FACULTY AND STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Faculty Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of the Office for Access and Disability Services (ADS) to review student documentation and determine appropriate accommodations. ADS also works with the faculty regarding the provision of accommodations. ADS will work to ensure access throughout the campus for students who have a disability.
Faculty members are required to implement accommodations for students registered with ADS. However, the accommodations should not compromise the academic quality of the course. The students with disabilities must reach the same performance standards as the non-disabled students. Faculty should refrain from discussing a student’s issues regarding disabilities and accommodations in front of the class, in the presence of other students, or to faculty or staff not directly involved in the accommodation process.
Some common academic accommodations may include, but are not limited to:
- Extended test and exam time
- Course information and reading lists in advance of classes
- Classroom relocation
- Permission to tape-record classes
- A note-taker
- A private area to take tests with a note-taker
- Faculty to wear a lapel microphone (to carry the voice of the lecturer to the student using an assistive listening device)
- Stenographers to transcribe lectures
Office for Access and Disability Services Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of ADS to review student documentation and determine the appropriate accommodations. ADS also works with the faculty regarding the provision of accommodations. ADS will work to ensure access throughout the campus for students who have a disability.
Student Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of the student to identify themselves to ADS and to provide appropriate documentation of a diagnosed disability. This documentation needs to be no more than three years old. Given the many types of disabilities, reasonable accommodations will be determined on an individual basis. To provide the most appropriate services, the University reserves the right to review the diagnosis provided by the student and may request a more updated diagnosis to be provided by the student.
It is also the responsibility of the student to contact their professors as soon as possible to discuss their accommodations. The student will need to present their professors with a letter from ADS recommending the accommodations. If the student needs extended time for test-taking, ADS will assist in proctoring when necessary. To be assisted by ADS, the student and professor need to fill out a Proctoring of Extended Time Testing Form and submit it to ADS one week prior to the exam.
Students must give ADS permission to discuss their accommodations with faculty members who are responsible for providing the accommodations. Instructors should be given time to review the accommodations. The students are then encouraged to introduce themselves to professors directly and to initiate a dialogue about their particular needs. If students are having difficulty connecting with faculty, they should immediately request assistance from ADS.