Dear UMBC Community,

As we continue to rely on digital platforms for teaching, learning, and administrative functions, digital accessibility has been a core component of that commitment. UMBC has been dedicated to making our information technology and digital content accessible so that everyone has the opportunity to make use of the university's knowledge, ideas, and resources.

We are updating and expanding our digital accessibility initiatives to meet new federal requirements. On April 24, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) finalized a new rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), defining clear technical standards for digital accessibility to follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level A (minimum) and Level AA (enhanced) for images, sound, video, documents, and text. As content for courses, research, and the public is constantly created, this will be an ongoing effort requiring everyone to do their part for the benefit of others.

To support this ongoing effort, UMBC has launched the Digital Accessibility Steering Committee (DASC) led by vice presidents Tanyka Barber and Jack Suess. This group is charged with developing, tracking, and evolving our compliance efforts by focusing our resources on the efforts that can achieve the greatest impact.

The DASC has started meeting and will begin reaching out to campus departments and constituencies to communicate and seek feedback on our plans and efforts that are underway. This work affirms our university's deep and ongoing commitment to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community for all our members. Together, we can use this effort to create a more accessible digital environment that truly works for all members of our community.

Additional digital accessibility information and resources are available on both the UMBC Digital Accessibility website and the USM Digital Accessibility website.

Sincerely,

Manfred H. M. van Dulmen
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Tanyka M. Barber
Vice President for Institutional Equity and Chief Diversity Officer

Jack Suess
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer

Please schedule SDS finals now to avoid time conflicts! Read to the end of this message!
For students with SDS testing accommodations at the UMBC main campus, please use our Accommodate software (for more info - https://sds.umbc.edu/accommodated-testing-2/) to schedule your final exams.

• During finals (December 11th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 17th), SDS will be open for testing between 8:30 am and 6:00 pm each testing day. 
• Remember that most finals must be booked in SDS by December 5th but no later than December 9th (the last day of classes).
• You should schedule all of your finals NOW. We may run out of space but can advocate for additional rooms for Finals if we know the demand in advance. Please?

For students registered with SDS who take classes at Shady Grove (USG), please follow the directions on the USG testing website at https://shadygrove.usmd.edu/student-affairs-career-readiness/studenttesting. In general, USG test request forms must be submitted at least seven days before the exam date.  The finals schedule for UMBC-USG course is included in the Regular Final Exams schedule linked below.

Important Notes:

• Online finals: If your course is online, then your final exam is likely to be online. Your instructor will set extended time in the testing platform, and you do not need to schedule it in SDS unless your instructor requires that it be proctored or you need accommodations that can't be used in the online test.
• Common Finals vs Regular Finals:
  • Check the Common Finals schedule first - if your course is not listed then check the Regular Finals schedule. 
  • Both schedules are linked below.
  • Also, check your syllabus for each class to determine if your class will have a final.
• Most finals are 2 hours long, so your extended time will be longer than usual. You must check that your finals do not overlap or exceed testing center hours when you apply your extended time.
• Scheduling Conflicts?: If your final exams will overlap in time or if you have more than two finals on one day, please communicate this information directly to your instructors with your plan for how you would like to schedule your test time with accommodation(s). If there are any difficulties in scheduling alternate test arrangements, don't hesitate to contact SDS for assistance.
• Also, please remember that your instructor must email SDS at disability@umbc.edu to notify us of their agreement to your test time when it differs from your class's scheduled test day/time.
• The registrar's office may have changed the the finals schedules since they were first published. Please double-check your final exam times and locations (if you are not scheduling in SDS) with your instructors.
• You cannot schedule exams in SDS (or DSS at Shady Grove) unless you submitted a Semester Request for Fall 2025 in Accommodate and had your Letter of Accommodations sent to your instructors.

Don't hesitate to get in touch with our office via email (disability@umbc.edu), phone (410-455-2459), or drop by (Math/Psych 212) if you have any questions or if we can assist you in scheduling your finals on the Main Campus.
~~Student Disability Services
Resources:
Scheduling a test at UMBC main campus SDS instructions: https://sds.umbc.edu/scheduling-exams-in-accommodate/

UMBC Finals Schedules

• Common Finals (check this first):
  https://registrar.umbc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2025/09/Fall-2025-Regular-Final-Exam-Schedule.pdf
• Regular Finals (includes the schedule for USG classes on page 2):
  https://registrar.umbc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2025/10/Common-Final-Exam-Schedule-Fall-2025.pdf

We're tabling all week in the Breezeway 11am-3pm to raise money and awareness for Cystic Fibrosis

Winter Break (Jan 6 & 7) & Spring Break (Mar 19 & 20)
9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Over the past decade, nearly 700 UMBC staff, faculty, and students have participated in UMBC's two-day Restorative Practices Training—consistently describing it as both personally and professionally transformative.

Whether you work with students, lead teams, support community spaces, or want to strengthen communication and conflict-resolution skills, this training offers tools you can use every day.

Restorative Practices help with:
• Building community in residential, academic, and workplace settings
• Addressing conflict in student orgs, staff teams, and roommate situations
• Strengthening resilience and communication
• Developing mindsets and practices that support leadership during challenging moments

Training Dates:
 Winter Break: January 6 & 7
 Spring Break: March 19 & 20
Choose either two-day session.

If you've never attended a restorative practices workshop, you should register!
If you have attended, please consider encouraging a colleague, student, or someone on your team to join.

https://conduct.umbc.edu/programs/restorative-practices/events-and-workshops-offered/

Chaotic Economies of Confinement: Profit, Dependency, and Extraction in U.S. Immigration Detention 

Disrupting the financial logics of U.S. detention growth

Emily successfully defended her PhD on 11/10/25, presenting her research "Advancing Dust Emission Modeling: Physical Parameterization Improvements and Impacts," under the guidance of Dr. Adriana Rocha Lima.

We're incredibly proud of her and thrilled to celebrate such a remarkable achievement. Congratulations, Dr. Faber! ✨