University of Texas at AustinDivision of Diversity and Community Engagement

The Basics: Providing Accommodations

What is the Purpose of Accommodations?

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The purpose of academic accommodations is to assure that there is equal access to and the opportunity to benefit from all educational programs of The University of Texas at Austin. Academic accommodations provide students with disabilities with equal access to course instruction, materials, and evaluation. Accommodations seek to “level the playing field” and minimize the impact of the student’s disability on their academic performance. Accommodations do not guarantee success and do not provide an unfair advantage. Accommodations must be reasonable and cannot alter the essential requirements of the course. If you have a question about how an accommodation applies in a certain class, please contact SSD at 512-471-6259.

The American Psychological Association has created a disABILITY Resource Toolkit that addresses questions and concerns about providing reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. See their section on Explaining Reasonable Accommodations for more information.

How to Begin: Creating an Accessible Classroom

The first step in providing an accessible learning environment for students with disabilities is proactively establishing an accessible classroom experience. See our suggestions for Creating an Accessible Classroom , which include a sample syllabus statement about the process for requesting accommodations, considerations for choosing accessible materials, and resources for building in universal design concepts.

Determining Appropriate and Reasonable Academic Accommodations

It is the student’s responsibility to identify himself/herself to Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) and to provide documentation of a disability. Strict documentation guidelines exist for different types of disabilities. See our Documentation Guidelines for the criteria  that must be met in order for students to be eligible to receive accommodations.

The student meets with a Disabilities Services Coordinator in SSD, who determines appropriate accommodations after reviewing documentation prepared by a licensed professional and meeting with the student to discuss the impact their disability is having on their academics. There must be a direct connection between the functional impact of their disability and the accommodation that is approved.

 Notification of Faculty via Accommodation Letters

Students registered with SSD should provide their faculty members with an official letter from SSD outlining the academic accommodations for which they have been approved. It is the student’s responsibility to deliver the letter to each faculty member and to discuss the accommodations. The student should remind the instructor of any testing accommodations five business days before each exam.

What if a Student Requests an Accommodation Without a Letter from SSD?

If a student requests accommodations for a disability but has not provided the faculty member with a letter from SSD, the instructor should refer the student to SSD immediately. If the disability is visible (use of a wheelchair, hearing aids, service dog, etc.) and the requested accommodation is obviously appropriate, the faculty member should provide the accommodation while the student is in the process of registering with SSD. See Making a Referral to SSD for tips on how to connect students with services.

What Accommodations are Faculty Responsible for Providing?

Faculty are responsible for providing the accommodations that are listed in the Accommodation Letter, both in the classroom and for exams. If a faculty member has concerns about how an accommodation may apply in their class, please contact SSD to consult with the student’s Disabilities Services Coordinator. There may be cases where an approved accommodation may not be reasonable given the context of a specific course. SSD staff is available to help determine whether or not providing an accommodation would change the essential requirements of the course.

For more information about some of the most frequently approved accommodations, please visit our Accommodations and Services page.

The American Psychological Association is another excellent resource that provides additional information on Reasonable Accommodations  as part of their disABILITY Resource Toolkit.

Unsure of How to Provide an Accommodation? Please call SSD in a timely manner to ask for assistance or clarification. SSD is here to support the academic efforts of students with disabilities and can serve as a resource to faculty members to help meet this goal.

 Suggested Dos and Dont’s

Do Don’t
  • Confer with the student with a disability as to the accommodations most appropriate for him/her.
  • Make assumptions about a student’s ability to work in a particular field. Most often, concerns that students may not be able to succeed are based on fears and assumptions, not facts. Remember too, that employers are also required to comply with the ADA.
  • Treat students with disabilities with the same courtesies you would afford to other students.
  • Engage in philosophical debates about “fairness” to other, nondisabled students, or whether providing accommodations somehow violates your academic freedom. These arguments are unavailing for several reasons. First, philosophical debates about whether and how equal educational opportunities are provided to students with disabilities are legally meaningless. Congress has determined how we as a society should address equal access to education by passing federal civil rights statutes protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, without adversely impacting those without disabilities. Congress has been joined in this effort by most state legislatures as well. Second, academic freedom is not preemptive of federal civil rights statutes.
  • Respect the privacy of students with disabilities. They need not disclose their disability to fellow students. While they must disclose disability to a designated official at your college in order to access accommodations, this does not require disclosure to everyone. Treat disability information which has been disclosed to you as confidential.
  • Decide not to provide reasonable accommodations, or the academic adjustments which have been approved by the institution’s designee. You may subject your institution or yourself to liability.
  • Assist students in following the university’s policies, such as possible requirements that all requests for accommodation be lodged with the Disability Services office and not individual faculty members alone. This protects students, faculty and the institution by ensuring consistency and takes much of the burden off individual faculty members, who are often ill-equipped to determine whether an accommodation is appropriate or how to provide it. Violations have been found in cases where faculty members have not followed institutional policies.
  • Refuse to permit students to tape record lectures as an accommodation. General policies which permit instructors to refuse the use of tape recorders, without providing for their use by students with disabilities, are legally insufficient.
 
  • Refuse to provide copies of handouts, or orally describe information written on the chalkboard, or face the class when referring to something written on the chalkboard, etc., if these accommodations have been determined to be appropriate for a student.
  • Refuse to provide extended time for tests on the mistaken assumption that doing so would require that all students be given additional time.
  • Refuse to provide accommodations until you have personally evaluated a student’s documentation of disability. Eligibility for services under the ADA is the job of the disability services personnel, not the faculty.

Chart Courtesy of APA’s DART and can be found under DART Toolkit: Legal Issues-ADA Basics

If questions or concerns arise when accommodating students, please contact SSD for assistance and consultation.

For more information about working with students with disabilities, click here.