Examining the Real Impact of University of New England (UNE) Academic Accommodations
Student Feedback on the Effectiveness and Areas for Improvement in UNE’s Academic Accommodations
February 25, 2025
Charlotte Wells
UNE student
At the University of New England (UNE), students share varied experiences with academic accommodations, highlighting both effectiveness and areas for improvement.
Academic accommodations are adjustments that are documented and approved by University of New England to make sure that “no person who meets the academic and technical standards needed for admission and continued enrollment at UNE is denied benefits or subjected to discrimination due to a disability,” which is what UNE states on their website. This could include extra time on tests, extended deadlines, use of a calculator, etc. This sounds like an amazing option for students who have a documented disability but are accommodations working? Multiple students who were surveyed say that accommodations are fairly effective, support is strong, but there are areas for improvement.
In order to receive academic accommodations a student must first request them from the school. The existence of prior accommodations from high school is not enough, a formal request must be put in with the school. This includes completing an application and having an in-person in-take meeting. From there an individual accommodation plan is developed and the student signs the plan for it to become effective.
The application process can take a week or so. It’s not necessarily an easy process. Freshman Coral W.* said “I felt that when I submitted my accommodation request, I had to prove what sort of disability I had in a way that was somewhat interrogative, and felt like I wasn’t believed unless I had a doctor’s signature or note. It wasn’t enough that I was struggling in classes, I had to have specific means to explain how I was not learning adequately, and what specifically needed to be adjusted.”
The accommodations that UNE provides fall into many categories – testing support, alternative formats to learning, etc. Not everything that a student may have received in the past is available however. Sophomore John T*, who is dyslexic says, “My accommodation relates to a learning disability and many of the assistive technologies and accommodations that I received in high school either were not available to me here or had to be worked out differently in order for me to complete an assignment. For example, in high school I did not take notes, but was always provided a copy of notes; however, in college, I cannot be provided a copy of notes, but I am allowed to record lectures.”
Mia R* is a junior and has dyscalculia which is a learning disorder that manifests in problems learning numbers and math. Because a reasonable portion of the business major will involve math including accounting and data analysis, Mia R* requested and received extra time on exams and the use of a calculator. When asked if she found this effective, she shared that “I do find them effective, and it has helped improve my testing and performance in school.”
Professor Sarah Gorham also gave her input. “I have 4 students with accommodations this semester. Three of them are more general accommodations. One of the accommodations is for a student who is site impaired and needs the same general requests about extensions. My teaching style has not been too altered by any of these accommodations. I work to not treat these individuals any differently. I do check in these students frequently in my one on one rounds to see if they need any further assistance.”
John T* says “I would say my ability to take tests has improved in slowing down and being able to think carefully about my answers. I will also say that being able to audio record has been helpful when I do fall behind on note taking.”
Although there were complaints about the accommodations process and what was available, students were mostly positive about the level of support provided. Mia R* said that “Every staff and student that I’ve ever had interactions with has been great! They’ve really taken the time to not only learn about what will better suit my learning style for my disability, but also just to get to know me as a person and you can truly tell that they want you to succeed!”
Moving forward students put forth a number of ideas to improve academic accommodations. Coral W* says “I think that the initial review process should be more understanding and accommodating to student’s needs. The large majority of students seeking accommodations need them and are just trying to learn.”
Outreach was made multiple times to the UNE Student Access Center (SAC) but no response was received.
*All names have been changed to respect privacy
2 Pitches:
1- What UNE is doing to support the students with learning differences. 2- How UNE could improve their food
Early Draft:
How accommodations are being received at UNE.
Charlotte Wells
UNE student
In late February 2025, students were surveyed to find out if accommodations are effective.
Academic accommodations – are adjustments that are ok’d by the school. Students go through a process to make sure they qualify. Some of the accommodations include extra time on tests, using a calculator, extended deadlines, getting a copy of lecture notes.
Accommodations at UNE are individualized – not everyone gets the same thing. You have to go through a new process once you get to UNE to receive accommodations. There’s no such thing as a “roll over”. The process includes an application and an in-person meeting. It takes a while to get approved. You have to provide back up information.
You don’t always get what you ask for as the process changes and has to be redone once you arrive at college. Most of the people surveyed said that what they did receive was working for them – even if the accommodations changed.
Some students said they didn’t always use what they were offered. When offered extra time or extensions on due dates some students said they were happy to have a buffer but tried not to use it. Quote:
Even if students found the process of getting accommodations difficult, they still find the various accommodations they can use is helpful and has improved their test-taking ability and their overall performance in school. They also say that the staff and students who helped during the accommodations process are really helpful.
Students had many ideas to improve accommodations including: note takers, more tutoring times, more tutoring sessions, and making the overall process easier.
*All names have been changed to respect privacy
Developed Draft:
How accommodations are being received at UNE.
Charlotte Wells
UNE student
In late February 2025, students were surveyed to find out if accommodations are effective.
Academic accommodations – are adjustments that are ok’d by the school. Students go through a process to make sure they qualify. Some of the accommodations include extra time on tests, using a calculator, extended deadlines, getting a copy of lecture notes. The UNE website states: “no person who meets the academic and technical standards needed for admission and continued enrollment at UNE is denied benefits or subjected to discrimination due to a disability,”
Accommodations at UNE are individualized – not everyone gets the same thing. You have to go through a new process once you get to UNE to receive accommodations. There’s no such thing as a “roll over”. The process includes an application and an in-person meeting. It takes a while to get approved. You have to provide back up information. Quote: Quote: “I felt that when I submitted my accommodation request, I had to prove what sort of disability I had”
You don’t always get what you ask for as the process changes and has to be redone once you arrive at college. Most of the people surveyed said that what they did receive was working for them – even if the accommodations changed. Quote: “ in high school I did not take notes, but was always provided a copy of notes; however, in college, I cannot be provided a copy of notes, but I am allowed to record lectures.”
Some students said they didn’t always use what they were offered. When offered extra time or extensions on due dates some students said they were happy to have a buffer but tried not to use it. Quote: “ I have accommodations for extended time or extensions on assignment due dates, however I try not to use this buffer because I find I will fall further behind when I utilize it, even though it is meant to provide time to help me catch up.”
Even if students found the process of getting accommodations difficult, they still find the various accommodations they can use is helpful and has improved their test-taking ability and their overall performance in school. They also say that the staff and students who helped during the accommodations process are really helpful.
Students had many ideas to improve accommodations including: note takers, more tutoring times, more tutoring sessions, and making the overall process easier.
Workshop Draft:
Examining the Real Impact of University of New England Academic Accommodations
Student Feedback on the Effectiveness and Areas for Improvement in UNE’s Academic Accommodations
February 25, 2025
Charlotte Wells
UNE student
At the University of New England (UNE), students share varied experiences with academic accommodations, highlighting both effectiveness and areas for improvement.
Academic accommodations are adjustments that are documented and approved by University of New England to make sure that “no person who meets the academic and technical standards needed for admission and continued enrollment at UNE is denied benefits or subjected to discrimination due to a disability,” which is what UNE states on their website. This could include extra time on tests, extended deadlines, use of a calculator, etc. This sounds like an amazing option for students who have a documented disability but are accommodations working? Multiple students who were surveyed say that accommodations are fairly effective, support is strong, but there are areas for improvement.
In order to receive academic accommodations a student must first request them from the school. The existence of prior accommodations from high school is not enough, a formal request must be put in with the school. This includes completing an application and having an in-person in-take meeting. From there an individual accommodation plan is developed and the student signs the plan for it to become effective.
The application process can take a week or so. It’s not necessarily an easy process. Freshman Coral W.* said “I felt that when I submitted my accommodation request, I had to prove what sort of disability I had in a way that was somewhat interrogative, and felt like I wasn’t believed unless I had a doctor’s signature or note. It wasn’t enough that I was struggling in classes, I had to have specific means to explain how I was not learning adequately, and what specifically needed to be adjusted.”
The accommodations that UNE provides fall into many categories – testing support, alternative formats to learning, etc. Not everything that a student may have received in the past is available however. Sophomore John T*, who is dyslexic says, “My accommodation relates to a learning disability and many of the assistive technologies and accommodations that I received in high school either were not available to me here or had to be worked out differently in order for me to complete an assignment. For example, in high school I did not take notes, but was always provided a copy of notes; however, in college, I cannot be provided a copy of notes, but I am allowed to record lectures.”
Mia R* is a junior and has dyscalculia which is a learning disorder that manifests in problems learning numbers and math. Because a reasonable portion of the business major will involve math including accounting and data analysis, Mia R* requested and received extra time on exams and the use of a calculator. When asked if she found this effective, she shared that “I do find them effective, and it has helped improve my testing and performance in school.”
Some of the testing support available includes extended time for completing exams but students don’t always use the accommodations available. For example, Marco R*, a senior shared that “I have accommodations for extended time or extensions on assignment due dates, however I try not to use this buffer because I find I will fall further behind when I utilize it, even though it is meant to provide time to help me catch up.”
John T* says “I would say my ability to take tests has improved in slowing down and being able to think carefully about my answers. I will also say that being able to audio record has been helpful when I do fall behind on note taking.”
Although there were complaints about the accommodations process and what was available, students were mostly positive about the level of support provided. Mia R* said that “Every staff and student that I’ve ever had interactions with has been great! They’ve really taken the time to not only learn about what will better suit my learning style for my disability, but also just to get to know me as a person and you can truly tell that they want you to succeed!”
Moving forward students put forth a number of ideas to improve academic accommodations. Coral W* says “I think that the initial review process should be more understanding and accommodating to student’s needs. The large majority of students seeking accommodations need them and are just trying to learn.”
*All names have been changed to respect privacy
Workshop Experience:
The workshop in my opinion was overwhelming. Talking in front of people and getting criticism from them is not something I’m comfortable with so that was definitely challenging. Students had great insights on what I could do to improve my article which I appreciated.
Project as a Whole Reflection:
I didn’t really enjoy this assignment because I’m not the type of person to go up and talk in front of people. So this assignment really put me out of my comfort zone. I feel as if it was too much work on top of the blog project posts we had to do as well. I found myself getting extremely overwhelmed by the workload of this course on top of my other classes. However, I did like Sarahs answers to my question because some professors don’t have that empathy that Sarah carries and gives.
