FAQ: Requesting Academic Accommodations

An appropriate academic accommodation in university is a modification or adjustment that will result in an equal opportunity for a student with a disability to attain the same level of performance, or enjoy the same level of benefits and privileges experienced by others, without compromising bona fide academic requirements.

Template accommodations are based on your functional impairments and determined during your intake appointment with a PMC Coordinator. These template accommodations are intended to address the anticipated impact your functional impairments will have on your academic studies. Template accommodations can include adjustments that you require for writing tests/exams or participating in your classes or labs. The accommodation process is dynamic. Your accommodations can be adjusted at any time if there is a change in your disability status or if you have a new disability diagnosis. This is done in consultation with your PMC Coordinator.

Your extra time accommodation does not apply to final “take-home” or “range” exams. Most professors usually provide sufficient time for students to complete their take-home exams. Please contact your PMC Coordinator if you have any concerns.

Upload your new documentation in the Ventus Student Portal and contact the PMC Front Desk at pmc@carleton.ca or 613-520-6608 to schedule an appointment with your PMC Coordinator. If you require technical assistance with uploading your documentation to the Ventus Student Portal, see Student Module 2 – Profile Tab: Confirming/Adding Disability Information.

Email your PMC Coordinator to ask what is the best way to proceed. You can find their contact information under our staff listing on the PMC website, or contact the PMC reception at 613-520-6608 or pmc@carleton.ca.

Schedule an appointment with your doctor to complete a new documentation form for PMC. Upload the new documentation to your Student Portal when it is ready. In the meantime, send an email to your PMC Coordinator to ask if it is possible to receive interim accommodations and supports while you are updating your documentation.

If you require technical assistance with uploading your documentation to the Ventus Student Portal, see Student Module 2 – Profile Tab: Confirming/Adding Disability Information.

You should request your academic accommodations for each course at the beginning of every term.

For in-term tests or midterms, please request accommodations at least 14 calendar days before the a test or midterm.

For final exams, the deadlines to request accommodations are published in the University academic calendars for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Before you request accommodations in the Ventus Student Portal, make sure to review the evaluation requirements (e.g., test, exams, assignments, presentations, group work, class attendance, etc.) for each course so that you are ONLY requesting accommodations that are actually needed.

If you require technical assistance with requesting accommodations in the Ventus Student Portal, see Student Module 3 – Accommodation Requests & Letters of Accommodations.

You can book an in-person or virtual appointment with your PMC Coordinator through the PMC Front Desk at pmc@carleton.ca or 613-520-6608 to set up accommodations. However, you will still need to use the Ventus Student Portal to request your accommodations and confirm participation for each test or exam.

If you require technical assistance in Ventus with:

• requesting accommodations, see Student Module 3 – Accommodation Requests & Letters of Accommodations.
• confirming test/exam participation, see Student Module 4 – Test and Exam Accommodations.

Contact your PMC Coordinator ASAP. If you do not know who is your current PMC Coordinator, please contact the PMC Front Desk at pmc@carleton.ca or 613-520-6608.

Email your PMC Coordinator to ask what the best way is to proceed. You can find their contact information under our staff listing on the PMC website, or contact the PMC reception at 613-520-6608 or pmc@carleton.ca to book an appointment.

Letters of Accommodation will no longer be emailed to your professors from your PMC Coordinator. Instead, your professors will see your accommodations in the Ventus Faculty Portal once you have requested accommodations for their courses. Also, you can opt-out of receiving accommodations for a course. The choice is yours!

It is your responsibility to follow up with the professor for each course after all pending accommodations have been approved by your PMC Coordinator to discuss which of the accommodations you have selected for the course are applicable based on the evaluation requirements.

Your professors will specify in their course outlines how they would like to be contacted by students. Some professors will set aside weekly office hours to meet with students. If you require privacy to discuss your accommodation needs, we recommend that you contact your professors by email to schedule an in-person or virtual meeting.

If you require coaching on what is the best way to discuss your accommodations with your professors, please contact your PMC Coordinator.

Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing will be able to request services such as ASL interpreters, computerized note-takers, and captioning through your Ventus Student Portal, but they will be designated as “pending approval” so that your PMC Coordinator can work with Hunter Calder to coordinate these services.

You can request “supplemental lecture notes” through your Ventus Student Portal. This is a teaching accommodation that is not guaranteed and is provided by peer volunteer note-takers recruited from your classes. Please follow up with each course instructor to kindly ask them to make an announcement in class and/or in Brightspace to recruit a volunteer note-taker. The Notetaking Team will notify you by email when a volunteer note-taker has been found for a course.

At the moment, Ventus does not support the sharing of notes, but this is something that is being developed for future roll out. In the interim, uploading and downloading of lecture notes is done through the existing myPMC Portal.

Animals are not permitted in buildings on campus except if they are working service animals who are assisting persons with disabilities. Carleton has developed a Policy and Guidelines to provide additional information on how, and under what circumstances, animals may be permitted on campus. It also outlines the accommodation process, registration requirements, expectations and restrictions. If you wish to register your service animal through PMC, please ask your doctor to complete the Documentation Form for Service Animal and contact PMC to schedule an appointment with a PMC Coordinator to discuss your request.

Request for Transcription Services is not made through the Ventus Student Portal. To access this service, a formal referral is required from your PMC Coordinator to Library Accessibility Services. Please contact your PMC Coordinator to ask for a referral. When referred to Transcription Services, you will be given access to Texthelp Read & Write reading software and training on how to use it.

Please contact your PMC Coordinator to ask for a referral. You can find their contact information under our staff listing on the PMC website.  Contact the PMC reception at 613-520-6608 or pmc@carleton.ca if you do not know who your PMC Coordinator is or if you want to book an appointment.

In addition to academic accommodations, PMC offers a wide range of support services to support your transition, your learning, and your mental health in university. Ask your PMC Coordinator for more information and referral to the following support services:

• Learning Strategy (LS)
• Disability Counselling
• Support Groups – ADHD Group, Anxiety Group Series, Graduate Student Writing Support Group, Friday Socials, Learning Strategies and Support Group
• Mentorship Volunteer Program
• Assistive Technology (AT) exploration and training