Accommodations
Academic accommodations are the main way Accessibility Services helps students with disabilities to mitigate the barriers they experience in academic settings due to their disabilities.
Below is a list of our main accommodations. Find out more by clicking on the name of each one below.
The nature of certain disabilities requires certain types, or placements, of furniture to access the physical learning environment. Accessible Furniture works with the Facilities Management office to ensure and monitor the placement of this furniture.
Accessible Media | Textbooks & Course Materials in Accessible Format
Some students may need their textbooks and other course materials converted into accessible formats (such as electronic text, audio, or Braille) to be compatible with screen readers and other assistive technology.
Although disabilities affect everyone differently, some common examples of the barriers that could be removed by these accommodations are:
Students who experience barriers with fully and effectively demonstrating their knowledge in the time given.
Students whose exams are not in an accessible format and cannot be readily understood by the student.
Students who experience barriers with processing and recall of information when there is external stimuli present, such as in a traditional classroom setting.
Some students with disabilities may need to audio record in order to support their learning. Additionally, students who are eligible for the Course Notes accommodation will record course content for professionally-created course notes.
Some students with disabilities may need an assistive listening device in order to support their learning.
To provide equal access to the class lecture, some students with disabilities receive course notes as an accommodation. If needed, students may discuss alternative means of accessing their notes with their accessibility counselor. Receiving course notes should not take the place of course attendance.
Extension of Assignment Due Dates
All students are responsible for fulfilling the essential requirements of their courses, including timely submission of assignments. However, there are times when assignment due dates can pose a barrier to some students with episodic disabilities. Therefore, it is important for the instructor, student, and accessibility counselor to engage in a collaborative process to determine the possibility of modifying assignment due dates.
All students are responsible for fulfilling the essential requirements of their courses, including adhering to the attendance policy. However, a course’s attendance policy may pose a barrier to some students with episodic disabilities. Therefore, it is important for the instructor, student, and accessibility counselor to engage in a collaborative process to determine the possibility of modifying the course attendance policy.
The nature of some disabilities may result in irritation or an allergic reaction to some chemicals or combination of chemicals. Although perfume and colognes are generally what come to mind when discussing fragrance sensitivity, fragrance is often added to a variety of daily use items including but not limited to toiletries, cosmetics, air fresheners, and cleaning products.
Interpreting & Real-Time Captioning
Some Deaf and hard-of-hearing students use sign language interpreting and/or real-time captioning for communicative access. Often interpreters will work in teams of two for assignments more than one hour. Captioners may work in teams, depending on the nature of the assignment. Remote captioning is also quite common, and only requires the student to utilize a laptop/tablet to access the captioning in class.
A lab assistant may be hired by Accessibility Services to aid students with disabilities with the physical mechanics and dexterity requirements for lab activities. The provision of a lab assistant is not considered a substitute for a student’s participation in each lab.
All students are responsible for fulfilling the essential requirements of their courses, including taking exams. However, the format of some exams may pose a barrier to some students with a disability. Therefore, it is important for the instructor, student, and accessibility counselor to engage in a collaborative process to determine the possibility of providing the student with a memory aid, which prompts the student’s memory during an exam, without providing the answer.
Modification of Assignment Format
All students are responsible for fulfilling the essential requirements of their courses, including the completion of all assignments. However, the specific format of an assignment may pose a barrier to a student with a disability. When the format of the assignment is not essential to the fundamental objectives of a course, it is important for the instructor, student, and accessibility counselor to engage in a collaborative process to determine the possibility of modifying an assignment’s format.