Policies and Procedures

Note:

Accommodation Letters serve to:

• Inform your instructor that you are registered with our office and that you have been approved for academic accommodations.
• Indicate, and briefly explain, the specific accommodations that the UAC has approved for your use.
• Provide you an opportunity to begin communicating with your instructor about how to best implement your accommodations.

How to Obtain Accommodation Letters:

1. Letters must be requested each semester by filling out the Accommodation Letter Request Form on our website (uac.byu.edu - under "Forms") or by contacting the UAC front desk.
2. When your letters are ready, you will receive an e-mail notification from YMessage indicating that you have a new message. (You will access your electronic letters through your YMessage account.)
3. Click on the link(s) within your message to access your accommodation letters. Each link represents a letter (depending on how many classes you are enrolled in).
4. You can forward your accommodation letter(s) on to the primary instructor(s) of your course(s) by clicking on each link, scrolling to the bottom of the letter and clicking on the button "Send to Instructor Electronically."
5. After you have sent your letters electronically, if you would also like to hand-deliver hard copy letters to your instructors, download the letters as PDFs and print them out.
   

Sign Language Interpreters

Policies Regarding the Use of Interpreters (“Providers”)

• Providers are to facilitate communication and cannot participate in discussions or activities or answer questions that are not related to the process of interpreting or transcribing.
• Service requests for interpreters must be submitted online more than 48 hours in advance of individual events and 3 weeks prior to the start of a semester or term for classes. After the 3-week deadline, provider's schedules become full and they fill in their scheduling gaps with work elsewhere. Diligent efforts will still be made to arrange services. However, unavailability of providers may prevent any guarantees regarding when/if those services may be put in place.
• If you are unable to attend a class or other event for which you have services, you are responsible to cancel the request online. If you are unable to cancel, contact the providers by text or contact the DHHS Coordinator.
• If you are going to be late, contact the service provider(s) to let them know to wait for you. If they've not been notified to wait longer, providers wait for 15 minutes for a class/event up to 60 minutes in length and 20 minutes for any class/event lasting longer than 60 minutes.
• If you need to cancel services for any reason, such as class canceling or because you are ill or otherwise unable to attend, please cancel the request for that specific date in the online scheduling system. The system will notify the providers as well as the DHHS Coordinator that the services are no longer needed. This prevents you from having to make multiple contacts to let others know. Please do this as far in advance as possible so the providers can be made available to serve others during that time period.
• Providers are scheduled for specific classes/events during specific time frames. If a need arises, contact the coordinator for approval before asking the assigned providers to accompany you to another location or event. This does not include meeting with the instructor of the class they are assigned to provide services for during that class' normally scheduled time. But it does include meeting with an advisor, doctor, making phone calls, etc.

Tips for Using Sign Language Interpreters

• Introduce yourself to your interpreters or transcribers and let them know your communication preferences. Let your let them know if you prefer to speak for yourself, prefer to have them speak for you, or if your speaking preference might change depending on the situation.
• Introduce yourself and your interpreters or transcribers to the professor or whomever you are meeting. This can help that person to not feel nervous and provides her/him an opportunity to ask questions about the interpreting process. Tell him or her to speak to you directly and that the interpreters will be relaying what is spoken.
• For Zoom meetings, we've found it helpful if you either "pin" both the presenter and the interpreter in a side-by-side view or drag and arrange the presenter and interpreter to be the first and second participants in gallery view.

When to request Sign Language Interpreters

• For regular classes, requests for communication services should be submitted as soon as you register for classes. After the 3-week deadline, provider's schedules become full and they fill in their scheduling gaps with work elsewhere. Diligent efforts will still be made to arrange services. However, unavailability of providers may prevent any guarantees regarding when/if those services may be put in place.
• For events other than regular classes, submit requests for service providers as soon as you know you’ll need them. Putting off that request could result in there not being enough time to make the needed arrangements. The online DHHS system will not allow for requests to be submitted with less than 48 hours before the start time of the event. If you have a last-minute need arise, you may contact the DHHS Coordinator who can attempt to make arrangements for services if time permits.

For what events Interpreters may be Requested

• The UAC is able to directly take requests for services for classes and activities related to/required by classes for which you are enrolled as well as appointments with academic advisors. For other student services, request interpreters or transcribers through the office you will be attending and let them know they are welcome to contact our office to make those arrangements.
  

TypeWell Transcribers and Live Captioning

Policies Regarding the Use of Transcribers (“Providers”)

• Providers are to facilitate communication and cannot participate in discussions or activities or answer questions that are not related to the process of interpreting or transcribing.
• Service requests for transcribers must be submitted online more than 48 hours in advance of individual events and 3 weeks prior to the start of a semester or term for classes. After the 3-week deadline, provider's schedules become full and they fill in their scheduling gaps with work elsewhere. Diligent efforts will still be made to arrange services. However, unavailability of providers may prevent any guarantees regarding when/if those services may be put in place.
• If you are unable to attend a class or other event for which you have services, you are responsible to cancel the request online. If you are unable to cancel, contact the providers by text or contact the DHHS Coordinator.
• If you are going to be late, contact the service provider(s) to let them know to wait for you. If they've not been notified to wait longer, providers wait for 15 minutes for a class/event up to 60 minutes in length and 20 minutes for any class/event lasting longer than 60 minutes.
• If you need to cancel services for any reason, such as class canceling or because you are ill or otherwise unable to attend, please cancel the request for that specific date in the online scheduling system. The system will notify the providers as well as the DHHS Coordinator that the services are no longer needed. This prevents you from having to make multiple contacts to let others know. Please do this as far in advance as possible so the providers can be made available to serve others during that time period.
• Providers are scheduled for specific classes/events during specific time frames. If a need arises, contact the coordinator for approval before asking the assigned providers to accompany you to another location or event. This does not include meeting with the instructor of the class they are assigned to provide services for during that class' normally scheduled time. But it does include meeting with an advisor, doctor, making phone calls, etc.

Tips for Using TypeWell Transcribers

• Introduce yourself to your transcribers and let them know your communication preferences. Let your let them know if you prefer to speak for yourself, prefer to have them speak for you, or if your speaking preference might change depending on the situation.
• Introduce yourself and your transcribers to the professor or whomever you are meeting. This provides her/him an opportunity to ask questions about the transcribing process. Tell him or her to speak to you directly and that the transcribers will be relaying what is spoken.
• Make sure you have a good internet connection prior to the start of the class/event and open your web browser to the web address provided by the UAC or your transcribers.
• For Zoom meetings and classes, you'll often use a separate browser window for the TypeWell captions feed.

When to request TypeWell Transcribers

• For regular classes, requests for communication services should be submitted as soon as you register for classes to ensure providers that best fit the course subject are available. For requests that are submitted after the deadline of 3 weeks prior to the start of the semester, provider's schedules become full and they fill in their scheduling gaps with work elsewhere. Diligent efforts will still be made to arrange services. However, unavailability of providers may prevent any guarantees regarding if/when those services may be put in place.
• If you have a last-minute need arise, you may contact the DHHS Coordinator who can attempt to make arrangements for services if time permits and providers are available.

For what events Transcribers may be Requested

• The UAC is able to directly take requests for services for classes and activities related to/required by classes for which you are enrolled as well as appointments with academic advisors. For other student services, request transcribers through the office you will be attending and let them know they are welcome to contact our office to make those arrangements.

Transcripts

• Those using TypeWell transcription are provided a copy of the resulting transcript as a courtesy. This is often helpful for studying and reference. If you do not wish to receive transcripts, simply inform your transcriber(s) of that desire.
• Transcripts are delivered to the email address associated with your Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services account. We are unable to fulfill special requests with regard to formatting, printing, or other modes of delivery. Once you receive a transcript, it is expected that you will use that for personal reference. Distribution to others, including other students, is prohibited.

Directions to request note takers for your classes:

1. Visit uacnotetaker.byu.edu
2. Click Note Taker Request Form.
3. Check the "Request Note Taker" box for classes you would like a note taker.
4. Click "Submit Request" button.
5. Your request will be reviewed and approved by your UAC Coordinator.
6. The Volunteer Coordinator will email the students in your class sections to recruit a note taker.
7. The Volunteer Coordinator will contact you within 1-2 weeks with your note taker's information.

Other important information:

• Please make a new request at uacnotetaker.byu.edu as listed above for each new semester.
• Turning in a request form as soon as your class schedule is finalized will ensure the quickest turn-around time.
• If you drop a class, please inform the Volunteer Coordinator at uacvol@byu.edu.

Establish the Expectation

Request a Video Transcript

• It is ultimately your responsibility to check whether your priority registration status has been granted. Typically, the Accessibility Center sends out an email notification approximately two weeks before registration begins to inform you of your registration date.
• To manually check your registration date, complete the following steps: 1) Sign into myBYU from the BYU homepage; 2) Select "Register for Classes" in the "School" tab on the right side of the page; 3) Select the appropriate semester and view your "Registration Priority Date" towards the top of the section.
• Remember that your registration priority date will not be updated until a couple of weeks before the registration period begins, if at all. If your registration date does not seem to accurately reflect the priority date, it is possible that the system is not properly displaying your actual date, although you will be allowed to register on the first day. To be sure, you can contact the Accessibility Center and ask. Do NOT press the "Recalculate" link as this will reset your date to your original registration time even if the change is not visible to you.
• There is no priority registration for Spring and Summer terms. You will NOT receive an email notice for Spring and Summer term registration.
• Having priority registration does NOT override any registration holds. This includes holds due to academic standing issues, financial holds, or problems with ecclesiastical endorsements. These must be addressed before you are allowed to register.

What are Assistive Listening Devices (or ALD's) and Personal FM Systems?

How do I check them out?

When may I check them out and when do I return them?

1. The most common, and the most preferred, type of documentation for auditory disabilities is an audiogram report. This should be a graph of hearing test results and may include other key metrics such as word recognition scores. This must be signed by the audiologist or physician who performed the testing to be accepted as documentation of a disability.
2. Accepted forms of documentation for other disabilities may include: a report from a psychological evaluation, an individualized education plan (or 504 plan), or a letter from a medical doctor or counselor.