Accommodation Services Bolstered And Simplified Under CAPE

This is the fourth in a 5-part article series highlighting the Center for Academic & Professional Excellence (CAPE). See below for links to previous articles.

Despite plenty of studying and hard work, Evelyn Schoenberger '22, a Nursing major, was struggling to demonstrate her knowledge on quizzes and exams. Then, a friend and classmate pointed out that whenever a person moved during an exam, Schoenberger's whole body turned. This realization led Schoenberger on a path to get testing accommodations, resulting in a significant improvement in her test grades.

"In one of my Nursing exams that I took before receiving a testing accommodation, I only had two out of the first 30 questions wrong. But I had many wrong answers in the last 20 questions of the exam because that is when other people began getting up to leave," said Schoenberger. Now that she can take her exams in another location with very few distractions, her quiz and test grades tend to be 95% and above.

"I didn't realize I needed the quieter space," she said. Her test anxieties began last year, as the pressure to perform well in her Nursing program increased. She began to manifest the anxiety physically. Her knee bounced and she tapped her pens without realizing what she was doing. While she could verbally share her knowledge, when she looked at a test paper her mind would go blank. This type of anxiety was new to Schoenberger, who had excelled in high school.

Once Schoenberger realized the issue, she reached out to the director of the Nursing program. They talked about options, leading Schoenberger to her primary care physician. After a quick diagnosis, Schoenberger applied for a testing accommodation that allows her to take her tests in a quieter location with minimal distractions.

Overall, the application process went smoothly and Schoenberger attributes her improvements to Anthony Affissio, Academic Support Specialist, Student Accessibility and ELL Student Services, and Carolyn Draht, Academic Accommodations Coordinator and Associate Registrar, and to the newly created CAPE.

Testing services and other accommodations are not new but they now fall under the CAPE banner.

Affissio and Draht have reduced a lot of paperwork for students and faculty. Previously, students filled out paperwork ahead of every test that needed to be signed by their professors. Now, students complete one form per term.

"Eventually I would like to move the process online and further simplify steps for students and faculty," Affissio said. He also has ideas for ways to incorporate more technology into the accommodations such as noise-canceling headphones, screen-readers, and automated note-taking.

"These aids can actually help any student," said Affissio. "We're about providing the tools they need to succeed here and after they graduate."

Draht is also pleased with the changes made so far, especially the way CAPE provides a holistic approach to academic services.

"The CAPE provides multiple routes to students' success in varying aspects of their academic life," said Draht. "I see a great opportunity for us to make an impact on many students rather than working with smaller groups of students in our individual department roles. The Library is a hub for student interaction - and the CAPE partnership invites students to participate in their own success."

For example, services are more integrated for English Language Learner (ELL) students. These students take an initial assessment, which then leads to a service plan. In that plan, students can now flex between the Writing, Tutoring, and Career Services Centers equally, depending on what support they need or want.

They can also benefit from distraction-free testing locations and additional time for tests, explained Affissio. "If English isn't your first language it can be easy to get derailed and get set back when so much of your energy is being used to translate the questions and responses."

While the CAPE team is focused on making the accommodations system easier and more robust, there is one hurdle they have little control over: stigma.

Schoenberger has seen how stigma holds people back.

"I am tutoring a student who initially didn't use accommodations. Now that the student is using them, [the student] is excelling," said Schoenberger.

The same was true for herself. She initially felt awkward about applying for accommodations because she had always excelled in school. She didn't envision herself as needing support. But with mounting evidence that she could do better, she had a "heart-to-heart" with herself. She realized that getting help wasn't a diminishment of her accomplishments but a way to demonstrate her abilities.