Communication Access E-Form

Schedules must be turned in before the priority registration period ends. Students who do not follow the deadline for schedules and/or submit schedule changes after the deadline, without prior notification sent to the Disability Services Managers (DSMs), are at risk for beginning classes without these accommodations.

In this case, the Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) cannot guarantee these accommodations for the beginning of the semester but will attempt to accommodate as close to the first day of class as possible on a first-come, first-served basis. With last-minute changes, we also cannot guarantee the service provider will be consistent throughout the semester (meaning multiple providers may be assigned).

This also applies to adding an eight-week or six-week class to a student’s existing schedule.

Students should request accommodations for online (synchronous and asynchronous), as well as face to face courses. Online course content, meetings and media may need to be made accessible. Students will need to work with instructors, service providers, and ARC to determine the appropriate accommodations for all aspects of an online course.

ARC considers internships, fieldwork placements, etc. in the same light as regularly scheduled courses at UWM. Therefore, students are required to let the Disability Services Managers (DSMs) know of their participation in any internships, field work, service learning, student teaching or practicums and are strongly encouraged to notify the DSMs as soon as possible. All the responsibilities and policies regarding use of Communication Access accommodations remain in effect for all students who earn course credit in these types of learning experiences.

The Access Specialist assists students with accommodation-related issues but does not assist with choosing classes.

It is the students’ responsibility to establish an on-going relationship with an academic advisor. This should be established during the first semester at the university, in order to access information for appropriate course selection during the student’s academic career at UWM.

To request Communication Access accommodations for a meeting with an academic advisor, students must complete the Custom Request form in ARConnect. To do this: log into ARConnect, choose Communication Access in the left margin, and then select Custom Requests in the horizontal menu and complete the form.

Students should arrive/log in to the virtual platform a few minutes early the first day of class and meet with the interpreter or captionist regarding specifics of the class.

The Disability Services Managers (DSMs) schedule accommodations according to class details in ARConnect. Therefore, if your class structure is different than what appears in PAWS/ARConnect, or if the instructor adjusts or changes the course at any time during the semester, it is your responsibility to notify the DSMs of those changes as soon as possible. 

If students need to make a schedule change (moving to a different section, adding a class, or dropping a class), they must contact the DSMs before making the change to ensure the availability of service providers to fill the accommodations. Any changes students make to their schedule without prior notification to the DSMs may result in the student not having accommodations for the changes. We will work to schedule service providers as soon as we receive a student’s; however, it may take additional time and/or may result in less consistency than desired.

Students are also expected to change their accommodation requests in ARConnect upon approval from the DSM.

The Service Provider will wait 10 minutes for a 50-minute class and 15 minutes for classes longer than an hour. The same timeline applies to virtual classes. The assigned provider will leave/log out if the student does not arrive at class within this timeframe.

If a student is running late, they should use dhhnoshow@uwm.edu to let the office know when they will arrive. By doing so, the office can notify the service provider to continue waiting past the standard time.

If a student does not plan to attend their scheduled class at all, the student must email dhhnoshow@uwm.edu to cancel their accommodations for part of or for the entire day. It is imperative that you email dhhnoshow@uwm.edu and that you do not the service provider directly. Please include the name of the class, the section, and the Service Provider’s name.

If the Service Provider does not show up for class, please email dhhnoshow@uwm.edu. We will send another service provider as quickly as possible and investigate the absence of the one scheduled. Should a provider not be available, we will work with the student and instructor to make up for missing material.

ARC Staff and/or student interpreting or captioning interns may ask to observe other interpreters and/or captionists in classes. Communication Access Team Staff (CAT) — Interpreters, Captionists, Disability Services Managers — are required to ask the ARC student and the course instructor if a student or staff member can observe. Only these CAT staff may ask if students or staff may observe a class.

If anyone outside of ARC contacts the student directly about observing a class, please inform the Disability Services Managers (DSMs). If, during an approved observation, a problem develops, please inform the CAT staff member working with the intern so that the situation can be resolved.

Some courses or course assignments may be held off-campus (i.e. not on UWM’s main campus). UWM provides a shuttle to some off-campus sites. If a shuttle is not available, students are responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from the off-campus site. The Accessibility Resource Center as well as the assigned Service Provider do not provide transportation for students traveling to or from campus or other sites.

Interpreters and captionists may at times need to share classroom accommodation related issues with other campus staff on a “need to know” basis. On a regular basis, the Communication Access Team (CAT) adopts a collaborative approach in the sharing of work-related information. As a result, there will be times when CAT staff share information that is typically confidential, about students and/or work experiences/challenges, for the purpose of improving the quality of services.

Sign language interpreters are expected to adhere to the Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf (RID (Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf)) Code of Professional Conduct Tenet 1.0: Interpreters adhere to standards of confidential communication. Illustrative behaviors 1.1 states, share assignment-related information only on a confidential and “as-needed basis” (e.g., supervisors, interpreter team members, members of the educational team, hiring entities.)

Captionists are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the professional standards set by the National Court Reporting Association (NCRA) or the C-Print standards established by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (i.e., maintain confidentiality, relay the message faithfully, refrain from interjecting individual opinions, and function in a manner appropriate to the situation.)

Students and staff are always expected to treat each other with respect and professionalism. In the event a conflict occurs between students and their service providers, it is necessary to address the conflict respectfully and professionally. The Disability Services Managers (DSMs) and the Access Specialists are available to assist if needed.

Any harassment, bullying, disorderly conduct, disruptive behavior, or any other behaviors towards service providers, as outlined in UWM’s Non-Academic Conduct policy, will be reported to the Dean of Student’s office.

Students should share their communication preferences with their interpreter(s). For in-person courses, this may include seating, voicing, etc.

Online learning requires intentional communication between the student and service provider. For these courses, communication should include details of a plan for platform usage (Teams, Zoom, etc.).

Interpreters are not note takers and will not record written information presented non-verbally. Students are encouraged to obtain notetakers, or meet with the Assistive Technology Coordinator (ATC) for notetaking technology, to assist in summarizing the instructor’s message and to capture information displayed on the blackboard, etc.

If you have concerns with your service provider that cannot be resolved directly, please contact the Disability Services Manager (DSM), Amy Hogle at hogle@uwm.edu. If Amy Hogle is your service provider, please contact the ARC Director, Shannon Aylesworth (aylessr@uwm.edu).

Students must have access to a laptop, computer, or mobile device in order to user real-time captioning services. For those who do not have access to any of these devices for personal use should contact their Access Specialist to discuss options.

Students are expected to maintain a device connection with their captioner. The captionist will cease captioning if the student is not actively connected and will continue captioning once the student returns.

If there is a connectivity issue, please reach out immediately to your captionist, who can assist in troubleshooting. In the event the connection fails on the students end, the captioner will continue to transcribe the class.

Class Transcripts: In the virtual environment, transcripts can be downloaded and saved by the student on their personal device. If the transcript is not available to download, students should request the captionist upload their transcript to ARConnect prior to disconnecting the session. When requested, captionists will upload transcripts to ARConnect within 24 hours after class has ended. It is the students’ responsibility to log into ARConnect and download the transcript.

The class transcript is for the student’s eyes only. Transcripts are not to be shared with any other persons without prior approval from the Disability Services Managers (DSMs), and transcripts are not intended to replace notetaking.

Captionists will not re-share the transcript from previous classes without prior approval from the DSMs.

Also, captionists are not note takers and will not record written information presented non-verbally. Students are encouraged to obtain notetakers, or meet with the Assistive Technology Coordinator (ATC) for notetaking technology, to assist with summarizing the instructor’s message and to capture information displayed on the blackboard, etc.

If you have concerns with your service provider that cannot be resolved directly, please contact the Disability Services Manager, Nicole Stelzner at nicolems@uwm.edu. If Nicole Stelzner is your service provider, please contact the ARC Director, Shannon Aylesworth (aylessr@uwm.edu).

Students should communicate with their course instructors and/or teaching assistants for any questions related to the class. It can be beneficial to meet with the instructor outside of class time, either during the instructor’s office hours or by making an appointment with the instructor.

The service provider will assist with communication as requested. Students can ask if the service provider is available to meet with the instructor or teaching assistant before or after class. For appointments longer than 10-15 minutes, please complete a custom request in ARConnect.

1. Connectivity with C-Print Software: To connect virtually, students will need to log into UWM’s Global Protect. This allows the student to connect with the captionist, as if they are in the same location. Real-time captioning for online courses will not work properly without taking this step.
2. Laptop and/or Tablet Usage: The captionist will stream captioning to the student’s personal electronic device through the process discussed above. Students who do not have access to a laptop, computer, or electronic device for personal use should contact their Access Specialist to discuss options.

All academic-related requests will be coordinated through the ARC office. If students need communication access accommodations for any academic-related meeting outside of class — advising, office hours, lecture, or class related activity — students must complete the campus request form in ARConnect.

To do this: log into ARConnect, choose Communication Access in the left margin, then select Custom Requests in the horizontal menu and complete the form.

All accommodation requests for activities unrelated to a course in the student’s schedule should be made to the department or organization hosting the event.

Please refer the department to the ARC Website for information on how to obtain interpreting or captioning services.

Students who begin using services in one modality may need to change to a different modality based on their current situation/need (i.e. from interpreting to captioning or from captioning to interpreting).

Student’s should communicate their desire to make these changes with their Access Specialist. However, these changes should be requested with the understanding that they are infrequent and necessary. Due to limitations in our resources, we cannot always accommodate repeated modality changes and may need to discuss other options with the student.

If a student does not plan to attend their scheduled class at all, the student must email dhhnoshow@uwm.edu to cancel their accommodations for part of or for the entire day. It is imperative that the student email dhhnoshow@uwm.edu and that they do not contact the service provider directly.

Please include the name of the class, the section, and the Service Provider’s name. This allows ARC to continue providing quality and consistent student accommodations while controlling costs.

In rare situations, when there is a pattern of excessive absences, students are required to meet with their Access Specialist (virtually or in person). Depending on the situation, the accommodations plan may change at the discretion of ARC.