Student Accessibility Services Student Tutorials

GETTING STARTED IN AIM

Students who have registered a disability and/or accommodations with Accessibility Services (AS) will have an account created for them in AIM and can log in with their Amherst ID and password to access the portal. If you have trouble accessing AIM, please email accessibility@amherst.edu for assistance. 

VIEWING APPROVED ACCOMMODATIONS

Once accommodations have been approved by AS, they will be uploaded to the student’s account on AIM. To view all approved accommodations, log in to the AIM portal using your Amherst ID and password. Locate ‘My Accommodations’ in the left-hand menu on your AIM dashboard. Under this heading, select ‘My Eligibility’ to see a list of approved accommodations.

REQUESTING ACCOMMODATION EMAILS

We recommend that students request accommodation emails no later than the end of Add/Drop or as soon as accommodations have been approved. Accommodations are not retroactive, so early proactive communication with faculty is essential. To request accommodations in AIM, follow the instructions below.

Step 1. Log in to the AIM portal. If prompted to sign in, log in with your Amherst ID and password. 

Step 2. If you have not yet requested accommodation emails for your courses, your dashboard will initially say “No accommodation requests found”. Depending on your approved accommodations, you may need to review and electronically sign one or more e-form agreements before you’re able to request accommodation emails.

Step 3. Scroll down the page and locate the yellow box where your courses are listed. Click the box next to each course for which you want to select accommodations. Then, click ‘Step 2 - Continue to customize your accommodations’. Most students will want an accommodation email for each of their courses/instructors. However, if you only have testing accommodations, for instance, you might decide not to request an accommodation email in a course that has no exams.

Step 4. Next, select which accommodations you want in each course. Please note: Selecting the "Testing Accommodations" box will include all of your approved testing accommodations (i.e. extra time, distraction-reduced setting) if you have multiple. To see the specific accommodations you are approved for, look under "My Eligibilities" in the left-hand menu. You will select which testing accommodations you want to use when you schedule an exam for a course.

Step 5. Click to submit your accommodation requests. You should get a green check mark at the top of the page along with a confirmation that says your request was successful.

Once Accessibility Services reviews your accommodation requests, we will approve and then email them to your instructors. You will receive confirmation emails to alert you when they are approved and sent to your instructors. To see exactly what was sent to your instructors and the date, log in to AIM and look in ‘My Mailbox.’

SCHEDULING AN EXAM WITH ACCOMMODATIONS

If you plan to use a testing accommodation in a course, unless the professor has chosen to proctor their own exams with accommodations, you will need to schedule a time to take your exam using the AIM portal. To do so, follow the instructions below or view our visual guide for scheduling exams.

1. On the AIM home page, use the left-hand menu to select 'Alternative Testing' under the 'My Accommodations' heading. 
2. On the Alternative Testing page, use the drop-down list to select the class you're scheduling an exam for. Once you've selected a class, click 'Schedule an Exam.'
3. From here, fill out the request type and the date & time you plan to take your exam. Please Note: Students are expected to schedule exams at roughly the same time as the rest of the class unless you have an academic conflict. If taking an exam with accommodations would conflict with another one of your classes, please reach out to your professor before scheduling to determine an appropriate alternative time to take the exam.
4. After you've filled out the date & time, select the accommodations you would like to use for the exam. You are not required to use all accommodations for every exam.
5. Once you've completed the request form, click 'Add Exam Request' to submit.
6. If you are submitting a late request (i.e. - later than 5 days prior to the exam), you will be brought to an additional late exam request form. Please review the late exam request policy, select Other as the reason, and leave a note with additional availability and any other relevant information. This box must have something in it for the form to go through. Once you're done, click 'Submit Late Exam Request.'
7. After you submit your request, you'll see a confirmation message letting you know that it went through and the Alternative Testing page will update. You should now see all of your upcoming exams & requests, and you have the option to modify or cancel the request if needed. The status of your exam request will update when it has been approved by the Access Coordinator.

You will receive an email notification letting you know when your request has been approved and the location you will be taking your exam at. After that, please report to the testing center a few minutes early on your scheduled day to complete the exam. 

Please review the Test Accommodations Overview & FAQ page for additional information on the updated exam coordination process. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the Access Coordinator at aaccesscoordination@amherst.edu.