Helpful Guides and How Tos for Working with AIM

Providing reasonable accommodations is a collaborative effort between students, faculty, staff, and the Disability Resource office. Starting Summer 2023, Disability Resources has moved to a new electronic accommodations management system called AIM (Accessible Information Management). AIM is an integrated web-based database which provides interaction and communication between the students registered with our office, the faculty and staff at JSU that work with students, and the staff in Disability Resources. The AIM section of this site is divided into three areas: Student Guides, Faculty Guides, and Staff Guides.

We recognize that there are various comfort levels with technology and multiple learning styles. So, you will find three distinct types of guides for each topic. We have provided more in-depth video-based learning that takes us through each topic one at a time. We have also provided illustrated accessible PDF documents that outline those steps next to visual illustrations. Lastly, we have provided concise Word documents with outlined steps in a list format without visual graphics. If you need more assistance, would like us to host a training with your academic unit, or just need to confirm what you are doing is on the right track, please contact our office, and we will be happy to assist.

Student AIM Guides

Students utilize AIM to register with Disability Resources, request services and accommodation letters, access/update their records, request appointments, schedule tests in Testing Services, and review information related to their accommodations.

If you are a current and incoming student who has not yet registered with Disability Resources, this is where you should start. This guide reviews how to complete and submit your requests for academic, housing, and meal accommodations.

 

 

Accessible Information Management (AIM) is an integrated database solution adopted by Disability Resources in 2023. It allows students to request and manage their accommodations and allows faculty to view student accommodation plans and other resources from a centralized location rather than by email or paper forms alone. This guide is focused on the student portal for students with academic accommodations that are registered with Disability Resources.

AIM allows students to complete many of the required forms that were previously completed on paper, and it keeps an electronic copy of these forms for the student’s records if they need to view them while at JSU. These include Acknowledging Your Rights and Responsibilities, Agreement for Recording Lectures, Alternative Textbook Request Agreement, and Memorandum of Understanding for ESAs. Students must complete any form requests before they can take other actions in the systems like request accommodations, schedule exams, etc. Some forms will be required each semester while others may only be required once or only once per year. ​

In AIM students can provide DR staff with “Information Release Consents.” ​These are Release of Information forms that students complete to specify specific parties with which they would like for the office to be able to share DR information beyond the accommodation request. This does not replace the FERPA Proxy through the Registrar’s office. Examples of release consents that can be completed include but are not limited to:​ Service or medical providers​, Instructors and Success Staff​, and family members​. Students can provide and withdraw these releases at any time using AIM. ​

​IPP stands for Individualized Postsecondary Plan and is the academic accommodations plan for a student at JSU. ​You may also hear these referred to as Accommodation Letters or Faculty Notification Letters. ​Students utilize AIM to request accommodations, send accommodation letters (IPPs) for courses, and access other areas of support. ​AIM allows faculty to view student accommodation plans and review these requests in a centralized location rather than by email or paper forms alone. ​

In an effort to assist in the implementation of reasonable accommodations as well as explore any concerns that may arise around accommodation implementation in your courses, we ask students to document the agreement between faculty and students on how certain accommodations will be implemented in a course. This is an easy-to-access and short form to complete. We only ask that you complete this form for classes that you requested certain accommodations (e.g., attendance modifications, extended deadlines, and missed assignments).  ​

The collaboration between students and their specialist is critical for successful accommodation planning. You can schedule an appointment directly from your portal at any time. We recognize that students may not always be able to contact our office during office hours to schedule a future appointment. We also understand that students may prefer to schedule appointments using an electronic method rather than calling or stopping by.  ​

Testing accommodations are designed to remove barriers to the test-taking processes so that students with disabilities can demonstrate their true achievement or aptitude on tests and exams. It is preferred that students take their exams in the traditional classroom environment when possible. This allows the student to have access to their instructor or their designee just as the other students would. If it is determined that the testing accommodations cannot be met in the classroom, a testing agreement must be completed before a student can schedule an accommodated test with Testing Services.

The Signup feature allows you as a student to quickly register for events and workshops or express interests in one of our amazing student or support groups.​ This is a straightforward process that is easier than making a call or sending an email. 

Once a student registers with Disability Resources, has completed the interactive process, and an accommodation plan is developed, they will have access to their eligibility history and list of approved accommodations. This guide provides step-by-step instruction on how to view the accommodations the student is eligible to receive. 

We recognize that a student’s needs may change for a multitude of reasons. If your current accommodation needs to be modified to include additional accommodations, complete this process to start the interactive process. 

Uploading course syllabi is a helpful action when addressing concerns about the implementation of accommodations. This can be especially helpful with accommodations like extended time, testing accommodations, and attendance modifications. Before uploading your syllabus, check with your instructor to make sure you have the most current version and make sure they have not already submitted it to AIM.

Faculty AIM Guides

Faculty utilize AIM to access and manage students’ requests for accommodations, access notes and resources, upload and view exams proctored by the Testing Center, and coordinate the provision of accommodations in their courses.

Accessible Information Management (AIM) is an integrated database solution adopted by Disability Resources in 2023. It allows students to request and manage their accommodations and allows faculty to view student accommodation plans and other resources from a centralized location rather than by email or paper forms alone. This guide is focused on the faculty portal for faculty and staff working with students with academic accommodations.

This guide provides text-based guidance on how to view accommodation letters or IPPs (Individualized Postsecondary Plans) using AIM. This feature is one of the best and most popular features of the system, Accessible Information Management (AIM), which is an integrated database solution adopted by Disability Resources in 2023. With this system a new, easier to follow format to the accommodation letter has been released which is also discussed in these guides.

Adding instructors in AIM is beneficial when you are co-teaching, have a graduate teaching assistant, or otherwise have to add another faculty member to a course when such additions are permissible. In this guide we explore how to do just that, adding additional instructors or replacing existing instructors listed for courses in AIM.

In an effort to assist our office in the implementation of reasonable accommodations as well as explore any concerns that may arise around accommodation implementation in your courses, we ask faculty to complete the Class Instruction Form in AIM. This is an easy-to-access and short form to complete which can be copied to other courses. We only ask that you complete this form for classes that you have students requesting accommodations.​ Please do not specify student names in this form. It is only intended for gathering general information about your courses.

Uploading course syllabi is a helpful action when addressing concerns about the implementation of accommodations. This can be especially helpful with accommodations like extended time, testing accommodations, and attendance modifications.  While both students and faculty can upload course syllabi, we recommend faculty do this as faculty will have the most recent copy. Please note that anywhere you see a link or button that reads, “Upload Syllabus” you can upload the syllabus there. This guide will focus on uploading it using a singular method assuming the instructor is just logging in to their portal.

Testing accommodations are designed to remove barriers to the test-taking processes so that students with disabilities can demonstrate their true achievement or aptitude on tests and exams. The preferred method to provide exam or testing modifications is through your own testing environment. This allows the student to have access to you or your designee just as the other students would. If it is determined that you are not able to administer the test with the student’s accommodations met, a testing agreement must be completed before a student can schedule an accommodated test with Testing Services.

In this guide we dive deeper into the faculty side of Accommodated Testing, specifically at how to upload and view your uploaded exams in AIM. ​ As a reminder, individual departments and academic units are strongly encouraged to proctor their students' tests in their department. The Testing Center serves as a resource to assist in the provision of the student's testing accommodations when those resources are needed.

In an effort to assist our office in the implementation of reasonable accommodations, we work with faculty and students around access to accessible materials. These accessible materials include items in alternative formats provided to ensure equal access to course materials. They include captioned videos, accessible PDFs, electronic texts, enlarged documents, and Braille or Embossed documents.  It is important that faculty remain diligent in locating and utilizing course materials that are in accessible formats prior to the course starting and during course development. Sometimes students will contact Disability Resources to help convert existing materials to alternative formats. Some of these requests can take 6-8 weeks, so early identification of materials is paramount. ​

Staff AIM Guides

Staff utilize AIM in many ways depending on their role on campus. One key example is the management of accommodations for housing and meal plans.

This guide is geared towards Housing staff who are working with students approved for housing and meal accommodations. This guide reviews how housing staff can view lists of students with housing accommodations, navigate those lists, and view the individualized accommodations for each student. Additionally, this video will cover how housing staff can add notes to the student AIM record and utilize the data management functions in AIM.