Hi,

I am a college student with ADD and dyslexia and I have always received double time. I am in the process of thinking about transferring and one school told me that they do not give double time to anyone, no matter what documentation they have, only time and a half. Is this legal, that they are only required to give time in a half no matter what the circumstances, your diagnosis, and what your medical documentation says you need and are entitled to. My current school does not give me any difficulty about it, but they don't have the major I want. I need double time, time and a half is not enough for me. No amount of additional study skills or testing strategies will change this because I also have delayed processing; I can't make my brain work faster. I have tried looking it up, but all I find is extended time, nothing specific regarding exactly how much extended time can be offered if the documentation is there to support the accommodation. Does anyone know of any websites that has the specific laws regarding this matter?

The only requirement they have is to provide reasonable accommodation for disorders. If the school has determined that time and a half is all that should be necessary for anyone with a disorder to accomplish an exam, then that's their policy. If you run out of time on an exam with time and a half, they might consider an appeal, but otherwise, you're playing by their rules. If you demonstrate to the disability services people there or in court that they are not allowing you enough time to finish exams and so they are preventing you from getting a good education because of your disability, you might win a law suit, but that's about it.

My university's policy is 3 hours, no matter what it is. If it's a 2 hour exam, you get 3 hours. If it's a 10 question quiz, you get 3 hours. Period. The thing is, though, if you could demonstrate that 3 hours was not sufficient time, you could get more time. You'd have to get a doctor to say that, though, and you'd have to put some pressure on them.

Unless you can prove that you absolutely need double time to be able to be on an equal field with your peers, there's not much you can do.

The ADDA says "reasonable accommodations", nothing further than that. If you can get a doctor or coach or therapist to say that you need double time to finish an exam, they should have to comply with that.

Also, it would be worthwhile talking to each individual prof. Many professors are much more flexible than school/departmental official policies.

which college are you considering transfering to?