The Center for Accessible Education’s new student portal makes requesting accommodations more convenient, despite an initial learning curve, students said.

myCAE – which was implemented Jan. 5 to replace the CAE’s old site – allows students to schedule appointments with their disability specialists and manage their accommodation requests CAE said in a Dec. 2 email to students.

Carlie Hovey, a third-year psychobiology student, said learning to navigate myCAE was challenging at first because of the new and unfamiliar information presented on the site. She added that she wished CAE communicated more about the transition between the systems and offered more step-by-step tutorials.

Skye Smith, a second-year political science and disability studies student, said she believes CAE’s introductory video – which it provided in the email – did not fully go over the new options available to students. It can be difficult for students with disabilities to find time to learn how to use the website on top of their other responsibilities, she added.

However, Hovey said she believes introducing myCAE was a necessary change. The new platform is more organized and visually appealing than the previous one, she added.

Students have previously expressed dissatisfaction with CAE’s ability to meet students with disabilities’ needs. A 2024 Daily Bruin investigation into CAE revealed the office was understaffed, with only one-third of disability specialist roles filled at the start of the 2023-24 academic year.

[Related: ‘It’s just a fact’: Understaffed CAE office fails to meet students’ needs]

Smith said she believes the previous system offered limited options. Other requests – including modifying exam times and tailoring accommodations – had to go through the student’s CAE specialist when using the old site, she added.

Students are now able to request new or adjusted accommodations on their own through myCAE. The process, Smith said, used to take up to six weeks.

Smith added that she had to coordinate with her doctor several times to obtain the right documentation in the previous system, but now experiences less hassle through myCAE, which asks fewer questions.

“It just makes things much more efficient and reduces busy work,” Smith said.

Hovey also said myCAE automatically inputs her test dates, times and lengths into the website – factors she needed to add manually under the old system. Hovey receives her test-taking room assignments much faster under the new website, she added.

Students can now see the number of submitted requests and the approval status for each one, Smith said. She added that professors can also see students’ verifications for accommodations, allowing them to contact their students directly instead of going through CAE staff.

“The portal actually allows students to do a lot more things on their own and not rely on these specialists for every little thing,” Smith said. “Last year was really hard to get appointments with your specialist.”

Kelly Pavlick, an accessibility support assistant with CAE, said she uploads the length and details about her work assignments into the myCAE portal to help staff improve its efficiency.

“This is actually a really great active and proactive step towards something more helpful for everyone involved,” said Pavlick, a third-year psychology student. “It’s going to become more catalyzed. It’s going to become a smoother process of doing these things for students.”

Smith said she is grateful that CAE staff offer regular drop-in sessions to students who need guidance. Hovey added that she hopes CAE continues to improve the site based on student feedback.

“The old portal was so not well constructed .. it was a very tiny site that looked like I wasn’t supposed to be on it,” Hovey said. “It was a good change that they added more information and made it more accessible.”