Queen’s launched a new academic accommodations portal for students and faculty on May 2.
Ventus, the new online accommodations interface, will allow academic accommodation requests to be processed on one platform. According to a University press release, the Ventus Accommodation Management team will provide effective to students in need of accommodations.
“Ventus streamlines communication needs for instructors and students, and supplies instructors with the essential information required for providing students with the appropriate accommodation,” the University wrote in another press release.
According to the University, the portal provides more accessibility by connecting students, instructors, the Exams Office, Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS), and other s together.
“Ventus will help to create a stronger culture of accessibility at Queen’s,” said Klodiana Kolomitro, associate vice-principal of teaching and learning, in the press release.
The University further stated, Ventus will protect the privacy of all students requesting accommodations. They also intend to continue providing training during the launch phase to ensure student privacy standards are met in the coming year.
Professors’ roles in the accommodations process will change as the portal includes greater management of academic accommodations requests. The interface will provide professors with the necessary information to provide students with appropriate accommodations.
Before the implementation of Ventus, QSAS was responsible for permanent and interim academic accommodations. QSAS allowed students to assign their accommodations to each course at the start of each semester.
“The portal will streamline the accommodations process, helping all stakeholders coordinate, to ensure students are getting the they need in a timely manner,” Kolomitro said.
The University also created consultation groups to receive on the Ventus tool throughout the development process. The groups are instructor-based, and a student group is led by an AMS representative.
With the existing accommodations portal being phased out in favour of Ventus, the University hopes the Ventus Management team will gather on the interface in the spring, facilitating improvements to the system in the coming years.
Students, staff, and faculty can reference the Ventus website for help.
Tags
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].