Testing Accommodation

The Insurance Institute of Canada (“the Institute”) is committed to promoting an environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in the Institute’s examinations and where everyone is treated with sensitivity, fairness, and respect, without distinction, exclusion or preference based on a protected ground under the applicable human rights legislation. The Institute recognizes its duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship and commits itself to an accommodation process that respects the applicable human rights legislation’s principles of dignity, privacy, individualization, and inclusion.

The Institute is committed to exploring all requests for accommodation in good faith, and to providing reasonable accommodations, short of undue hardship, when the need for accommodation has been established and is appropriate.

Students and licensing candidates with a documented disability or impairment (short-term/temporary or long-term/chronic) that substantially impacts their ability to participate equally in Insurance Institute tests, midterms, and examinations can request testing accommodations.

Testing accommodations will be based on functional limitation(s) resulting from a documented disability or other restrictions due to a protected ground under human rights legislation that impact a students’ ability to take a midterm, test, or exam under standard conditions. When provided, accommodations allow students equal access to a midterm, test or exam and a fair opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills, without compromising the standards required to demonstrate competence in the subject matter or the integrity of the examination.

Testing accommodations must be appropriate to the specific task and setting involved. Accommodations that are appropriate in a different setting for a different purpose (such as a classroom in an academic setting) may not always be appropriate in the context of the Institute’s tests, midterms, or examinations.

Testing accommodations that may be granted include, the following:

• Additional time or longer breaks
• Assistive devices and technology (e.g., wheelchair-accessible centres, readers, scribes, desks, chairs, and computer monitors) or equivalent
• Food/drink allowance for medical reasons

No changes will be made to exam content, exam assessment, exam format, or how the exam is graded.

All testing accommodation requests will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and are strictly confidential. No medical information will be shared with other parties apart from any legal and/or medical expert consultants assisting in evaluating the accommodations request if necessary.

Students or licensing candidates requesting testing accommodations due to a disability are required to submit the Testing Accommodation Request Form, completed and signed by the student/candidate and a qualified licensed medical professional (registered to practise in Canada). The licensed medical professional may be a physician, psychologist or psychological associate, or other regulated health professional who has specific training, expertise, and experience in the condition(s) for which the accommodation is being requested.

The Testing Accommodation Request Form must include:

• The health care professional’s recommendation(s) for the type(s) of accommodation requested by the individual,
• The nature of the functional limitations,
• If the impairment is short-term/temporary or long-term/chronic,
• The date the diagnosis was made or reconfirmed. The diagnosis must have been made or reconfirmed within three (3) years of the date of the accommodation request.
• Specific assessments (e.g., standardized psychological/educational tests) used to identify and confirm the diagnosed disability and, where applicable, the resulting functional limitations, and an explanation of how the impairment impacts the ability of the student/candidate to participate equally in the test, midterm, or examination. Any assessment submitted must have been completed within three (3) years of the date of the accommodation request.

Additional supporting documentation may be submitted along with the form if required or requested. Note: basic medical notes or scripts will not be sufficient.

Note: applicants and medical professionals are not required to disclose an applicant’s diagnosis in order to receive accommodations. A diagnosis may be required where the applicant’s needs are complex, challenging, or unclear and more information is needed, or where the information clearly relates to the accommodation being sought. At all times the focus should be on the functional limitations associated with the disability, as this helps to support the development of appropriate accommodations while respecting dignity and privacy.

Assertions of symptoms that many people commonly experience in a testing environment, such as test anxiety or stress, may not be sufficient to establish a disability within the meaning and protection of human rights legislation. If choosing to apply for accommodation based on these grounds, applicants and health care providers should make it clear that these symptoms relate to a disability.

Students or licensing candidates requesting accommodations based on any other protected grounds under human rights legislation should send an email to accommodations@insuranceinstitute.ca explaining their accommodation request.

Testing accommodations for long-term/chronic conditions will be valid for a maximum of three (3) years from the date the accommodation is granted. After this period, an applicant must request a reassessment and submit a new Testing Accommodation Request Form and, if necessary, provide new or additional supporting documentation.

Testing accommodations for short-term/temporary circumstances such as pregnancy, recovery from surgery, or injury will be valid for that semester and exam session only. The applicant should contact the Examinations Department for short-term/temporary circumstances that may require an accommodation for more than one semester.

The applicant has a duty to cooperate in the accommodation process, including providing additional information as requested, such as clinical tests or assessments required to support the approval of the accommodation. Applicants are expected to respond by the provided deadlines when asked for additional information by the Institute. If an applicant is unable to respond to a specific deadline due to a disability or other protected ground, the reason for that inability should be raised with the Institute along with all relevant supporting documentation.

An applicant is not entitled to their preferred or perfect accommodation but a reasonable accommodation, up to the point of undue hardship. Failure to provide all the necessary documentation by the deadline, or to otherwise cooperate in the accommodation process, may result in testing accommodations being delayed or declined.

When an appropriate testing accommodation has been determined, information detailing the requested modification(s) will be communicated from the Institute’s Examinations Department to the applicant as follows:

• The applicant will receive an email with an attached Testing Accommodation Approval Form outlining the accommodation decision. Please note that this process can take up to four (4) weeks. The applicant should keep this form in case they need to present it as proof of accommodation.
• The testing accommodation, if any, will only be granted once the applicant has signed the Testing Accommodation Approval Form and sent it back to the Institute.
• Testing accommodation may be different depending on if it is provided for an in-person environment (i.e., in-person class or examination location) or online/virtual environment (i.e., writing from home).
• After testing accommodation(s) have been approved, the applicant will need to contact the appropriate department to arrange for accommodation. This helps ensure that accommodations are arranged to match the test, midterm and final or licensing examination delivery format chosen by the applicant. The instructions are found on the Testing Accommodation Approval Form.

Students enrolled in the CIP, GIE, and Risk Management programs must submit their completed and signed Testing Accommodation Request Form and any supporting documentation no later than four (4) weeks before the course start date. Students are encouraged to submit their request as early as possible.

Students writing licensing examinations (OTL and RIBO) must submit their accommodation request no later than 15 business days before the start of the examination session.

The Institute has an accommodation decision review process where an applicant believes there has been an error in the accommodation process. The Decision Review Process – Accommodations is located here. Applicants who have concerns about the way their request for accommodation has been handled are encouraged to first contact accommodations@insuranceinstitute.ca to discuss their concerns, prior to writing their test, midterm or exam.

Applicants are required to make requests for accommodation in accordance with the timelines set out in this Accommodations Policy. Retroactive accommodations will only be considered in exceptional circumstances such as where an applicant has a previously undiagnosed disability or was otherwise unable to request accommodation in accordance with this Accommodations Policy as a result of a disability or other protected ground. Any requests for retroactive accommodation must be fully documented and address why an applicant was unable to request accommodation in advance in accordance with this Accommodations Policy.

PLEASE NOTE:
The policies and procedures described here apply to students and licensing candidates completing tests, midterms, and examinations administered by the Institute. Separate procedures may apply for other Institute activities or assessments.

For students in a full-time insurance program at a college or university, the Institute’s policies and procedures for accommodation for final examinations are separate from those that may exist as part of the college or university’s program.