FAQ

Yes, The College, as a postsecondary institution, is required to provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. According to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, facilities, educational and co-curricular programs, campus activities and employment opportunities must be made accessible to qualified individuals with disabilities. Therefore, all faculty and teaching staff have a responsibility to ensure that each course is accessible.

The purpose of accommodations is to ensure equal access and the opportunity to participate fully in higher education, not to ensure academic success. Accommodations are provided because without them, students would not have access to all the same information and facilities as other students, and/or may not be able to demonstrate their learning of the information in your course. Provision of accommodations for documented disabilities is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. For more information, see www.ada.gov.

No. Students have accommodations to provide them with equal access and to allow them to fully demonstrate their learning. A student with a disability should not be graded any differently from any other student. The integrity of your course should not be compromised; the student is expected to meet the objectives of the course and to submit quality work.

DALE provides a variety of accommodations to match the different needs of our students. The below provides some examples of academic accommodations granted by DALE to support students with disabilities. For additional information, see The College’s Student Disability Accommodation Policy.

• Accessible materials and text format
• Note-taking
• Forego spelling/grammar evaluation on in-class writing
• Extended time on exams
• Reduced distraction environment
• Breaks during classes or exams
• Use of computers for exams
• Sensitive content modifications
• Participation consideration (within reason)
• Flexibility on assignment deadlines (within reason)
• Flexible attendance (within reason)

Federal law requires that colleges provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. However, faculty are also responsible for maintaining the integrity of their course. If you believe an accommodation should be modified, it is essential that you provide it until you have discussed the matter with DALE. Please do not engage the student in negotiations about accommodations.

Each semester/term, the Department of Accessibility & Learning Excellence (DALE) will send faculty members notification (referred to as the Faculty Notification Letter) of the student(s) in their courses who have activated their approved accommodations for the faculty member’s course.  Once DALE sends you a Faculty Notification Letter for a student, this is a great time to offer a private meeting with the student to discuss the implementation of their accommodations and set clear expectations regarding your work together. Though sometimes this meeting can take place organically before or after class, please take care not to single out a student regarding their accommodations requests and avoid discussing in front of other students or employees. Remember, students are not required to disclose their disability at any time.

At the request of the student, representatives of DALE are available to attend this initial meeting. If a student has requested for a representative of DALE to be present at this initial meeting, DALE will notify you when it sends you the Faculty Notification Letter.  For additional information, see The College’s Student Disability Accommodations Policy.

Please find below an email template for your use to reach out to students to set-up this initial meeting as well as a list of potential questions you may want to consider discussing during the meeting.

E-mail Template

Dear STUDENT,

I wanted to confirm that I have received the accommodation letter sent from you through the DALE office.  Thank you for communicating with me about this.  I have found it can be helpful to meet and talk about what these accommodations look like for you in my course.  Would you like to meet? [include instructions for scheduling]

In preparation for the meeting with me, please review the course syllabus and deadlines.  If at any point in the term you are having a difficult time in the course, please remember that I am here to support you.  I hope you have a fun and successful term!

Best,

INSTRUCTOR

Potential Questions

• Do you have any questions about the syllabus or deadlines?
• What type of support have you received in the past that you found helpful?
• Is there anything in particular you anticipate will be a challenge for you in this course?
• How will I know if you are having a hard time? (e. missing class, missing deadlines)
• If you are experiencing something difficult, how will you communicate with me?
• Finally, discuss student’s definition of success for the course, and then clarify what that looks like from your perspective as the instructor

The information a student shares with faculty about their disability is confidential information and must be treated as such, according to the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974. Avoid discussing disability issues at the front of the class or in the presence of other students. Information about a specific student’s disability should not be shared with other faculty members or staff, unless they have a legitimate educational need to know (you should consult with DALE regarding this issue). Written material about a specific student and their disability, including but not limited to the Faculty Notification Letter, must be regarded as “confidential” material. 

For more information, see Accessible Educational Material and Universal Design Resources.

A student experiencing a temporary illness or injury may qualify for services or accommodations similar to those with on-going disabilities in order to maintain their academic program requirements. Students experiencing a temporary disability who wish to request academic accommodations must provide medical documentation and initiate accommodations through DALE. Though DALE will work as quickly as possible to approve accommodations and communicate with faculty, you may be asked to reasonably accommodate the student until that process is complete. A personal emergency is not covered under the Student Disability Accommodations Policy, though faculty may still reasonably accommodate a student and point them to resources such as the Health & Wellness Center. See also The College’s Bereavement Policy.

Neither the DALE Office nor the Testing Center conduct make-up exams for students who miss an exam due to an illness or other reasons, unless the student already has approved accommodations with the DALE Office and has activated those accommodations for the relevant term.  In other words, only those students for whom you have already received a Faculty Notification Letter are able to be accommodated for a previously missed exam.

Flexible attendance may be approved for students with significant health-related disabilities who miss class when flare-ups occur or when issues related to their disability prevent them from attending class. A faculty member may be asked to provide flexibility in attendance “within reason,” which usually means permitting a specific number of additional absences over and above your established attendance policy.

Flexible attendance is dependent upon the individual student, the nature of the course, and the degree to which class attendance is an essential requirement of the specific course. Students must confer with the faculty member about their flexible attendance needs at the beginning of the academic semester. Absences for reasons not related to a documented disability are not excusable under Flexible Attendance. When possible, students should communicate with faculty members in advance of their absence. If notifying the faculty member before class is not possible, students should inform faculty members as soon as possible.

Some examples of potential accommodations for flexibility in attendance:

• Permitting students to attend another section of the same class, if applicable
• Assisting students in obtaining notes from a classmate
• Allowing students to keep a journal or email comments to instructor to make up missed discussions
• Allowing participation points via response to emailed questions within 24 hours
• Posting slides or lecture notes
• Recording classes consistent with the Recorded Lecture Agreement

Students who have disabilities related to writing speed, processing speed, graphomotor difficulties, concentration, and anxiety may be approved for flexibility on assignment deadlines, within reason. “Within reason” usually means turning work in a day or two beyond the deadline. In no case should it mean that late assignments begin to “pile up”, a negative situation for both student and faculty member.

Students confer with the faculty member before the due-date about the status of work completed on the assignment, the reasons for its lateness that directly relate to the nature of the disability, and a definite turn-in day and time.

Some examples of potential accommodations for assignment extensions:

• Permit reasonable, specific, and documented assignment extensions (typically 1-3 days, but no longer than one week, depending on the flare-up and symptoms)
• Merge smaller projects into larger projects with a longer timeline, or alternatively, break assignments down into smaller, more manageable sections
• Allow recorded presentations in lieu of live presentations, as reasonable