Navigating the CAE Student Portal: A Comprehensive Guide for UCLA Students

The Center for Accessible Education (CAE) at UCLA is dedicated to ensuring that students with disabilities have equal access to the university's academic programs, services, and activities. The CAE serves as a central resource, providing expertise in determining and implementing appropriate and reasonable accommodations for academics and housing. This guide provides a detailed overview of how to utilize the CAE Student Portal to access and manage your accommodations effectively.

Understanding Reasonable Accommodations

An accommodation is a legally mandated modification or service designed to mitigate the functional limitations associated with a student's disability. It is axiomatic that reasonable accommodations must be disability-based. The academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, modifications, or adjustments to practices, procedures, or policies ensure that a qualified student with a disability receives equal access to a course, program, service, or activity. Reasonable accommodations are determined through an interactive process between the CAE, the student, and instructional staff. This collaborative approach ensures that accommodations are tailored to meet the individual needs of each student.

Utilizing the CAE Student Portal: A Step-by-Step Guide

The CAE Student Portal is your primary tool for managing your accommodations. Here's how to use it:

1. Requesting Accommodation Letters:

The first step is to request that the CAE send a letter to the Faculty Portal, informing your instructors of your approved accommodations. Follow the instructions provided in the CAE's YouTube video (link to video).
This letter informs your instructors that you are a student registered with the CAE and have approved accommodations.
Once requested, the status of your accommodation letter will show as either "Sent" or "Confirmed." Your instructors may view the letter, but confirmation is a separate step and not required for your accommodations to be active.
It is crucial to request your letters early in the quarter!

2. Communicating with Instructors:

After requesting your accommodation letter, consider sending your instructors an email to ensure they are aware of your accommodations. A sample email is provided below:
"Dear Instructor,

Read also: Comprehensive ETAR Guide

I am registered with the Center for Accessible Education (CAE) and recently submitted a request to make my CAE accommodation letter available to you. You can view my accommodation letter in the Faculty Portal."

Types of Accommodations Offered by the CAE

The CAE offers a wide range of accommodations to support students with various disabilities. Here's a non-exhaustive list of common accommodations:

1. Testing Accommodations:

Accommodations for tests mitigate the impact of barriers in the standard exam setting for students with disabilities, and allow students with disabilities to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
Exam accommodations might include assistive technology or auxiliary aids, additional time for the exam, or a distraction-reduced exam setting.
To receive testing accommodations, students must release their accommodation letters via the Student Portal and book their exams.

2. Flexibility Accommodations:

Some students, for a variety of disability-related reasons, cannot meet the core objectives of their courses without some flexibility in course requirements and modality.
Flexibility accommodations might include adjusted attendance, adjusted deadlines, remote access, and alternative means of participation in the course.

3. Notetaking Accommodations:

Some students face challenges with processing information from their class meetings due to a disability-related reason and may need assistance in getting access to all of the information provided by the instructor to properly support their notetaking and preparation for exams.
Notetaking accommodations may include Glean, Otter Voice Notes, peer-notetaker, audio recording, or other tools identified by the student's Specialist.

4. Accommodations for D/deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Students:

CAE provides assistance to enrolled D/deaf or hard-of-hearing students so that they may obtain aids or accommodations to university academic programs, services, and activities.

5. Alternative Format Materials:

Students with visual or learning disabilities who are unable to read standard printed material may have classroom materials converted into alternative formats.
This includes Braille, e-text, and large print.

6. Registration Support:

CAE can support students who have a disability that impacts registration for courses for their degree program and establishing a term schedule that meets their disability-related needs.
Some more common support CAE can provide includes eligibility for Reduced Course Load, Reduced Fee Program, Priority Registration, and Foreign Language Substitutions, among other eligibilities.

7. Adaptive Furniture:

The need for adaptive furniture accommodations is approved through an interactive process between the student and a CAE Disability Specialist and must be supported by the documentation of the effects of the student’s disability.

8. Service and Assistance Animals:

Students may choose to have an animal accompany them during activities they conduct on campus, including attending class, living on campus, and attending different events, to support their disability-related needs.
The types of animals allowed on campus include service animals, service animals in training, and assistance animals, all three of which have different contexts in which they are allowed.

9. Accessible Parking and Transportation:

A variety of different resources and programs exist to support students' needs for accessible parking and transportation on-campus.

10. Other Accommodations:

CAE can support students in a variety of ways outside of the accommodation categories listed above.

Requesting Test Accommodations: A Detailed Process

Here's a breakdown of the steps involved in requesting test accommodations through the CAE Student Portal:

Step 1: Student - Releasing the Accommodation Letter

Log into the Student Portal and release the Letter of Accommodations to be viewed by the course faculty.

Step 2: Student - Booking the Test

Return to the Main Menu page and click on the "Book a Test" link.
Follow the necessary steps to input the course and exam details.
Exam bookings should be done during Week One of each quarter, or at least 7 days prior to exam administration.

Step 3: Faculty - Review and Confirmation

Via the Faculty Portal, faculty will review the accommodation letter and confirm or edit the submitted exam request.
Finally, faculty will upload the exam and instructions for the test.
Note: "Prof Accomm" means the professor will be administering the exam and providing the accommodation(s).

Step 4-5: (Not explicitly mentioned, but implied) - CAE Coordination

The CAE reviews the request and coordinates with the faculty and the testing center.

Step 6: CAE Testing Center - Proctoring the Exam

The CAE Testing Center will proctor the exam.

Step 7: Exam Return

The CAE Testing Center returns the completed exam to the faculty, OR the faculty chooses to pick up the completed exams from the CAE Testing Center.

Important Considerations for Test Accommodations

Timely Requests: Students requesting test accommodations are expected to release their accommodation letters AND book their exams via the Student Portal during week one of each quarter, as soon as they are approved, or at least 7 days prior to the date of the exam.
Students that make a request for exam accommodations in less than 7 days do not provide the University with a timely notice by which to coordinate the service. As a result, any exam accommodation requested less than 7 days of notification to the CAE will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis yet the University may be unable to provide proper exam arrangements.(For example: if an accommodation letter is released the day of or the day before an exam date (and this includes a Friday release date for a Monday exam) this may not be considered enough time to make and coordinate the testing accommodations.
The CAE will make a good faith effort to accommodate students who do not request proctoring in a timely fashion on a case-by-case basis.
If the Testing Center cannot add a student to the schedule, the student will be referred to their instructor and/or CAE Disability Specialist to determine alternative arrangements, if any.
Disability-Related Flare-Ups: Students that have disability-related flare-ups that prohibit them from taking the exam as scheduled must contact their CAE Disability Specialist immediately, or soon thereafter, to assess the reasonableness of the request. Make-up exams cannot be guaranteed but will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Addressing Late Requests

If you miss the 7-day window to release your letters and book your exams, the CAE will review your request and respond within 24 business hours.
You will need to provide a reason for making the request late and any other pertinent information.

Preparing for Exams at the CAE Testing Center

Location: CAE Testing Center is located in Murphy A-242.
Hours: CAE Testing Center hours are 8am - 4pm.
What to Bring: Arrive to testing location ON TIME with a picture I.D. (Bruin card, driver’s license, or passport) and appropriate materials allowed for exam (pen, pencil, blue book, calculator, etc.).
Important Reminders:
- Testing locations do not always have clocks. Bring a watch. However, cellphones/smart watches are not permitted.
- If you arrive late, the time will not be added. If you arrive more than 30 minutes late to an exam, we will need professor permission for you to begin the exam.
- Know your accommodations and which accommodations you have requested to use during the exam.
- Know how long you have and know your exam end time. If you think the length of time is incorrect, check with testing staff prior to starting your exam.
- Keep track of your time during the exam.
- Notify your CAE Disability Specialist of any changes in disability or medical condition (these changes may necessitate a change in your testing accommodations).
- Making up or rescheduling your exam will not be guaranteed as it is typically determined by your professor. Please contact your Disability Specialist if disability-related circumstances have arise.
- If you have a question during an exam, let the proctor know. If not, a proctor may escort you to the classroom to speak directly to the professor or one of the TAs.
- All students must notify the proctor when leaving a testing room (e.g. to use the restroom or to take a break).
- Typically, there will be 10-20 other students in the same room taking an exam. Dividers and ear plugs are offered to students to help assist in making the testing area as distraction-free as possible.

The CAE's Approach to Supporting Students

The Center for Accessible Education serves thousands of undergraduate, graduate and professional students enrolled at UCLA. Individuals with disabilities who are enrolled in classes at UCLA may be eligible for services through the Center for Accessible Education. The CAE will work closely with you to identify reasonable accommodations. You will have the opportunity to submit information to the CAE through the student application. You can submit any medically related information to support the assessment process. Then, if eligible, you will meet with one of our Disability Specialists to complete an intake. Both you and the Disability Specialist will work together to solidify your academic accommodations. Lastly, the Disability Specialist will review how to request accommodation’s every quarter, use the Student Portal, and all other pertinent information.

Read also: Accessing the Cal Poly Portal

Read also: Accessing the MUSD Student Portal

tags: #CAE #student #portal #guide