For students who have documented disabilities that affect memory, using a memory aid sheet may be a reasonable accommodation. The memory aid allows the student to demonstrate knowledge of course material by helping prompt the student’s memory, not by providing the answer. Students are responsible for learning course materials, discerning which materials may require cues or prompts, developing the cues that will appear on the aid, and securing the instructor’s approval of the aid.
This accommodation appears on the student’s “Notification of Academic Accommodations” email as “Permission to bring and use a memory aid as pre-approved by the instructor.” "Cue Sheet," "Formula Sheet," or both will be specified on the student's eligibility email and the notification letter sent to instructors.
If the instructor is concerned this accommodation is unreasonable because it will lower standards, compromise an essential component of, or fundamentally alter a course or program, such concerns should be addressed to DAS upon receipt of the “Notification of Academic Accommodations” email. The determination that an accommodation is unreasonable is an institutional decision that must be made within legal parameters and in consultation with DAS. Instructors should not unilaterally render and attempt to implement a judgment that an accommodation is unreasonable.
The Memory Aid accommodation should NOT:
Who receives the Memory Aid Accommodation?
Students with a disability that interferes with their spontaneous retrieval of learned information may be approved for this accommodation.
Students seeking this accommodation must provide documentation that includes the following:
Working Memory: Low scores on measures of “working memory” and “auditory working memory” are not sufficient evidence to support the need for a memory aid accommodation. Working memory does not require actual storage of information. Auditory working memory does not require the transferal of temporarily-held information into long-term storage.
What does a memory aid look like?
Styles of memory aids may vary and are at the discretion of the instructor. Generally, they can be written or typed using a size 10 or 12 font on a large index card, OR up to one side of an 8 ½” x 11” sheet of paper. A memory aid may or may not contain acronyms, short phrases, pictures, schematic diagrams or mind maps, names, definitions, tables, charts or key terms and certain formulae.
There are two types of memory aids that may be approved of as an accommodation:
Process
It is important to note:
DAS will not approve use of memory aids as a reasonable accommodation when doing so results in a fundamental alteration of academic standards.
Updated 08/2022