The Disability Resource Center is responsible for assessing each student request for accommodations and for determining which reasonable accommodation(s) may be used. The latter question may require sustained communication with faculty. Approved accommodations are communicated to the faculty in all cases.

It is our policy that faculty wait to receive documentation from the Disability Resource Center of an approved accommodation before making any changes/accommodations based on student claims. To find out which of your students have approved accommodations, you will receive notification in the Banner system. If you have trouble locating this information or have questions, please call the DRC Office at 662-325-3335.

Self-advocacy is an important expectation of students with approved accommodations. The student is encouraged to approach their professors to discuss their accommodations. However, some students find it difficult to take the first step. Although instructors are not required to initiate the process, they are encouraged to aid DRC students in discussing their accommodation(s) and plan ahead. 

Faculty may use the recommended syllabus statement to inform all students of the standard process. If a student does not initiate a conversation with the instructor but the approved accommodation letter has been submitted to the instructor, instructors must still implement the approved accommodations.

Even though students are encouraged to process accommodations early in the semester, they cannot be forced to do so and cannot be penalized for having asked for an accommodation later in the term. Disability conditions can arise at different points in a person’s life, and students can make determinations about when to request accommodations. Faculty are obligated to implement an accommodation from the point of notification, or within a reasonable period of time. 

Faculty are not obliged to retroactively apply an accommodation before initial notification. Faculty are encouraged to use the recommended syllabus statement to discuss the expectations of the student to communicate as early as possible about any approved accommodations they plan to use in a course. The statement may incentivize earlier communications by reminding students that accommodations are not retroactive and that instructors must be acknowledged in a timely manner prior to use. 

This is a dangerous course of action. Faculty who handle accommodations this way are assuming legal responsibility for a matter that requires expertise that is best represented by the Disability Resource Center. If a student receiving this kind of “informal” accommodation later complains that they were treated unfairly or that the informal accommodation was ineffective, the faculty member could conceivably be held responsible for violating the student’s civil rights. At a minimum, the faculty member would be found to have violated university policy and might face sanctions as a result.

Faculty are welcome to contact the Disability Resource Center to consult about how to manage student requests for accommodations or adjustments due to a recent injury or health concern. 

Knowing a student’s specific diagnosis is less important than understanding how a disability affects learning and then working with the Disability Resource Center on a reasonable accommodation. Students are not obligated to disclose their specific diagnosis. Students may, however, elect to disclose details if they choose. Even in these cases, faculty must protect the privacy of the student and not discuss the disability or identify the student as disabled to other students, faculty, and staff (who are not otherwise connected to the Disability Resource Center).

Yes, but the student with the approved accommodation must never be identified. The same is true if a note-taker or captioning service are employed. The identity of the student with the accommodation must be kept confidential in all cases.

Instructors should discuss their concerns first with the Disability Resource Center. In all cases, students who have been approved the use of a recording device aid are required to sign a confidentiality agreement that protects the privacy rights of other students and any copyrights of intellectual property in the course. The agreement identifies that the recording is only to be used for the student’s learning in the course and may not be shared on social media.

It is recommended that you indicate in your syllabus statement that you will review individual cases and approve laptop use under certain circumstances, including but not exclusively, in cases of approved accommodations. Do not deny an approved accommodation for use of a laptop without first consulting with DRC Staff and/or the Director of Civil Rights Compliance.

Faculty may elect to prorate the student’s attendance or use some other standard to assess the student’s participation, preferably in accordance with a plan negotiated with the student earlier in the term. Faculty may not downgrade a student’s participation score if they have an approved accommodation regarding class attendance.

It is not expected that a student with a chronic health condition will see a medical provider for each flare-up of symptoms. The student’s report that the absence was disability-related should be accepted. Some students have an approved accommodation related to attendance. To see how many total absences the student receives for their accommodation, please view the student info in your Class Roster.

Normally, a student requesting a testing accommodation must submit a testing accommodation request at least threebusiness days in advance of a test if it will be administered through the Disability Resource Center. If notice is shorter, we still recommend that the instructor provide the accommodation, if they can, but there is no requirement in this case. Consultation with the DRC Testing Center in these cases is recommended.

No. That would not provide the same educational benefit to the student with an accommodation. Normally, the content of an exam must not be changed, only the period of time for completing the task may be altered. If a student takes an exam before or after the rest of the class, the instructor has the option of changing some of the content to preserve the integrity of the exam, but the assessment mechanism must not vary substantially from the original copy.

Yes. From a compliance standpoint, students with extra time accommodations must receive more time than the total given the rest of the class. Only take-home and other forms of “unlimited time” assignments and exams are free from the extra time accommodation.

Normally, approved accommodations must be implemented from the moment that notification is given to a faculty member. A reasonable period may be allowed for making adjustments, such as to a classroom exam schedule, or negotiating modifications to the accommodation in light of course requirements. Any further delay in the implementation of an accommodation can constitute a form of discrimination against the student.

A student with a disability is to be evaluated in the same way that other students are evaluated in the course. If an accommodation should be adjusted to equalize opportunities for learning for a student with a disability, the professor should contact the Disability Resource Center. Otherwise, when concerned about a student’s academic performance, the instructor should discuss their concerns with the student with a disability, just as they would with any other student in the course.