ARS Staff | Accessibility Resources & Service

The ARS Office will be working REMOTELY starting Monday, December 20, through Thursday, December 23. Please email ars@unc.edu or call 919-962-8300 if you require assistance.

The University will be closed beginning Friday, December 24, and will reopen on Monday, January 3. We will return to the office at that time.

ARS Office Operations

Students who need to speak with a staff member should email ars@unc.edu with a brief explanation of their questions/concerns, and a staff member will contact the student to make an appointment if necessary. All documentation sent to the office in request of an accommodation must either be emailed or faxed, or the provider can fill out the online Documentation of Disability Form to attach documents.

Alternative Text, Note-taking Requests, and CART Services

Students needing to request alternative texts for their courses should fill out the form as soon as possible to allow us ample time to request these resources. Please remember that obtaining these alternative formats can take time, and we want to make sure that you have them when classes begin, not later in the semester. For students requiring CART services, that form should be filled out NOW. Supplementary Notetaking requests will also need to be submitted as soon as possible, and certainly BEFORE the January 10, 2022 start date. Waiting until the start of classes may result in a delay given the volume of requests we receive. The forms can be located on our website here: 

Access and Mobility

Students requiring mobility accommodations need to check their class schedules now to ensure your courses are in physically accessible buildings. The following buildings/classrooms are inaccessible: Caldwell (103, 105, 208), Davie (301), and Smith Hall (107). Additionally, if you require a stand-alone desk in your classroom, please CHECK HERE to see if one is available. If it is not, please email us at ars@unc.edu.

Spring 2022 Testing Accommodations

Given the population of students we serve, including those who are immunocompromised, we are taking precautions, including physical distancing, in the ARS Testing Center. Consequently, capacity will be reduced though we will remain open for our regular hours Monday through Thursday from 8 AM until 8 PM, and Friday from 8 AM until 5 PM starting January 10, 2022. We ask that instructors take this information into consideration when planning exams and we ask for continued flexibility and understanding.

Instructors - We continue to see an exponential increase in the number of students connected with ARS (now over 2500 so far), and with this rise in numbers it can provide difficulties in spacing and capacity. Given the current impact of the latest COVID variant, student concerns, the need for some students to isolate and quarantine resulting in absences, and Testing Center layout, we will need to be mindful and consider flexibility when students experience scheduling issues. If a student presents a scheduling issue, please feel free to reach out to us for confirmation that it is indeed due to testing center capacity and we will work with you to find a solution. We appreciate the continued instructor partnership when proctoring for low distraction test setting and 25-50% extended time when you are able to do so. This will allow students with more complex or involved accommodations (such as private setting, scribe/reader, etc.) to schedule at the Testing Center. As always, if you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

Students - We will do our best to make sure that the ARS Testing Center can provide a setting for your accommodated testing needs if your instructor cannot proctor your exam with the approved accommodations. We have created a new “setting” where you can send a notification of the exam accommodation directly to the professor the same way in which you might schedule an exam at the ARS Testing Center. For the location, you would need to choose “Instructor Scheduling Reminder – no ARS proctor” as your option. Please reach out to your instructors BEFORE scheduling exams. Check to make sure they can provide for your accommodated testing needs. If they are unable to proctor your exam with the more complex/involved accommodations (i.e. scribe, reader, more than 50% extended time, etc.), please go ahead and schedule your exams in the Hub to be taken at the ARS Testing Center. You will need to schedule your exams at least one week (5 business days, 7 calendar days) ahead of the requested scheduling date. If you miss this deadline, you will need to submit a Non-Standard Scheduling Request form.

In addition to the enhanced cleaning procedures implemented by UNC Housekeeping each night, we will schedule intermittent cleaning procedures to make sure common areas in the Testing Center are cleaned on a regular basis throughout the day. As a general good practice, especially with the upcoming cold and flu season, you will be asked to wipe down your test setting before and after completing your exam. You will also be required to keep your mask on the entire time you are in the ARS Testing center, even in a separate test setting. Food and drink will generally not be allowed, and certain accommodations for such allowances will need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Tiffany Bailey Director

Tiffany is originally from Illinois and moved to North Carolina in 2005. She has a Masters of Science in Education from the Student Affairs in Higher Education program at Colorado State University. She has been working in the disability services profession since 2006. Tiffany was an Assistant Director, then Interim Director at UNC - Greensboro until 2010 when she came to UNC as the Assistant Director. In 2013, she was named the Director of the Office of Accessibility Resources & Service.

Tiffany was heavily involved in the NC Association on Higher Education and Disability (NC AHEAD) and served as the president of the organization from 2010 to 2011. She has presented both locally and nationally regarding best practices in disability services.

In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, marathon watching shows on Netflix and spending time with her child and fur children.

Memberships - NCAhead, Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science and Medical Education

tmbailey@email.unc.edu

Simon Bloor Associate Director

Simon is a psychology graduate, has a post-graduate teaching certificate, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Language and Communication Impairments in Children and a Masters in Adult Education.

Memberships - AHEAD, NC-AHEAD (Secretary: 2015 - 2021), Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science and Medical Education

simon.bloor@unc.edu

Viviane Ackall Accessibility Coordinator

Vivian is originally from Brazil. She has a Bachelor’s in Speech Pathology & Audiology, a Post-Grad in Communication Disorders, and a Master’s in Business Communication. Vivian joined UNC in September 2016 when she left her position of Director of the Accessibilities Services program at New Mexico State University Alamogordo. Vivian says that her vast experience in life and professionally helps her understand other people’s points of views and to think “outside the box”. Her name is really Viviane and it is pronounced Viv-ah-knee, but her mother always called her Vivian, so feel free to call her either Viviane or Vivian.

Memberships - AHEAD, NCAhead, Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science and Medical Education

Scarlett Jordan Testing Coordinator

Scarlett received her B.S. in Communication and Public Relations from Western Carolina University. She has worked for WCU’s undergraduate admissions office, and has worked for Carolina in other departments. Scarlett worked in the Office for New Student and Family programs starting in December 2008, managing the project coordinators to support all student and parent programming. Scarlett transitioned to Testing Coordinator for Accessibility Resources & Service in September 2017. When not at her desk, Scarlett enjoys visiting museums and spending time with her daughter. She is working on a M.Ed. degree from NC State.

scarlett@unc.edu

Lacey Singletary Administrative Support Associate

Lacey received her B.A. in Communication from Queens University of Charlotte. Previously, Lacey worked in retail as an Assistant Sales Manager for Lacoste Boutique, as well as in the automotive industry as an Internet Sales Specialist. During her time at Queens, Lacey was a member of the Women’s Basketball Team and volunteered at a nearby elementary school working with students with disabilities. She has been passionate about helping students ever since. In her spare time, Lacey enjoys attending or watching sporting events (especially basketball), traveling the world, and spending time with family and friends.

WINTER BREAK & Spring 2022 ARS Updates

ARS Office Operations

Alternative Text, Note-taking Requests, and CART Services

Access and Mobility

Spring 2022 Testing Accommodations