Faculty Rights & Responsibilities

You have the right to:

  • Request verification of a student’s eligibility for any requested accommodations.

    • Such verification will be in the form of an accommodation request through the online portal by the student.

    • Disability Services is the only office designated to review disability documentation and determine eligibility for appropriate accommodations.

    • Faculty should not view this documentation.

  • Expect the student to initiate accommodation requests.

    • If the student is taking their tests at Disability Services, expect Disability Services to administer exams in a secure and monitored environment.

You have the responsibility to:

  • Accommodate.

    • Identify and establish essential functions, abilities, skills, and knowledge of your courses and evaluate students on this basis. Students with disabilities should meet the same course expectations as their peers. Disability Services strongly recommends this information be addressed on the syllabus.

    • Provide accommodations only to students who are registered with Disability Services. It is NOT your responsibility to provide accommodations to students who are not registered.

    • Use a syllabus statement and class announcements to invite students to disclose their needs.

    • Act immediately upon getting a student’s request for accommodations, and contact Disability Services if unsure about request. Meet with students to discuss needs. Complete the Testing Agreement, which facilitates examination accommodations and should be completed by the student and faculty member collaboratively.

    • If a student needs alternative media, please provide Disability Services with your syllabus, textbooks, etc. well before classes begin (5 weeks prior to the start of the semester is recommended). With such timely consideration, students with disabilities who need alternative media accommodations and instructional access will be served. Converting print materials is both labor and time intensive. Alternative media may be print material in Braille, on audiotapes, scanned onto discs, or large text.

    • Work to ensure that all audiovisual materials used in class are accessible (e.g. captioning or transcripts)

    • Consider incorporating principles of Universal Design for Learning in your teaching.

  • Maintain confidentiality.

    • Treat and protect all disability-related information as confidential medical information. For example, keep printed items, such as Testing Agreements, Faculty Notification Letters or emails regarding student disability-related information in a protected location.
  • Communicate.

    • Clearly communicate your testing procedures with the student and with Disability Services by completing a Testing Agreement upon request. 

    • Consult with students with disabilities and DS in providing appropriate accommodations.

Understand Student Rights & Responsibilities.

PLEASE NOTE: Faculty do NOT have the right to ask students if they have a disability. For those students with documented disabilities, faculty do NOT have the right to ask the nature of the disability. However, if students choose to disclose their disability, this information should be treated confidentially.