CAS Testing Students
The CAS Testing Center is available to assist faculty in providing test taking accommodations for their students. The CAS Testing Center provides a space for students to take tests in a reduced distraction environment and to test for their accommodated time.
Student Responsibilities for Using the Test Proctoring Center
- As part of the CAS interactive process, students must discuss the implementation of their accommodations with each individual course instructor prior to submitting a Proctoring Request. If requested by the student, an Access Specialist can attend the instructor/student meeting.
- Once the student and instructor have met and signed the Access Plan, a Proctoring Request may be submitted via Access CAS.
- Proctoring Requests should be submitted five (5) days’ prior to the requested date of the exam for general tests and quizzes and seven (7) day’s prior to the date of the exam for final exams.
- Students who are unable to submit a Proctoring Request via Access CAS should contact the CAS Test Proctoring Center at cas@radford.edu or 540. 831. 6350
- All students testing in the CAS Test Proctoring Center are expected to follow the Radford University Honor Code.
- Students arriving 20 minutes or more late for their testing appointment will have their space reservation cancelled and their exam will not be proctored. Any rescheduling of a missed exam is at the discretion of the instructor.
How to Submit a Proctoring Request
The Center for Accessibility Services asks that students submit Proctoring Requests five (5) days prior to the requested date of general exams and seven (7) days prior to the requested date of a final exam.
The provision of advanced notice allows the Center for Accessibility Services to ensure adequate space, time, and staff to proctor the exam. Testing Requests should be submitted through Access CAS, which can be accessed via ONECAMPUS. Please see the linked video on How to Submit a Proctoring Request via Access CAS for visualized instruction.
Please note that while students should submit Testing Requests through Access CAS, the Testing Request will be sent to the course instructor-- who will either approve/decline the request. CAS staff members are not able to approve a Testing Request without instructor permission.
Students arriving at the CAS office to take an exam without having submitted a Proctoring Request through Access CAS or notified the Testing Coordinator of the need for assistance submitting a Proctoring Request may not be accommodated.
Late Proctoring Requests
If a student is unable to provide five days’ notice prior to the requested date of the exam, the student will be unable to make a request via the Access CAS Proctoring Request system. To make a late Proctoring Request, the student should contact the Testing Coordinator for the Center for Accessibility Services as soon as possible. Please note that while late requests will be considered, the Center for Accessibility Services must consider if there is space, time, and staff available to meet the requested needs of the student.
The Center for Accessibility Services functions on an 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. schedule, Monday through Friday. If requests are received after these hours, they will be addressed during the next business day, as time allows. Students seeking to submit a late request 12-24 hours prior to their requested exam date should not assume that a late request has been submitted unless they have spoken directly to the Testing Coordinator or received written communication that the request has been submitted.
Late Proctoring Requests are still approved at the discretion of the instructor. If a late request is submitted on behalf of the student by the Testing Coordinator, the Testing Coordinator will send a courtesy email to the instructor informing him/her/them that the request has been submitted. However, the Test Proctoring Office cannot proctor an exam without explicit approval from the instructor. If a Proctoring Request is not approved, the Testing Coordinator will try to contact the instructor for more information, but the student may need to plan to take their exam with the class. While the student may request to take the exam at a later date/time, this cannot be guaranteed. Students should email their instructor and carbon copy castests@radford.edu on the email. Approval is at the discretion of the instructor and not the Center for Accessibility Services.
Cancelling or Rescheduling an Exam
A student may cancel their scheduled exam, via Access CAS, 24 hours prior to their appointment time. Log into Access CAS, navigate to Proctoring Requests, located on the left side of the screen. A new window will open. Click the three vertical buttons on the top right of the exam you would like to cancel. Once a dropdown box appears, select cancel. If the three vertical buttons cannot be selected, the student cannot cancel the appointment on their own. Please contact the Center for Accessibility Services at castests@radford.edu or call 540. 831. 6069 and state the date and time of the exam, the course name, and the instructor name in your cancellation request. Students who do not cancel their exams via Access CAS or contact the Center for Accessibility Services prior to their exam time will be counted as no-shows if they do not arrive within 20 minutes of their scheduled start time.
Ensuring Academic Integrity
The Radford University Honor Code is in effect and students testing with the Test Proctoring Office are still held to the same code of conduct as their peers. To ensure that the test is proctored to the instructor’s specifications and to uphold academic integrity, all students testing within the space are monitored by Closed Circuit Television.
It is the expectation that all students testing within the Center for Accessibility Services space will uphold the honor code, written below.
"I shall uphold the values and ideals of Radford University by engaging in responsible behavior and striving always to be accountable for my actions while holding myself and others to the highest moral and ethical standards of academic integrity and good citizenship as defined in the Standards."
If a student is found to be in violation of the university Honor Code, the test will be stopped immediately, the student asked to leave the CAS office, and the instructor informed of the behavior. Any information that the Testing Coordinator, or a staff member may have regarding the infraction will be shared with the instructor—including video, photographs, or written recollection of the infraction. However, the Center for Accessibility Services does not refer students who have engaged in a violation of academic integrity to the conduct board. The instructor may choose to follow the policies stated by Office of Student Standards and Conduct.
Students who have engaged in academic integrity violations are still encouraged to use their approved testing accommodations and are welcome to take future tests with the Center for Accessibility Services Test Proctoring Office.
What Students Need to Know for the Day of their Test
Basic questions for test day
Where Will I Take My Test?
Testing will occur in testing rooms in the back of the Center for Accessibility Services. You will need to check in the front office (Office 325) of the Center for Accessibility Services. You are welcome to arrive 5-10 minutes early to check in for your exam, but you are not required to do so.
What Can I Take to the Testing Room?
Specific items that you can have with you during a test will be determined by your instructor. Your instructor will have communicated with our Testing Coordinator about what items you can take to the testing room.
All testing rooms have pencils, erasers, and digital clocks. Need extra paper to write out your thoughts or equations? No problem! Just tell the Testing Coordinator what kind of paper you’d like before you begin your exam! (Lined, blank, graph).
Is the Honor Code Still in Effect?
Yes. The Center for Accessibility Services is a part of the Radford University campus community. Even though you are testing outside of your classroom, you are expected to uphold the Honor Code.
What if I Need to Use Duo Mobile to Log Into D2L?
If you are using your own laptop or device you should log into D2L using Duo Mobile before leaving the front office. If you are using a CAS laptop or desktop, you may take your phone into the testing room to log into Duo Mobile. You will be accompanied to the testing room by a member of the CAS Test Proctoring Center staff. Your phone must be returned to the front office prior to beginning the exam.
May I Use the Restroom During My Test?
Yes, absolutely. From the CAS front office, take a right down the main hallway and then take another right when the main hallway splits into two separate hallways. Please note that your testing time does not stop for restroom breaks, however. If you take a 5-minute break to use the restroom, those 5 minutes are not added back into your time (unless there is a specific assessment break accommodation).
What Do I Do If I Have a Question During My Test?
If you have a question during your exam, please write down the question, exactly as you’d like it posed to your instructor, on a sheet of paper. Bring the sheet of paper to the CAS front office and let the staff know that you are there for a test and that you have a question for your instructor. The front office staff will notify the Testing Coordinator, who will contact your instructor.
While you are waiting for an answer from your instructor, return to your testing room and continue working on other parts of the test.
What Do I Do When I Am Finished with the Test?
When you are finished with your test, please take all materials to the front CAS Office (the test, formula sheets, note sheets, scrap paper). Just like taking a test in the classroom, all materials with writing on them will be returned to your instructor. (Even if your instructor has said they don’t need your note card or scrap paper, CAS will scan it to the instructor for their records).
Late Arrivals
Students who arrive late to their scheduled exam time, up to 20 minutes, will have the amount of time that they are late deducted from their overall testing time. If a student is 20 minutes or more late for their scheduled exam, they are a “no show” for their exam time. The student will have their space reservation cancelled, and the exam will not be proctored. The Testing Coordinator will contact the student and instructor, via email, to inform them that the student is considered a “no show” and request has been cancelled. If the student arrives at the Center for Accessibility Services after 20 minutes and requests to take their exam, the Test Proctoring Office will not proctor the exam at that time.
If the student would like to request a reschedule of the test with the Test Proctoring Office, they must contact their instructor via email and carbon copy castests@radford.edu on the email. The instructor is not required to approve a request for a reschedule exam. Requests for rescheduled exams due to student tardiness should be considered using the instructor/department policy for granting make up exams.
If a request for a rescheduled exam with the Center for Accessibility Services is approved, the instructor should inform both the student and the Center for Accessibility Services of the date and time the student is expected to take the exam. Please email this information to the student and to castests@radford.edu
Not Arriving for a Scheduled Exam
If a student does not arrive for their scheduled exam within 20 minutes of their appointment time, the student’s appointment will be cancelled, and the exam will not be proctored on that day.
An email will be sent to the student and course instructor explaining that the student did not show up for their exam at the scheduled time. While the instructor may consider a reschedule, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the instructor and inquire as to whether a reschedule is possible. The instructor is not obligated to allow a student to reschedule their exam with the Center for Accessibility Services Test Proctoring Office because the student did not show up for their scheduled appointment time. If the instructor agrees to allow the student to reschedule the exam, the time and date of the exam should be shared with the CAS Test Proctoring Office via email at castests@radford.edu
Students arriving at the CAS office to take an exam without having submitted a Proctoring Request through Access CAS or notified the Testing Coordinator of the need for assistance submitting a Proctoring Request may not be accommodated.
Avoiding Late Testing Requests
The Center for Accessibility Services staff understands that things happen, and a late request may be inevitable. However, to minimize the chance of needing to submit a late Testing Request, the CAS Office suggests:
- Inputting all your testing dates into the Access CAS system as soon as you receive your syllabi.
- Notifying your instructor of your need to submit a Testing Request five business days in advance of the exam date. While some instructors may prefer to give pop quizzes or exams with little notice, this practice may run counter to an access need. If an instructor is not comfortable sharing the dates of a pop quiz or exam with the student, the instructor is encouraged to collaborate with the Center for Accessibility Services regarding how access may be provided in these situations.
Emergency Circumstances
If a student is unwell and unable to take their exam at their scheduled time, the student should contact their instructor and the Center for Accessibility Services as soon as they are physically able to do so. Students who are experiencing COVID symptoms should follow university procedure.
Should a student experience a medical emergency while testing, the test will be stopped, appropriate medical services contacted, and the instructor will be notified. The instructor will then determine the next steps in regards to continuing/retaking the assessment.
Discrepancies Regarding Materials Allowed in Testing Area
Instructors with students testing with the Center for Accessibility Services are asked to fill out the instructor portion of the Testing Request to ensure that the CAS testing staff is aware of how to proctor the exam. Instructors are asked to list the items that a student can have with him/her/them in the testing environment, the length of the exam, etc. If a student states that there is a discrepancy in the conditions of the exam, (i.e. the student states that the instructor allows a calculator for the exam, but the instructor has not indicated this to CAS), the student may take the exam under the conditions he/she/they have stated. However, the student will need to fill out a Testing Materials Discrepancy Form, detailing out their understanding of what materials are allowed in the testing environment. Whether or not the exam grade is accepted, or if the exam can be retaken under the correct exam circumstances will be determined by the instructor.
Testing Accommodations and Online Courses/Exams
Testing accommodations may still apply if the format of a course is online or if an exam is given online via the Desire 2 Learn Learning Management System. If an exam or quiz has a time restriction, extended time accommodations may still apply. (i.e. all students in the course have X number of minutes or hours to complete the exam, a student with extended time would receive the original amount of time plus the time granted by accommodation). However, if an exam is scheduled to be taken as a take home exam and completed over several days, extended time accommodations would not apply—as there is not a set number of hours or minutes in which all students must complete the exam. In a take home exam setting where there is no set time limit, the student is responsible for managing their time.
The Center for Accessibility Services understands that not all environments are conducive for reduced-distraction testing. Regardless of whether a test is online or in-person, a student with reduced distraction as an accommodation may request to take his/her/their exam with the Center for Accessibility Services.
Testing with Assistive Technology
Whether a student is using text-to-speech technology, dictation software, math software, or other Assistive Technology, Assistive Technology can create an equal, meaningful, and competitive testing experience for a student with a disability. Students with Assistive Technology accommodations for testing are welcome to complete their exam, using approved Assistive Technology, in the Center for Accessibility Services.
Students testing with the Center for Accessibility Services should submit a Testing Request five business days prior to the date of the exam.
If a student is using Assistive Technology for an online exam in their home, or other location of their choosing, the student is encouraged to contact the Center for Accessibility Services for training on specific software two weeks (10 business days) prior to the requested date of the exam. Students taking exams that require the use of a lockdown browser (i.e. Tophat, Proctor U, Respondus) should contact the Center for Accessibility Services to determine if a specific lockdown browser will impede the function of a particular Assistive Technology device/software. Should there be a concern regarding the functionality of Assistive Technology and a lockdown browser, the Center for Accessibility Services will contact the course instructor to collaborate regarding alternatives.