Northern Illinois University
Teaching with Blackboard
Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center

I am planning on having my students take tests in my Blackboard course and one student has indicated he will need to be accommodated with extended test times.  How do I extend the test timer for a single student?

It is simple to create an accommodation for one or more students who need to have an extended time limit for a test. 

Original Course View

1. Create the test questions
2. Deploy the test to access the test options (or click the round drop down arrow and select Edit the Test Options if the test is already deployed)
3. Under the Test Availability Exceptions heading, click the Add User or Group button
4. Search for and select the student who needs an accommodation, then click the Submit button
5. Under Timer, change the length of the timer or deselect it to turn it off entirely for that student. You can also de-select Auto Submit, if it was enabled for the test
6. Click the Submit button to save the test options

The test exception must be set for each test individually. This can also be used to make the test available during a different window for a student taking the test early or late.

Ultra Course View

1. In the Details & Actions area, under Roster, click the View everyone in your course link
2. Scroll or search to find the student
3. Click the ... menu to the right of the student and select Accommodations
4. Select Time limit accommodation and specify whether the student should have 50% extra time (time and a half), 100% extra time (double the time limit), or unlimited time
5. Click the Save button

The accommodation only needs to be set once and then will apply to all assessments in the course that have a time limit. You can also set a due date accommodation so that the student's work is never marked late. Any student with an accommodation is identified with a purple ribbon icon on the roster and in the gradebook, but this icon is only visible to someone with grading privileges (e.g., Instructor, Teaching Assistant, Facilitator, Grader).

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Last Updated: 09/04/2019