Faculty & Staff

Faculty + DRC Partnership

MSU faculty and instructors are vital partners to the DRC. Together, we share an important role in promoting and providing an accessible learning environment for students with disabilities.

Faculty Rights and Standard Expectations

  • Faculty have a right to be informed by the Disability Resource Center (DRC) of any student’s need for reasonable accommodations and to ask questions concerning such accommodations.
  • Accommodations are designed to make students’ access to course content equitable, not to reduce or minimize such content for students with disabilities. Nor are accommodations meant to compromise course or program integrity.
  • Faculty have a right to question accommodation decisions if they deem them to affect the essential components of a course.
  • Instructors may suggest alternative accommodations or otherwise negotiate the implementation of an approved accommodation with the student and/Disability Resource Center staff to preserve the academic integrity of a course. Any intended change to an approved accommodation needs to be communicated to the DRC Director (Chris Dallager, cdallager@saffairs.msstate.edu, 662-325-7924) prior to implementation to consider adherence to the intent of the accommodation.
  • Faculty have a right to ask the Director of Civil Rights Compliance to become involved in negotiation between the instructor and the Disability Resource Center of any approved accommodation. All such requests must be directed to Brett Harvey, brett.harvey@msstate.edu, 662-325-5839
  • Faculty may amend their attendance policies for students with flexible attendance accommodations so that neither the student’s ability to fulfill course learning goals nor the requirements and standards of the class are greatly affected. The Attendance Policy Modification and Assignment Due Date Extension Accommodation form is available through the DRC.
  • Faculty are not required to re-teach material missed due to approved absences. The student and the faculty member must work out an alternative plan to provide materials or make up any work that is missed.

Responsibilities

  • Faculty must provide accessible course materials and make all required activities accessible to all students to equitably evaluate their attainment of course learning goals.
  • Faculty are obligated to refer any student to the Disability Resource Center if the student requests something due to a medical issue. No “magic words” are necessary for this requirement. When in doubt, refer.
  • Faculty are encouraged to use the recommended syllabus statement (include link to recommended syllabus statement) to inform all students of the standard process regarding accommodations.
  • Faculty are expected to discuss appropriate options with students to determine how approved accommodations will be implemented.
  • Faculty are only responsible for implementing accommodations that are approved and documented. Students making additional requests must be referred to the Disability Resource Center.
  • Faculty must keep confidential the disability status of students.
  • Faculty must implement approved accommodations as soon as reasonably possible.
  • Should a faculty member seek an adjustment of an approved accommodation, they must consult with the Director of Disability Resource Center (Chris Dallager, cdallager@saffairs.msstate.edu, 662-325-7924). If the faculty member and DRC staff are not in agreement on the approved accommodation, the faculty member can contact the Director of Civil Rights Compliance (Brett Harvey, brett.harvey@msstate.edu, 662-325-5839) to make a decision. Faculty should avoid significantly modifying or granting their own self-designed accommodations without prior consultation with these other parties.
  • If a faculty member believes that an approved accommodation is inappropriate, is unreasonable, or imposes a fundamental alteration of a program or activity, the instructor must consult with the Director of the Disability Resource Center and/or the Director of Civil Rights Compliance before significantly modifying or refusing to implement an approved accommodation. Faculty do not have the authority to unilaterally reject an approved accommodation. The Director of Civil Rights Compliance is the final arbiter of issues involving academics and accommodations.

For common questions, please see Faculty FAQs.

If faculty have a question or concern regarding a student accommodation, please contact the DRC Director first. If a concern or question cannot be addressed adequately through the DRC, then questions or concerns can be directed to the Director of Civil Rights Compliance.

Chris Dallager, DRC Director - dallager@saffairs.msstate.edu; 662-325-7924

Brett Harvey, Director of Civil Rights Compliance - brett.harvey@msstate.edu; 662-325-5839

     

    Disability Disclosure & Confidentiality 

    Not all students feel comfortable disclosing their disability. A students’ disability and need for accommodations should never be announced in class or other public settings. Individual conversations about students’ accommodations should be held in a private setting. If a student is asking for non-approved accommodations, refer the student to DRC. If there is confusion or concern about an accommodation, please contact the DRC.