and course information.
B. Provide a link to the AIM Instructor Portal to aid faculty in managing students' accommodations for students with disabilities enrolled in your courses. This includes uploading test, seeing accommodation letters, reviewing ODA exam proctoring requests, seeing assigned note-takers and viewing uploaded notes.
C. Provide a link to complete the ODA Testing Agreement to allow your students to take their exams at the ODA Test Center. See the example below.
D. Provide short accommodation descriptions.

ODA Test Center Information and Resources
Within AIM, there is an Alternative Testing Agreement to make it easier for faculty to communicate to the Test Center
(1) Whether they will need the Test Center's assistance to proctor their exams and
(2) How they want their exams administered and returned. Just go to AIM Instructor Login (click for login page).
Only ONE Agreement needs to be completed per class section, and faculty can modify the Agreement at any time via e-mail to Testing.ODA@unt.edu.
** Faculty must complete a Test Center Alternative Testing Agreement in Order for Student to Schedule an Exam in the Test Center.
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​​​​​​​FAQ: How will Faculty Know to Complete a Testing Agreement?
Students are copied on the accommodation letters emailed to their instructors. It is communicated to students several times throughout the registration process, as well as when letters are requested each semester that the student must reach out to their instructors to discuss their accommodations. During that communication, the student will inform the instructor of their desire to take their exams in the ODA Test Center or with the rest of the class. If the instructor has not already done so, the instructor will login to the AIM Instructor Portal to complete an Alternative Testing Agreement (ATA).

There have been two schools of thought among instructors regarding when to complete the Alternative Testing Agreement. Either approach is fine.
(a) Some instructors fill it out upon receipt of the LOA just in case the student decides to use the ODA Test Center to take their exam
(b) Other instructors require the student to communicate with them (in person or via email) the student's desire to use the Test Center prior to completing the Testing Agreement.
ODA Test Center Process: Three Simple Things for Instructors to do so their students can use ODA Test Center.

Faculty have three responsibilities surrounding the test administration in the Test Center:
(1) Complete Testing Agreement
(2) Review Student's Appointment Details
(3) Upload the Test
(4) COMPLETE TESTING AGREEMENT

Faculty can complete the testing agreement in 1 of the 3 ways:
1. Use the link provided in the Letter of Accommodation (LOA) email.
2. Use your UNT credentials to access the AIM Instructor Login & selecting “Alternative Testing/Quizzes” section on the left-side column.
3. Use the link provided in the Student Exam Appointment Pending email notification.
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​​​​​​​REVIEW STUDENT'S APPOINTMENT DETAILS
If a student submits a request for his/her test to be administered in the ODA Test Center, faculty will receive a confirmation e-mail with a subject line, "Please Review Student's Test Appointment.” The reminder serves two purposes:
1. To make instructors aware that the student has scheduled his/her test and to give instructors an opportunity to review the request to ensure the day/time is agreeable. If the instructor disagrees with the student's appointment time, he/she must immediately notify the student to reschedule their exam appointment with the ODA Test Center. Please copy the Test Center on the email so that we are aware of the exchange.
2. To request that a copy of the exam be sent to the Test Center. Tests can be submitted by clicking on the link within the reminder email to UPLOAD your exam.
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​​​​​​​UPLOAD YOUR EXAM (**MOST IMPORTANT**)
In order to ensure that the ODA has the time needed to prepare exams for proctoring, we ask instructors to send a copy/copies of their exam to the Test Center at least two days prior to the test administration.
This is necessary to give the Test Center:
1. Time to assign an appropriate number of staff such as proctors, readers, or scribes; prepare exam materials' envelope
2. Convert the exam to an alternative accessible format if necessary.

This can be done by clicking on the link within the confirmation email to UPLOAD your exam. Send test instructions via the “Notes” section when UPLOADING the test. (**ONLY NEEDED IF UNIQUE FROM TESTING AGREEMENT INSTRUCTIONS**)

We hope this information is helpful and we look forward to working with you this semester. We always welcome any feedback you may have.


With warm regards,

Jessica Stone, M.S., CRC, LPC
Director
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Office of Disability Access
University of North Texas
Phone: 940-565-4323
Email: Jessica.Stone@unt.edu

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