Question: I had an IPP in high school. Can I use it as official documentation of my disability? 

Answer: No. Universities are required to ask for documentation before providing accommodations --typically a psycho- assessment or letter from a doctor. Therefore, IPPs are not a valid form of documentation. 

Question: My documentation is more than 3 years old. What are my options? 

Answer: If you have been diagnosed with a disability but your documentation is dated, please go to your doctor or psychologist and ask for an updated letter. If that's not an option, we can talk about the possibility of referring you to AB Works for a free psycho-educational assessment. 

Question: How long does it take to set up learning accommodations?

Answer: LAS sets up your accommodations after your intake and they take effect immediately. However, during peak times, you might have to wait a week or two  before you can be scheduled in.  Therefore, we recommend that you contact LAS as soon as possible to avoid delays. 

Question: I do not have an official diagnosis but I have been struggling with school for quite a while and think I might have a learning disability. 

Answer: If you don't have any documentation but suspect that you might have a learning disability, then we can look into making a referral for an assessment through Alberta Works. Please contact us so we can meet and discuss your options and next steps. 

Question: Will my instructors know my diagnosis?

Answer: Your documentation is considered confidential and therefore cannot be shared without your consent. Instructors only have access to up-to-date lists of  students’ accommodation through their class listings page in Faculty online services. Your professors can view these details for each of your classes by clicking the “View” link under the “Learning Accommodations” column. 

Question: Can my mom or dad talk to you or ask questions about me?

Answer:  The personal information requested by Learning Accommodation Services is collected in accordance with  PIPA. This means we cannot share any information with third parties, including parents, without the student's consent. 

Question: I am an international student and I do not have any documentation. How can I access learning accommodation services?

Answer:  Unfortunately, we can only refer domestic students for a free assessment. So the only options are either a) pay for an assessment out of pocket, or b) go to the doctor or psychologist and obtain a letter. Please reach out to us so we can discuss how to best obtain documentation. 

Where do go to write my exams? 

SAS exams are written in G307, unless we email you an alternative exam location. Please make sure that you are checking your student email regularly for updates.

My time extension does not show up on my exam booking.  Will my time extension be applied to my exam? 

Yes. When you go to write your exams in G307, there will be an exam proctor who will give you your exam and show you a seat to write your exam.  You'll see that the exam has a cover page with all the information about the exam (course, instructor, start time -finish time- including extension).  Please note that any exam done over Moodle will have the time extension automatically applied.

I have an email approving my time time extension. That means I booked my exam with SAS, right?

No. You will receive automatic emails for exams that are assigned to Moodle that confirm your time extension, however you must still book these exams. You can see if you have booked any given exam by going to the Learning Accommodation Services portal in Online Services and checking beneath the classes listed there.

How can I reschedule an exam? 

Exams that are scheduled during class time: 

1. Ask your instructor. As with deadline extensions and excused absences, exam reschedule requests are approved or denied at your instructors’ discretion. Instructors may ask you to provide documentation to verify the reason for rescheduling as per section 9.2.3 of the academic calendar.

2. Find the exam to be rescheduled in your LAS Online Services page and click “Reschedule Exam”. If the exam is not already present in this list, you will first need to add it by clicking Indicate Exam Date before submitting your reschedule request. 

Please note that you are not permitted to reschedule an exam if it was not first booked for it's original date.

The status of my exam says "Pending". What does that mean?

• If you have booked your exam a minimum of 7 days before the test date, "Pending" means that we are simply awaiting exam details from the instructor.

• If you have not booked your exam a minimum of 7 days before the test date, the exam was late-booked. When this happens, a notification will appear on screen to let you know. Late bookings will be assessed on a case-by-case basis only if you reach out to SAS before the exam date. If the status of a late-booked exam says "Denied", then you will be expected to write the exam in class.

I need to reschedule a final exam due to illness, or I became sick during a final and it was interrupted. What do I do?

• If you need to reschedule a final, you will need to submit a Final Exam Deferral request from your e-form page in Online Services.

• If you are unwell and can't write your final, please submit either a deferred exam form or aegrotat standing application, after consulting with your instructor (see details here).  

It's a week before final exams and I can't book my tests. What gives? 

• The deadline for booking final exams is earlier than the booking deadline throughout the rest of the year. We will email you when the booking deadline is 3 weeks away, and then send regular reminders until the cut off.

• Where can I pick up completed SAS exams?

Completed exams can be picked up from the Student Success Centre Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 4:30pm.

• How can I make changes to the exam I submitted? 

If you have a change to make to your exam less than 24 hours before it is scheduled to be written, please update exam details through your LAS online services page and notify LAS at learningaccommodations@concordia.ab.ca to make any required updates to printed exam materials and cc studentlife@concordia.ab.ca

• I cannot go to campus to pick up exams. Can you scan them and email them  to me? 

Unfortunately, we can't scan and email exams for security reasons.

• How do I know which students are writing with SAS?

 You can find this information through your SAS page in Online Services. At the top of the “View/Edit Details” page for a given exam, you will see a list of all accommodated students who have booked that exam with SAS.

Question: Is Reduced Course Load an accommodation?

Answer: No. Reduced Course Load is a Student Aid Alberta policy that allows students with permanent disabilities access full-time funding while studying at a reduced course load(40 to 59% of a full course load) Students in this situation should meet with the SAS Advisor or Financial Aid Advisor to discuss which option will be best for them.

If a student chooses to apply for full-time student aid when registered in 40 to 59% of a full course load, the student must have the LAS Advisor complete the Reduced Course Load section of the Schedule 4 form.

NOTE: Please be advised that reduced course load only applies to Student Aid Alberta. If you need to be a full time students outside Student Aid Alberta, please make sure you check the policies of the service provider.