What ADA accommodations does PAEA allow?

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), PAEA supports reasonable and appropriate accommodations for students with documented disabilities. PAEA does not make determinations about accommodations. As university policies differ, please contact your student affairs or disability services offices to make appropriate accommodations determinations. 

PAEA does offer settings within our Assessment System to ensure that examination results reflect each candidate’s medical knowledge only. Accommodations must not jeopardize the integrity and security of the exam while ensuring fairness for all examinees.

Programs may set time-based accommodations of “time and a half” and “double time” on student profiles, extending the time allowed to complete an exam. All exams include 10-minute breaks between sections, and proctors have the ability to pause In Person exams to allow for extra breaks.

The system is specifically designed to be compatible with NVDA and Microsoft Navigator on PCs and VoiceOver on Macs. To use them, start the reader and then open Secure Browser to begin the test. The student will be able to control the tool using their keyboard.

Students can use keyboard shortcuts to zoom within Secure Browser:

• PC: CTRL and + or –
• Mac: Command and + or –
• iPads can pinch to zoom.

If accommodations are required beyond additional time or the tools mentioned above, the program must contact PAEA a minimum of three business weeks in advance to ensure that additional accommodations implemented by the program can be facilitated. This may involve a system test, so please plan accordingly.

The Assessment Hub meets the WCAG AA 2.1 standard in all areas relevant to PAEA Assessment. Color conversion can be adjusted during an exam at the student’s discretion. 

 PAEA will support additional locally administered accommodations available through the university, such as:

• Additional testing time and frequent breaks
• Anti-glare computer screens or glasses
• Large screen projection
• Professional live readers 
• PAEA can help institutions and students test other assistive technologies and can provide information on technology that has worked in other cases.

To request accommodations beyond those incorporated in the system, the program must submit to PAEA via secure file transfer or encrypted email the letter detailing what accommodations the student has been granted by the university, the requested date for their next exam, and the contact information for the university staff member who will work with us to determine the appropriate accommodation. 

Once the accommodation letter has been reviewed, PAEA will reach out to the designated contact to engage in an interactive process to evaluate options to meet the student’s accommodation. Then, the program will be informed of the accommodation plan and the exam can be scheduled in the Assessment Hub with the required settings.