Applying for an Accommodation
- Have the Documentation of Disability/Condition/Injury-Related Testing Accommodation Needs form (Section Two) completed by a currently registered medical doctor, psychologist, psychological associate or other regulated health professional who is familiar with you and who has specific training, expertise and experience in the diagnosis of the condition(s) for which the accommodation is being requested. This form must be current (within five years) of applying for accessibility and reasonable accommodations for an examination sitting. Updated assessments and/or diagnostic information are not required as part of the application process.
- Fill out the Computer-Based Testing Accessibility and Reasonable Testing Accommodations Request form (Section One).
- Gather additional supporting documentation if it is helpful to clarifying your situation. This may include:
- A letter from your workplace signed by an appropriate representative of the workplace, dated, and on letterhead that describes workplace accommodations that would also be relevant to writing the examination.
- A letter or documentation from an educational institution signed by an appropriate representative of Student Support Services/Access Office, dated, and on institutional letterhead that confirms test-taking accommodations. Please note that accommodations for assignments only will not be sufficient.
- Submit all documentation from steps 1, 2 and 3 to your regulatory college by the deadline to confirm your intent to write the examination (generally 10 weeks prior to the examination date).
All documentation must be specific to the particular candidate requesting the accessibility and reasonable accommodation and must be specific in its description of the accommodation required to provide the particular candidate with an equal opportunity to attain the same level of performance on the examination as persons without an identified disability.
Evaluation of Accessibility and Reasonable Testing Accommodations
Requests will be reviewed individually and confidentially.
Staff at your regulatory college review requests and notify candidates if documentation or information is missing. Candidates have until the deadline to confirm intent to write the examination (generally 10 weeks prior to examination) to provide any missing documentation or information. Staff at your regulatory college submit complete requests to COMPASS.
Once your request for accommodation has been evaluated by COMPASS, you will receive an email from COMPASS informing you of the status of your request. If COMPASS requests additional information, please reply at your earliest convenience. If no further information is required, the email from COMPASS will indicate the specifics of which accessibility / accommodation need(s) have been approved. Review and respond to the email to confirm your awareness of the approved accessibility / accommodation plans.
Important note: Any potential testing accommodations granted are not meant to ensure any particular outcome, such as finishing the test, passing the test, doing better on the test, or reaching one’s potential. We require evidence that you need your requested accommodation in order to access the test—not to “do better” on the test. It is possible that current or previous academic institutions have provided you with support services which went above and beyond access to an examination in order to help you reach your potential or otherwise be successful. However, the obligation of a licensing body is to ensure fair and equal access to an examination while protecting the public interest and ensuring safe and ethical competence to practice.*
*This excerpt is reprinted with permission from Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada. All rights reserved by copyright owner.
Accessibility and reasonable accommodations will only be denied for the following reasons:
- There was no request received at the time of confirming intent to write the Registration Examination (generally 10 weeks before the examination date).
- There was no signed Documentation of Disability/Condition/Injury-Related Testing Accommodation Needs form.
- The Documentation of Disability/Condition/Injury-Related Testing Accommodation Needs form was not signed by a registered practitioner familiar with the candidate and/or qualified to diagnose the condition(s) for which the accommodation was being requested.
- Documentation of Disability/Condition/Injury-Related Testing Accommodation Needs form was not current (the document was older than 5 years).
- The Documentation of Disability/Condition/Injury-Related Testing Accommodation Needs form did not include the type or specifics of the accommodation required.
- The accommodation posed a reasonable risk to the integrity of the examination (i.e., an unfair advantage would occur; the test would not be able to achieve its testing purpose; the confidentiality of the test items could reasonable be negatively affected).