Test accommodations are adjustments to testing conditions or formats that provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. Accommodations do not change the content or expectations of an exam; instead, they remove barriers that may prevent a student from fully accessing the assessment. 

Common test accommodations include:

● Extended time to complete an exam
● Alternate formats of the test (such as enlarged print, electronic format, or accessible documents)
● A reduced-distraction testing environment
● Access to assistive technology
● Adaptive furniture or equipment to support accessibility needs

These accommodations are determined based on a student’s approved disability-related needs and are designed to provide equitable access to testing. 

Eligible students will request their accommodations through AIM located in their LARS Student Portal at the beginning of each semester. LARS will then send a Faculty Notification Letter, also known as the Classroom Accommodation Plan (CAP), to instructors via email. 

Students will submit an Accommodation Request to each of their instructors through AIM. Once you receive the Faculty Notification Letter (FNL), instructors must complete a Testing Accommodation Agreement for your class. Testing Accommodation Agreements take only a couple of minutes to complete, apply to all LARS students enrolled in the class and will establish the testing guidelines that will apply to any students in your course who receive Alternative Testing accommodation. 

After a Testing Accommodation Agreement has been completed, it is the student’s responsibility to request their exam date and time with LARS through AIM. Requests must be made at least 2 business days in advance for all exams during the semester. Final Exam requests will need to be placed at least 5 business days in advance of the final exam date. As a reminder that weekends, holidays and campus closures do not count towards the business days. Students and Faculty need to plan accordingly. LARS will not be accepting requests that are not made within the proper timeframe.  

Students who do not schedule their exams within the required timeframe will need to either:

● Take the exam in class without their approved accommodations, or
● Coordinate an alternate testing date/time with instructor approval.

If a student is approved to take an exam on a different date than the class, LARS must receive written approval from the instructor. Approval can be sent to larsexams@pasadena.edu. 

Please note that even with instructor approval, students are still required to submit their LARS exam request at least 2 business days in advance. 

Once a student submits a testing request, please review and approve the request. If approved, upload the exam file through AIM so that LARS can confirm the appointment with the student. 

LARS will proctor the exam and return the completed exam to you using the delivery method you selected in the Testing Agreement.

To access the Alternative Testing Agreement, please log in to the AIM Instructor Portal.

AIM How to Guide for Instructors

If you have questions or need clarification regarding any of the instructions in this guide, you may contact the LARS Testing Team via email at larsexams@pasadena.edu or call the LARS Testing office at (626) 585-7056. 

LARS Testing Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00AM-4:30PM

Testing Hours: Monday-Friday 9:30AM-4:30PM