For Faculty & Staff | Accessibility Resources & Service

ARS Spring 2023 Information

This information is updated frequently - please continue to check back for updates throughout the term.

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.

The ARS Testing Center will be open for scheduling Monday through Thursday from 8 AM until 8 PM, and on Friday from 8 AM until 5 PM.

Send Accommodation Notifications ASAP

You will need to login to the ARS Hub to send all your accommodation notifications to your instructors for every course. This is the official notification to your instructor which informs them of your approved accommodations. As accommodations are not retroactive, waiting until later in the semester could result in not being able to utilize accommodations and failing to meet certain course requirements. Students will need to follow up with instructors after sending their notifications via the Hub so they can discuss any potential issues or questions regarding implementation of their accommodations for each course.

Alternative Text, Note-taking Requests, and CART Services

Students with the approved accommodations 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 approved for and requiring CART services, that form should be filled out NOW. Notetaking requests through GLEAN software (required approved accommodation) will also need to be submitted as soon as possible. Waiting until the start of classes may result in a delay given the volume of requests we receive. The forms can be respectively located on our website here: 

Alternative Format/E-Text Request: https://ars.unc.edu/students/requestforms/alternative-format-e-text-request

GLEAN Loan (audio-notetaking software): https://ars.unc.edu/students/requestforms/request-audio-notetaker-loan 

CART Services: https://ars.unc.edu/students/request-forms/cart-request

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.

Testing Accommodations

The ARS Testing Center will be open for scheduling Monday through Thursday from 8 AM until 8 PM, and on Friday from 8 AM until 5 PM. Instructors' continued flexibility and understanding when students may need to schedule outside of the regular class date and time for their exams is appreciated. Students are encouraged to schedule all of their exams for the entire semester at the beginning of the course to avoid scheduling and seating issues and deadlines later in the semester.

Instructors - 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 - Please reach out to your instructors BEFORE scheduling exams outside of the normal class date/time. Check to make sure they can provide for your accommodated testing needs first. 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 (NSS). Submitting an NSS form does NOT guarantee a seat will be available for you - capacity and resource constraints may apply. Students are encouraged to schedule all of their exams for the entire semester at the beginning of the course to avoid scheduling and seating issues, as well as missing deadlines later in the semester.

Accommodations are provided to qualified students who have provided documentation that supports the need for such support so they may, as independently as possible, meet the demands of university life.

The Provost directs that accommodations should be facilitated by instructors and staff as directed by ARS.

If a student discloses a disability to you or requests accommodations and you have not received a request or notification from ARS, please refer the student to ARS at your earliest opportunity.

If you believe that an accommodation is not reasonable, please contact ARS before denying an accommodation to a student. Similarly, if, at any time, you believe that further accommodations would be appropriate or if you have questions about any accommodation, you are encouraged to discuss your concerns with an ARS staff member.

ARS is always happy to connect informally or provide more formal input to campus partners, offices, departments and individual staff members about accommodations, resources and services.

In addition, ARS is able to contribute to meetings, conferences and class sessions on a range of topics including assistive technologies, universal design, accessible web-design and the legal framework governing provision for students with disabilities.