General Information

Exam referrals provide the Exam Accommodations Center (EAC) with information on how to correctly proctor exams for a course. Information provided in the referral includes the names of students referred to our center, available dates for students to sign up for exams, allowed resources, and more. It is very important that exam referrals contain accurate, updated information so the EAC staff can effectively proctor exams.

The EAC is now using RegisterBlast. However, you must submit a separate referral to the EAC RegisterBlast to have an accommodated student schedule with us because the students using our center are restricted to those approved for exam accommodations.

Questions about exam referrals should be directed to the Exam Accommodations Center at eacmain@iastate.edu or 515-294-5197.

EAC Referral Policies:

1. Students referred to the EAC must have approved accommodations that cannot be provided in the standard exam setting.

2. All students must be listed on the referral form to test in our center

3. Instructors have a legal responsibility to ensure exam accommodations are adequately arranged by following all relevant policies and procedures when using the EAC. If the instructor does not follow policy, they will be required to make alternative arrangements for accommodations.

4. All referrals must be submitted at least one week in advance for approval. Students can not make any appointments until the information is approved by our team.

5. Exams files or hard copies (not on canvas) must be submitted by 4 pm the day prior to the testing date

After correctly referring the exam, it is the student's responsibility to schedule their appointment using the EAC RegisterBlast. A referral to the EAC does not automatically schedule the student. Learn more about how student's schedule.

Instructions for instructors on how to use our exam center can be found below

EAC RegisterBlast Tutorials

    Ready to start using the Exam Accommodation Center to support your students? Explore the tutorials below to learn how to connect your Canvas course, refer exams, and navigate RegisterBlast with the EAC!

    Setting Up Access for your Canvas Course

    Submitting Exam Referral Forms

    During Finals week, due to high demand and use of our center, we alter some procedures to ensure we can support as many students and instructors as possible. The process for finals has a few essential adjustments. Please review the EAC referral deadlines, policies, and procedures every semester to avoid delays or complications. Failure to follow the policies will result in a denied referral. Instructors are responsible for setting up exam accommodations accurately and on time.

    **If the Final exam that you are scheduling IS NOT during finals week, you can follow the regular referral tutorials above.

    Please visit our EAC Finals webpage to learn how to handle accommodations during final exams and how to refer exams for finals week to the EAC.

    Preparing Exam Materials

    When assigning Canvas exams, there’s an important step to ensure students with extended time receive their accommodations. Since our center doesn't have access to your exam, it’s the instructor’s responsibility to adjust the time. Fortunately, it’s a simple process. To learn how to extend time for a student on a published exam, click here!

    Frequently Asked Questions

      Have some questions for us? Check out our FAQ section below for support!

      Still not seeing what you need? Call us at 515-2945197 or email at eacmain@iastate.edu 

      No, you'll need to submit a separate referral for the EAC through RegisterBlast. If a referral is submitted to the regular CELT Testing Centers, the EAC will not receive it and cannot use it. This is because the EAC is specifically for students with exam accommodations, so a separate referral must include the names of these students to ensure that only they can schedule with us. Additionally, students won't be able to choose their specific accommodations if the referral isn't directly sent to the EAC. We also have different questions in our process due to the need to address specific accommodations and proctor written exams.

      It depends on how your Canvas courses are set up. If you have one Canvas course with multiple sections, you only need to submit one EAC referral for all sections. However, if each section is set up as a separate Canvas course, you'll need to create a separate EAC referral for each section, as students in different Canvas courses won't link to the same referral.

      If the students are in the same Canvas course, you do not need to submit separate referrals—they can all be included in one. However, if the students are in different Canvas courses, you will need to submit a separate referral for each course.

      You must submit an exam referral at least one week (7 days) before the first date the exam is open. This allows time for students to schedule their exams and helps ensure that the EAC is not already fully booked when students receive their notifications. Additionally, submitting early gives the EAC the necessary time to review, approve, and prepare for the exam.

      *Note: While the referral must be submitted 7 days before the exam date, you are not required to have the exam itself prepared and sent to us that early. You only need to provide the exam materials by 4:00 PM on the day before the first day of the exam.

      We strongly recommend submitting referrals as early as possible. If you already know the exam dates and specific instructions or restrictions, you can create referrals in advance. Should any changes arise or new students need to be added during the semester, you can simply make minor adjustments to the existing referral. This approach helps alleviate the need to submit new referrals throughout the semester, allowing you to focus on other priorities.

      1. You will receive an email stating that you have submitted a referral for review.
      2. Your referred student(s) will receive an email stating that you submitted a referral to the EAC, however, they will not be able to schedule until the exam is approved.
      3. The EAC will review the submitted exam referral. If all information looks good to go, the EAC will approve the referral. 
      4. You will receive an email stating that your submitted referral has been approved. This can be a good spot in which you can inform the student(s) that they have been referred to the EAC for their exam and that they can schedule.
      5. When the exam is completed, you will receive an email stating when the exam has been uploaded. If you chose in the referral to pick up the exam, you can stop in after the last referred student tested.

      Students are notified when an instructor submits a referral. However, they are not notified when that referral is approved. Students cannot schedule with the EAC until the exam referral is approved. All exam referrals will be reviewed and either approved, or the instructor will be contacted at least 5 days before the first exam date to give the students time to schedule.

      We always recommend notifying your accommodated students when the referral has been approved to remind them to sign up for the exam.

      Yes! While the referral must be submitted 7 days before the exam date, you are not required to have the exam itself prepared and sent to us that early. You only need to provide the exam materials by 4:00 PM on the day before the first day of the exam. This can be done by editing the referral to add the exam file or by dropping it off in our office located in the Hixson-Lied Student Success Center.

      Yes, you need to extend the time on the canvas exam itself, but not on the referral. Registerblast will automatically schedule the student for the extended time, however, the exam in Canvas will not allow the student extra time unless you change it in the exam itself.

      To learn how to do this, click here: Once I publish a timed quiz, how can I give my students extended time?

      It's the student's responsibility to schedule their exam at the EAC. 

      Students should call us directly for assistance if they're having trouble scheduling online. We approve referrals at least 5 days in advance to ensure students have enough time to secure a spot, so as the instructor if you submitted everything correctly to the EAC, you are not responsible for making alternative arrangements. You can, however, make alternative arrangements if you wish. This could include but is not limited to contacting us to extend the last date that the exam is open or providing accommodations in an alternative location.

       

      CANVAS:

      Additionally, the EAC now offers a walk-in option for Canvas-based exams, though availability is not guaranteed. Students taking a Canvas-based exam can also use the regular CELT Testing Centers in Carver and Hixson, where they can receive low distraction and extended time accommodations, but no other accommodations will be provided.

      WRITTEN:

       Students with written exams must be scheduled at least one workday before taking their exam. No same-day scheduling for written exams is allowed. If a student did not schedule in time to take their written exam, you can provide accommodations outside of the EAC or you can tell the student that they need to take the exam with the rest of the class without accommodation.

      We begin accepting final exam referrals about two months before finals week. 

      During Finals week, due to high demand and use of our center, we alter some procedures to ensure we can support as many students and instructors as possible. The process for finals has a few essential adjustments. Please review the EAC referral deadlines, policies, and procedures every semester to avoid delays or complications. Failure to follow the policies will result in a denied referral. Instructors are responsible for setting up exam accommodations accurately and on time.

      Please visit our EAC Finals webpage to learn how to handle accommodations during final exams and how to refer for finals at the EAC.