• Home >
• Disability Services
• > Faculty Information

Faculty Information

Ways to Support Students with Disabilities

FACULTY INFORMATION

The Office of Disability Services (ODS) provides faculty the support needed to ensure a productive learning environment for all registered students. Faculty is responsible for teaching all students and maintaining the integrity of the classroom activities. When students with disabilities request accommodations, through the Office of Disability Services, the faculty member is required to provide the accommodation as indicated in the Academic Accommodation Memorandum. Faculty can support the continued success of students with disabilities by implementing specific best practices, as shown below.

The information made available through this web page provides various guidelines and procedures, as well as the governing laws for meeting the needs of students with disabilities. Please feel free to contact the Office of Disability for any questions or concerns you may have regarding accommodations.

Confidentiality

Please be advised that it is essential that all disability information be kept strictly confidential. Therefore, we cannot disclose the student's disability/impairment. The ODS Coordinator will email the student's approved Academic Accommodation Memo (AAM) to the faculty member. At no time should the class be informed that a student has a disability, except at the student's request. All information that a student shares with a faculty member is used explicitly for arranging reasonable accommodations. Please refrain from asking about the student's specific disability/impairment/diagnosis.  If you are uncertain about the implementation of an accommodation, please contact the Office of Disability Services immediately. 

In order to maintain confidentiality and the student's privacy, it is recommended that students discuss their approved Academic Accommodation Memo (not their diagnosis) with the Professor during office hours, or by scheduling an appointment.  

Verification Procedures

The ODS personnel reviews the students' requests and supporting documentation before issuing an Academic Accommodation Memo. ODS verifies and obtains clarification of his/her disability, receives details about the student's accommodation needs in class and/or in testing situations. Faculty/Professor may contact ODS for confirmation of the student's AAM and to address any questions as it relates to implementation. Please be advised that we will NOT disclose the student's disability/impairment.

The Statue and Guidelines

• The American’s with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• Dear Colleague letters issued by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, and/or the U.S. Department of Justice
• Support for a Student with a Disability
• Information for the Syllabus
• Descriptions of Disabilities and Accommodations

Resources

• Accommodations for Faculty
• Faculty Useful Links
• MERLOT
• Study Abroad - Accessibility
• Traveling with Disabilities
• Making Microsoft Word Accessible

For more information on document accessibility, go to www.webaim.org/techniques/word.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to teaching that consists of the proactive design and use of inclusive instructional strategies that benefit a broad range of learners, including students with disabilities.
http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl

• Best Practices through Universal Design for Learning
• Universal Design for Learning video - Health profession
• Making Distance Learning Accessible to Everyone