Category: Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies

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Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Success & Retention University Testing Center

Undergraduate Education and Academic Success units closed Monday, July 1 for staff retreat

The Undergraduate Education and Academic Success area within the Division of Student Academic Engagement and Success will close on Monday, July 1, for a staff retreat.

We encourage our constituents to use our websites or office self-service portals during this time for answers to common questions and requests.

Units include:

We will reopen during standard operating hours on Tuesday, July 2.

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Academic Devleopment of Student-Athletes (ADSA) Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies Student Academic Engagement & Success University Advising Center University Testing Center

Expanded CLEP Testing now available at the University Testing Center

The University Testing Center is pleased to offer expanded CLEP (College Level Examination Program) testing beginning June 2024.

Testing is available by appointment to any SMU student or community member seeking academic credit. At SMU, course credit is awarded when a score of 60 points or above out of 80 possible points is achieved. Community members may also test at SMU and send scores to other colleges and universities for credit.

SMU gives credit for CLEP subject examinations based on the specified minimum scores below*.  American Government, Financial Accounting and History of the U.S. I and II are only available to incoming students under the 2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog and are not available to continuing students.

CLEP Exam

Score (out of 80)

Credit Hours

Course(s) Credited

Common Curriculum Requirements Satisfied
American Government

60

3

 Generic Credit – TBD Social & Behavioral Science (SBS)
American Literature

60

3

 ENGL 20XX None
English Literature

60

3

 ENGL 20YY None
Financial Accounting

60

3

 Generic Credit – TBD Quantitative Applications (QA)
History of the US I

60

3

 Generic Credit – TBD Historical Contexts (HC)
History of the US II

60

3

 Generic Credit – TBD Historical Contexts (HC)
Macroeconomics

60

3

 ECO 1312 Quantitative Applications (QA)
Microeconomics

60

3

 ECO 1311 Quantitative Applications (QA)

*The above credit table is subject to change and applies to the 2024 Undergraduate Catalog.

Sign-Up

  • All tests are administered on campus, in person.  Remote CLEP administrations are not conducted at the UTC.
  • Students must register and pay for a CLEP test on the College Board website, indicating SMU as the testing site and score recipient.
  • Testing seats are reserved using the UTC Portal.  The CLEP test administration fee charged by the testing center is waived for current SMU students, with a modest charge for community members.
  • Students must bring their College Board CLEP Registration Form and SMU ID card to their testing appointment at the UTC.

After Testing

When testing is complete, students will receive a preliminary score report from UTC staff.  Scores will also be available in the My CLEP Student Account portal on the CLEP website.  Final, official CLEP score reports will be sent directly from the College Board to the SMU Registrar, where course credit will be awarded with a qualifying score.

For more information, visit the University Testing Center or the College Board FAQs for CLEP.

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Academic Center for Excellence Academic Skill Development Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies First-Generation Initiative Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Academic Success Programs

Assistive technology helps all students – Part 2

Student sitting at a table working on a laptop in SMU's A-LEC Tutoring Center.

Assistive technology can enhance the academic life of neurodivergent and neurotypical students alike. In part 1, we touched on text-to-speech software and browser extensions that make Canvas easier to use. If you missed it, check it out! Here in part 2, we’ll take a look at mindfulness software and AI.

Recent, long-term scientific studies suggest that mindfulness leads to academic success not just for students with ADHD, but all students. Just 20 minutes of daily meditation or meditative prayer can decrease rumination, emotional volatility, and anxiety, and increase memory, focus, and cognitive flexibility. For more information, check out apps like Headspace, Smiling Mind, and the Apple Mindfulness App.

Researchers are also identifying how ChatGPT and other AI tools can assist students with disabilities, such as exploring research topics, brainstorming self-advocacy conversation starters, and providing activity ideas for self-care. Some uses of AI are not useful for learning, however: having AI write even part an assignment is plagiarism; overreliance on AI leads to decreased comprehension due to a lack of engagement with course material; and information provided by AI may not be factually based or able to be sourced. Regardless, students should always consult with their instructors before using AI in a class.

Assistive technology helps to create an inclusive environment where students of all kinds, not just those with disabilities, can participate and engage. For more information, contact Disability Accommodations and Success Strategies (DASS) at dass@smu.edu or 214-768-1470.

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Academic Center for Excellence Academic Skill Development Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies First-Generation Initiative Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Academic Success Programs

2024 Extra Mile Award winners

Every spring for the Hilltop Excellence Awards, Disability Accommodations and Success Strategies‘ student organization, Students for New Learning (SNL), presents two or three instructors with the Extra Mile Award. This award recognizes teaching excellence and sensitivity when working with neurodivergent students.

This year, SNL has recognized: Pamela Corley, Department of Political Science; C.J. Enloe, World Languages and Literature – Spanish; and Shon Phillips, English. Watch the official presentation video here.

Congratulations to our winners! Thank you for helping to make SMU a welcoming place for neurodivergent students and “going the extra mile” to help them succeed.

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Academic Center for Excellence Academic Skill Development Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies First-Generation Initiative Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Academic Success Programs

Assistive technology helps all students – part 1

Student sitting at a table working on a laptop in SMU's A-LEC Tutoring Center.

We at Disability Accommodations and Success Strategies (DASS) see how invaluable assistive technology is in the life of a student with a disability, but we want to share how this tech can help anyone. In the first of a two-part post, we’ll look at the text-to-speech software Kurzweil, and browser extensions that make Canvas more user-friendly. 

Kurzweil reads electronic text aloud, and so students who are blind, have low vision, and many who are dyslexic rely heavily on it or similar apps. Students with ADHD, ESL students, students with a preference for auditory learning, and even those just struggling to focus find it easier to follow along as the text is read to them. Kurzweil is available for download to all SMU students through DASS, Academic Development of Student-Athletes (ADSA), and Fondren Library.

Academic counselors here at DASS and in Academic Skill Development (ASD), see students struggle to find posted assignments, rubrics, and important dates on Canvas. Two Chrome browser extensions available for download at the Chrome Web Store might help: Tasks for Canvas and Better Canvas.

Tasks for Canvas presents many ways to organize and bring important things front and center, including class announcements. It “gamifies” assignments with a progress wheel and helps the student break a task into smaller parts, then tracks their progress.

The second extension, Better Canvas, is more for cosmetic changes to the layout making it easier to see and get to the most important parts of each Canvas page. It is like Tasks but allows more creativity in its use of colors, dark/light modes, and themes.

Stay tuned for part two next week when we’ll consider mindfulness apps and AI!

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Academic Devleopment of Student-Athletes (ADSA) Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies Honors and Scholars Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Academic Success Programs University Testing Center

New room numbers at the University Testing Center

SMU students take tests in the University Testing Center, January 24, 2023 in Clements Hall on the SMU Campus.

As part of the renovation of the Scholars’ Den in Clements Hall, room numbers for the University Testing Center (UTC) have changed.

Visitors will still access the UTC at the west end of the Clements Hall basement in suite G15, most directly using the side entrance facing Dallas Hall. Students and professors are to check in at the testing office (now renumbered to room G28) for test administrations and completed test pickup. Students will continue to be assigned to testing labs identified as “Peruna,” “Hilltop,” and “Varsity.”

Room number identification will be updated on the UTC website, the UTC portal for test registration, and in information handouts for both students and professors.

Please contact the UTC at 214-768-6064 or universitytestingcenter@smu.edu with any questions you may have.

 

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Academic Devleopment of Student-Athletes (ADSA) Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies Student Academic Engagement & Success University Testing Center

University Testing Center now accommodates Respondus LockDown Browser for Canvas assessments

Student taking test at SMU University Testing Center
SMU students take tests in the University Testing Center, January 24, 2023 in Clements Hall on the SMU Campus.

The University Testing Center (UTC) is excited to announce a new proctoring software that allows Canvas tests to be administered with the Respondus LockDown Browser (LDB).

The new software, NetSupport School, replaces a previous program, iTalc, that could not facilitate real-time surveillance of students taking Canvas tests with the Respondus LockDown Browser on UTC computers.

With NetSupport School,  professors will no longer have to create non-LDB versions of Canvas tests administered at the UTC — classroom test versions with LDB can now be used without issue.  And, on test day, students will not have to search for a “UTC version” of a Canvas test different from what is given in the classroom.

With its expanded features, NetSupport School streamlines the student and faculty testing experience while enhancing the UTC’s commitment to test integrity and security.

Various academic departments and professors utilizing the testing center suggested this feature and service enhancement, and we are excited to offer this new ability.

For more information, please contact the UTC at 214-768-6064 or universitytestingcenter@smu.edu.

 

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Academic Devleopment of Student-Athletes (ADSA) Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies Office of Engaged Learning Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Academic Success Programs University Advising Center University Testing Center

Spring updates from the University Testing Center

SMU students take tests in the University Testing Center, January 24, 2023 in Clements Hall on the SMU Campus.

Welcome back to campus! It’s hard to believe that the University Testing Center (UTC) has completed its first operation phase since opening in August 2022.  We look forward to continuing our specialized testing services for Disability Accommodations and Success Strategies (DASS) students needing accommodated testing and our student-athletes needing early or make-up testing due to travel during the competitive season.  Beginning this summer, we’ll expand our services to include standard academic make-up testing, fee-based testing for non-SMU students in the local community, and credit-by-exam testing (CLEP) for some SMU courses.

Testing at the UTC is done by appointment weekdays between 8:30 and 3:30 p.m. with extended hours during final exams.  Appointments must be made at least 48 business hours before classroom testing dates using the UTC Portal at www.smu.edu/utcportal.

The UTC Portal’s updated exam submission process allows professors to determine when eligible students can test at the UTC, automatically upload tests by course name and section number, and retrieve completed tests with proctoring documentation. Stop by the UTC in the basement of Clements Hall to tour the facility, meet the staff, and have a one-on-one consultation to make the testing experience easier for you and your students!

Scantron Exam processing at the University Testing Center ends May 10th

The University Testing Center (UTC) scanning and reporting service for exam Scantrons will end after AY 2023-24.  A few faculty members use the service as the migration to Canvas continues, as directed by the Office of the Provost.  This, along with increasing maintenance costs and staffing needs for new testing services at the UTC, was a deciding factor in ending the service.  Official announcements will be sent periodically to faculty users through various channels so they may prepare for alternatives.

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Academic Center for Excellence Academic Devleopment of Student-Athletes (ADSA) Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Academic Success Programs

ADSA & SASP Hosting a Staff & Faculty Breakfast on January 11th

SAES Tour

Student Academic Engagement and Success (SAES) is hosting two upcoming tours of the Academic Development of Student-Athletes (ADSA) and Student Academic Success Programs (SASP).  Tours will take place at 9 AM and 9:30 AM at the ADSA & SASP offices located in Loyd All-Sports Center. ADSA is located on the 3rd floor, in suite 316. SASP is located on the second floor, in suite 201.  This opportunity is an invitation to all SMU faculty and staff to tour our academic centers and learn more about the support services offered to students! Breakfast and drinks will be available.

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Academic Devleopment of Student-Athletes (ADSA) Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies Honors and Scholars Student Academic Engagement & Success University Testing Center

University Testing Center closed for Fall Break

The University Testing Center will be closed on Monday, October 9th, and Tuesday, October 10th for Fall Break.

Testing will resume on Thursday, October 12th.   

Good luck on midterms, and enjoy the break!