This article explains how special accommodations work, a system designed to support candidates with specific accessibility needs during online exams. By understanding and implementing this process, test administrators can help create a fair, inclusive, and accessible testing environment for all candidates.
What Are Special Accommodations?
Supported Types of Accommodations:
Special accommodations refer to customized support provided to candidates with unique needs during test-taking. These adjustments are applied only to the specific test attempt for which they are created. Examples include additional time, screen reading, and others.
Supported types of special accommodations include:
- Time Accommodation – Available only if the test has a time limit for the entire test, includes the following options:
- Manually defined time.
- Extra time – Double the amount of the original test time.
- Extra time – 50% of the original test time.
- Extra time – 1 hour.
- Other Accommodations – Custom instructions entered in free-form text, such as:
- Allowing food or drink during the test
- Using assistive technology (e.g., screen readers)
- 1-on-1 Proctored Session – Allows the candidate to take the test in a private session monitored by a dedicated proctor.
Before special accommodation requests can be created, the feature must first be enabled in the system. To do so:
- Navigate to System > Settings and customization.
- Go to the System preferences tab and select Additional modules setup.
- Scroll down and enable the option labeled “Enable request special accommodation.”
Once enabled, this option will become available to users depending on their role permissions.
How Candidates Can Request Special Accommodations
Enable Permission for Candidate Role
Even after enabling the module system-wide, candidates can only submit requests if their role includes the appropriate permission. To enable this:
- Go to Users > Roles and Permissions.
- Find and edit the Student role.
- Scroll down to Permissions and enable “Request special accommodation.”
- Click Save to apply the changes.
For more information on managing roles and permissions, please visit this article.
Submitting a Request (Candidate Perspective)
Once the permission is granted and the module is enabled, candidates can request accommodations after booking a test:
- Go to Assignments > My Tests page.
- Locate the desired test, click the three-dot menu (⋮), and select “Request Special Accommodation.”
A pop-up window will appear where the candidate can:
- Enter the type of accommodation needed.
- Provide additional notes or justification (if applicable).
- Click Save to submit the request.
Request Status Indicator
Once submitted, an icon will appear next to the test name, indicating that a special accommodation request has been made.
Creating Special Accommodation Requests as a Test Administrator
Administrators can manually create a special accommodation request on behalf of the candidate.
To do so, follow these steps:
- Navigate to the Special Accommodations Section
From the main menu, go to Testing Center > Candidates, then select the Proctoring tab and open the Special Accommodations view.
- Create a New Request
Click the Create Special Accommodation button.
- Select the Test Attempt
In the pop-up window, click the “+” icon to select the test.
Once the test is selected, a list of all attempts across all sessions will be displayed.
Choose the specific attempt you want to assign the special accommodation to.
- Define the Accommodation Details
After selecting the attempt, you can:
- Choose a time accommodation option (e.g., extra time, manual time).
- Enter any custom accommodation text if applicable (e.g., “allow water bottle”).
- Optionally, check the box to assign a 1-on-1 session with a proctor.
- Choose a time accommodation option (e.g., extra time, manual time).
- Save the Request
Once everything is filled in, click the Save button to submit the request.
Managing and Viewing Special Accommodations
Once a candidate submits a special accommodation request, the system notifies all users with the “Respond to Accommodation Requests” permission. You can review and manage these requests in two ways:
Responding via Notification
- Click the notification icon in the top-right corner.
- Locate the notification related to the special accommodation request and click “Preview Special Accommodation” to view the candidate’s request.
- In the pop-up window, click Respond.
- The window will expand, allowing you to:
- Change the status from Pending to Approved or Rejected.
- Add a comment.
- Change the status from Pending to Approved or Rejected.
- Click Respond again to save your changes.
Managing Requests via the Special Accommodations Page
You can also view and manage all special accommodation requests from a centralized location:
- Navigate to Testing Center > Candidates > Proctoring tab > Special Accommodations view.
This page displays a table of all existing accommodation requests. From here, you can:
- Filter requests by test, session name, or status.
- Filter additional options:
- Show suspended attempts – Include special accommodations for users whose test attempts are suspended.
- Show special accommodations from inactive users – Include accommodations from users whose profiles are inactive.
- Show suspended attempts – Include special accommodations for users whose test attempts are suspended.
From the Actions column, you can:
- Manage special accommodation requests with a Pending status to approve or reject them.
- Edit special accommodations (available only if the status is Pending).
- Remove a special accommodation (regardless of its status).
- View details of Approved or Rejected requests.
Note: YouTestMe is 508 compliant and supports a range of accessibility features for candidates. Users can navigate the platform using only their keyboard by pressing the Tab key to move between elements and Enter to select. This ensures that candidates who rely on keyboard navigation can access and complete their tests with ease.
For additional related topics, please refer to the following articles:
- How to Assign Default User Roles and Create New Custom Roles
- How to Assign Candidates to a Testing Session
