NEW DSS TESTING POLCIES

Due to COVID-19, the DSS office has implemented new testing polices effective August 23, 2021. Test appointments will be available Monday - Thursday from 7:30am - 5:30pm for Fall 2021 classes. Limited testing appointments available on Fridays due to DSS closing at 11:30am. To help ensure the safety and health of our DSS students and DSS staff, DSS will NOT make any exceptions to our testing policies. DSS students will be  required to follow all outlined policies in order to test at the DSS testing office.

Number of Students in the DSS Testing Office: Due to the size of the DSS testing office and to ensure social distancing at the testing office, no more than six students be permitted to test at the DSS testing office at a time.

Social Distancing: Students testing at the DSS testing office will be required to sit in seats designated by the DSS staff. Students will be required to maintain at least six feet of distance at all times with the DSS staff members and other students at the testing office.

Sanitation Procedures:  Students will be required to wipe down their own testing area before turning in their test to DSS. Wipes will be provided by DSS. For health purposes, DSS will not allow the use of any shared supplies, such as pencils, pens, calculators, etc. while testing at the DSS testing office. Students will be required to bring their own testing supplies to their testing appointment.

Scheduling Test Appointments: Students with approved testing accommodations will be required to schedule their test with the DSS office at least 3 business days (excluding holidays/summer hours/weekends) prior to the requested test date by emailing the test request to the DSS office. This policy and instructions for scheduling a test at DSS are outlined on all student accommodation forms that students receive from their DSS Coordinator. Late test requests (less than 3 business days) will not be accepted by the DSS office. Students will be required to schedule their test appointments for days/times the DSS testing office will be open (limited days/hours for Summer. Fall 2021:Monday through Thursday 7:30am-5:30pm; limited testing on Fridays due to the DSS office closing at 11:30am).

• • ONLY students are permitted to schedule testing appointments and advance scheduling of test appointment is required for EACH test the student elects to take at DSS (parents and/or course instructors are NOT permitted to schedule any tests for students).

  • All test appointments MUST be scheduled and completed during normal DSS business hours. When emailing DTests@ctcd.edu to schedule a test appointment, student's are required to provide the following information to the Test Proctor: student's name, class name & number, instructor's name, test date, and time of exam.

  • Test appointments that do not meet the 3 business days notice or are scheduled after the above listed business hours will NOT be accepted by the DSS Test Proctor and the test will NOT be scheduled or administered at the DSS Testing Center. The 3 business days notice is required for all tests to allow the DSS Test Proctor adequate time to make appropriate testing arrangements for each scheduled test -  exceptions will NOT be made.

  • Failure to comply with these policies will result in the test not being scheduled at the DSS Testing Center, the student being sent back to class, and student not being permitted to take the test at DSS.

  • DSS does NOT send out test appointment reminders to students.

Appointment Test time: Students will be required to be on time for their scheduled test at the DSS testing office. Students that are more than 15 minutes late will not be permitted to test at the DSS testing office and will be required to discuss this with their course instructor. DSS office will email the instructor informing him/her that the student missed his/her test appointment due to late arrival. Approvals for a make-up test will be at the discretion of the instructor. DSS must adhere to this on time policy to ensure that we do not have more than six students testing at a time and to prevent test appointments from overlapping.

Self-Assessment and Self-Reporting: DSS students will be expected to engage in daily self-assessment for COVID-19 symptoms as stipulated by CTC (self-assessment guide can be found on CTC’s website under COVID-19 updates). Any DSS student who has any symptoms of COVID-19 will not be permitted to take his/her scheduled test at the DSS testing office and will be advised to contact his/her medical provider for assistance. If a DSS student has any symptoms of COVID-19, has been exposed to the virus, or has tested positive for the virus, the student will be advised to complete the required student self-reporting eForm found in Etrieve. DSS students will not be permitted to come back to DSS for testing until they have been cleared to come back to campus as outlined by CTC’s COVID-19 policies.

Student Notice of Testing Policies: DSS students who have testing accommodations approved by DSS for the summer semester will receive an email from their assigned DSS Coordinator informing them of all DSS testing policies noted above.

Delivery of Tests (Instructors): After a student schedules a test with the DSS testing office, DSS will email the test request to the student's instructor. The instructor will be informed that he/she can email a copy of the test directly to the DSS office. The DSS office will print out the test and provide it to the student the day of the scheduled test. If the instructor elects to bring the test directly to the DSS testing office, the instructor will be advised to set up a drop off time with DSS and to maintain social distancing while at the DSS office.

Test Pickup (Instructors): Instructors will be informed that DSS can scan and email completed student tests back to the instructor. If the instructor elects to pick up the completed student test directly from the DSS testing office, the instructor will be advised to set up a pick up time with DSS and to maintain social distancing while at the DSS office.

Additional Testing Policies:

Disability Support Services (DSS) administers exams for students with an approved accommodation for extended time and/or a distraction-reduced environment.  Students approved for testing accommodations (extended testing time and/or separate testing area) have two testing options:

• Take exams at DSS testing center for tests that cannot be taken online at home or for classes/labs that will be held on campus (for students who elect to utilize their approved testing accommodations - students are required to schedule tests at least 3 business days in advance with DSS)

• Take exams in class under normal testing conditions for classes/labs that will be held on campus (for students who elect not to utilize their approved testing accommodations - students that elect to take the exam in the classroom without accommodations are not entitled to a re-take on the exam as the student elected to forfeit the use of approved testing accommodations for the exam)

Possible Exam Accommodations (will require approval from DSS Coordinator and MUST be substantiated by the student's medical documentation and documented disability)

• Extended testing time

• Distraction-reduced room

• Scribes

• Use of adaptive software (ZoomText) or hardware (CCTV, adaptive mice, keyboard)

• Large print tests

Guidelines and Policies for Testing Accommodations

• The student is responsible for discussing all testing accommodations with each course instructor.  Discussion should take place at least three business days prior to testing date.

• Students that elect to use their approved testing accommodations (extended testing time and/or separate testing area) are required to test at the DSS Testing Center unless the test is online. For online tests, the instructor(s) will be responsible for extending testing time for the student. Students are required and responsible for making an appointment at least THREE BUSINESS DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) PRIOR to ACTUAL TEST DATE with the Test Proctor by emailing DTests@ctcd.edu for tests that need to be taken at the DSS Testing Office.

Test appointment must be made during normal DSS business hours (excluding holidays/summer hours/weekends)

If your test day is on:            Appointment must be made by:     

                                                                   MONDAY                                  WEDNESDAY

                                                                   TUESDAY                                  THURSDAY

                                                                   WEDNESDAY                            FRIDAY

                                                                   THURSDAY                               MONDAY

                                                                   FRIDAY                                     TUESDAY

• Once a student has scheduled his/her exam (within the required time frame - 3 business days prior to test date), the DSS Test Proctor will then contact the instructor to request the exam.

• Students must scan their student ID at check-in and no personal items are allowed in the testing room.

• All tests at DSS will be administered during regular class/test time (this means taking the test at the same time as the rest of the class; unless it is before/after normal DSS office business hours - all testing must be completed during DSS business hours). Any variations on test times/dates must first be approved by the instructor and then coordinated with the DSS Test Proctor. If students fails to take the exam as scheduled or shows up late for scheduled test appointments, they must contact their instructor. Make up tests will be at the discretion of the instructor, not DSS.

• Students are NOT permitted to take their cell phones, lap tops, tablets, smart watches, or any other non-approved devices into the testing room and should not bring these items to DSS.

• All bathroom breaks should be taken prior to testing. Breaks during the test will NOT be permitted UNLESS the student has provided DSS with medical documentation stating the necessity of short breaks in accordance with the student's documented disability.

• The test sessions will cease immediately if academic dishonesty occurs while testing at the DSS office and the instructor will be notified by DSS.

• Students cannot use auxiliary test aids such as calculators, formula tablets, textbooks or notes unless authorized by the instructor to the DSS Test Proctor.

• Students must turn in the test within the allotted extended testing time. Once the student has submitted his/her test to the DSS Test Proctor, DSS cannot give the test back to the student.