ATP Information for Students
The Alternative Testing Program
The Alternative Testing Program (ATP) supports students and faculty with accommodated exams.
If you are a student enrolled in an ATP-participating class, this is how exams work:
- You are approved for an exam accommodation by Student Disability Services
- You inform faculty of your approved exam accommodations (by requesting your accommodation letters via SDS Online Services)
- SDS-ATP staff will enroll you for your accommodated exams in SDS Online Services
- You’ll automatically receive an email for each exam with exam details (date/time/location)
Important Reminder About Deadlines
Due to the large number of courses this program supports, please note the following deadlines. These deadlines are not flexible and will apply to all students.
- For students who have previously been approved for exam accommodations:
You should request your accommodation letters as soon as possible once the semester starts. If you request your letter less than three business days before your exam, we cannot guarantee you’ll be included in the ATP exam. - For students newly approved for an exam accommodation:
Request your letters as soon as you are approved. Accommodation letters must be sent at least three business days prior to your next exam in order to participate in the ATP-proctored exam. - Temporary exam accommodations are functionally equivalent to standard exam accommodations and the deadlines above will apply. You will be enrolled in all eligible exams up until your accommodations expire. If your temporary accommodations are extended, contact sds-testing@cornell.edu.
Please reference the process for requesting accommodation letters. Be aware that it takes at least one full business day for our office to process a request to send accommodation letters after an accommodation plan has been approved.
Common Questions
Check the Master List of ATP Classes. This list is continually updated throughout the year.
If you’re enrolled in a listed class and have been approved for exam accommodations, you’ll be taking ATP exams if you wish to use your exam accommodations.
If you have an academic conflict and can't take your exam at the originally scheduled time, you can request to take your exam at a different time that your professor has approved.
- Exam change requests have to be submitted in SDS Online Services no later than three business days before your exam.
- Makeup exam requests have to be submitted at least 24 hours prior to your requested exam time.
No. If you do not want to use your approved exam accommodations, you will take your exam as regularly scheduled by your professor. Only students enrolled in classes participating in the ATP wishing to utilize their approved exam accommodations take ATP exams.
ATP exams are at the same time as the general exam (usually, the class time). So if a class is scheduled to take their exam at 9:05am, the accommodated exam will be held at 9:05am as well, just in a different location. Any extra time accommodations will be added on at the end.
However, if your class has evening prelims, ATP evening exams (prelims) start at 6:30pm instead of 7:30pm so that students with extra time do not finish their exams very late in the evening.
If you have an academic conflict and can’t take your exam at the same time as the rest of the class, you can request an exam time change.
To do so:
- Log in to SDS Online Services,
- Navigate to “Accommodated Exams” and locate the exam you need to change.
- Click on “Modify Request” and change the exam time to either 8am or 5pm, depending on what your professor allows, then submit your request.
- Watch your email. SDS-ATP staff will review your request and either approve or deny it based on faculty requirements (as some faculty only allow 8am or 5pm as the conflict exam time). If approved, you’ll automatically receive an updated email with your exam details and the exam will also be updated in SDS Online Services with your new exam time and location.
If you need to take a makeup exam using your accommodations for an ATP class, submit a request using SDS Online Services. Navigate to “Accommodated Exams,” select the class you need to take a makeup exam for from the dropdown menu, then follow the prompts to submit a request for a makeup exam. You can view more detailed instructions in the ATP Student Guide.
Please note that during the first two weeks of classes, SDS-ATP staff are actively enrolling students in exams and your exam may not yet have populated or be viewable in SDS Online Services.
If you do not see your exam listed, please ensure that:
- You have informed your faculty of your approved accommodations (that is, “sent your letters” via SDS Online Services). We can’t enroll you in exams until this happens.
- Your class is participating in ATP.
If your letters have already been sent, then we are actively working on enrolling you in your exam(s) and you should see them in SDS Online Services no later than 10 days prior to your exam date(s).
First, check SDS Online Services! You can find your ATP exams here under “Accommodated Exams” in the left-hand column after you log in. If you still have questions or need additional help, email sds-testing@cornell.edu.
Second, review the ATP Student Guide which contains detailed instructions for everything you need to know to take your ATP exams.
Third, check your course syllabus and Canvas page. It will contain course-specific ATP information that may answer your question about a specific class.
Finally, if you still have questions or need additional help, email sds-testing@cornell.edu. We will respond as soon as possible, but it may take longer to receive a reply near the beginning of the semester.