Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
A. Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Overview of Reasonable Accommodations
U.S. law does not require students to report disabilities unless they are seeking accommodations. Students desiring accommodations due to a disability are required to submit a request to the Director of ODAS through Woodbury’s online accommodations request form and to provide appropriate documentation and relevant information to verify their disability and their need for academic accommodations.
An accommodation is an adjustment or modification that allows for equal opportunity for academic or physical access. Reasonable accommodations are determined by ODAS after an interactive process that involves submission by the student of necessary documentation and an intake meeting during which the Director of ODAS seeks to gain an in-depth understanding of the functional impat of the disability. The Director makes a determination on a case-by-case basis as to the accommodations necessary and appropriate for the individual student.
All documentation is kept confidential in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the professional and ethical standards of the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD).
Procedures for Registering for Accommodations:
- Start the Process
Incoming or current students may reach out to ODAS directly or may be referred by faculty or other departments. Initial contact is helpful for students to find out more about the process and about available support.
- Complete Paperwork and Submit Documentation
It is the student’s responsibility to disclose a disability and to provide additional information through documentation and the interactive process to seek accommodations. Students must complete an online form to provide more information and provide additional documentation as necessary. Medical or psychological documentation should be reasonably current, include a diagnosis, and describe the functional impact of the disability in an educational setting. Woodbury follows the AHEAD national guidelines for documentation requirements.
- Intake Meeting
The intake appointment is a 1:1 meeting between the student and the ODAS Director, and is a central part of the interactive process. The intake meeting involves discussion of the functional impact of the disability on the educational experience, review of provided information, and discussion of necessary and appropriate reasonable accommodations if applicable.
- ODAS Decision
The ODAS Director makes the determination regarding whether the student is eligible for accommodations. This decision may be made during the meeting or after if additional time to review information is needed. Students are informed of the final determination, and have a right to appeal if applicable.
- Notice of Accommodations
A Notice of Academic Accommodation Letter (NAAL) is produced to document the reasonable accommodations in place. The NAAL is provided, with student consent, to instructors for all courses in which the student is enrolled.
For further information, please visit the ODAS SharePoint: https://woodburyedu.sharepoint.com/sites/ODAS.
General Documentation Guidelines:
Woodbury’s Office of Disabilities and Accessibility Services (ODAS) has adopted documentation guidelines that recognize changes in society’s understanding of disability, the impact of the 2008 amendments to the ADA, the updated regulations and guidance to Titles II and III of the ADA, and current nationally recognized best practices. In keeping with accepted best practices, Woodbury’s documentation guidelines comport with the recommended guidelines from the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), available at https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/accommodations/documentation Woodbury follows the full guidelines available from AHEAD.
Disability is defined by the ADA as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities, a record of such an impairment or being regarded as having such an impairment.” There is no listing of covered impairments. Therefore, the salient question is not whether a given condition is a “disability,” but how the condition impacts the student. This determination is to be liberally construed to the maximum extent possible.
The documentation guidelines included herein reflect current legal guidelines, regulations, and best practices, and may be updated or changed at any time as necessary to ensure continued compliance and consistency with the law.
Students should provide ample information and documentation as part of their initial request. The ODAS Director may request additional documentation if it is determined that further documentation is necessary to verify the disability and determine the barriers that exist to the student’s education.
Sources and Forms of Documentation
Acceptable sources of documentation for substantiating a student’s disability and request for a particular accommodation can take a variety of forms, including the following:
A. Primary Documentation: Student’s Self-Report
The student is a vital source of information regarding how he or she may be “limited by impairment.” A student’s narrative of his or her experience of disability, barriers, and effective and ineffective accommodations is an important tool which, when structured by interview or questionnaire and interpreted, may be sufficient for establishing disability and a need for accommodation.
B. Secondary Documentation: Observation and Interaction
The impressions and conclusions formed by higher education disability professionals during interviews and conversations with students or in evaluating the effectiveness of previously implemented or provisional accommodations are important forms of documentation. Experienced disability professionals should feel comfortable using their observations of students’ language, performance, and strategies as an appropriate tool in validating student narrative and self-report.
C. Tertiary Documentation: Information From External or Third Parties
Documentation from external sources may include educational or medical records, reports, and assessments created by health care providers, school psychologists, teachers, or the educational system. This information is inclusive of documents that reflect education and accommodation history, such as Individual Education Program (IEP), Summary Of Performance (SOP), and teacher observations. External documentation will vary in its relevance and value depending on the original context, credentials of the evaluator, the level of detail provided, and the comprehensiveness of the narrative. However, all forms of documentation are meaningful and should be mined for pertinent information.
Additional Considerations Regarding Documentation:
The rationale for seeking information about a student’s condition is to support the determination in establishing disability, understanding how disability may impact a student, and making informed decisions about accommodations. Professional judgment is an essential component of this process.
ODAS engages in an interactive process that comports with the requirements of the ADA and Section 504. Ensuring that “accommodations” provide effective access requires a deliberative and collaborative process that is responsive to the unique experience of each individual, as advised by the ADA. As such, ODAS engages in a structured exchange with the student within the interactive process to explore previous educational experiences, past use of accommodations, and what has been effective and ineffective in providing access. Each situation must be considered individually to understand if and how the student is impacted by the described condition.
ODAS exercises professional judgment in determining the weight to give the student’s self-report, considering factors such as clarity, internal consistency, and congruency with observations and available external documentation. It is often possible to evaluate whether the requested accommodation is reasonable or not with minimal reliance on external documentation. In some circumstances, however, particularly where the student is unable to clearly describe the disability and how it is connected to a barrier and how the accommodation will provide access, additional external documentation that illustrates that connection may be necessary. Woodbury has the ability to request medical documentation as part of this process.
Current and Relevant Information:
Disability documentation, including the student’s own self-reported information, should be current and relevant. However, current and relevant does not necessarily mean that external documentation must meet and arbitrary definition of “recent.” Disabilities are typically stable lifelong conditions. Therefore, historic information, supplemented by interview and self-report, is sometimes sufficient to describe how the condition impacts the student at the current time and in the current circumstances. Still, students should endeavor to provide the most current information and documentation available.
Opportunities to Provide Documentation in the Interactive Process:
Students are given the opportunity to provide documentation through the sources discussed above, by:
- Providing information in the ODAS Accommodation Request Form
- Providing self-report of their disability, the impact of the disability, the barriers created, and how the accommodation may address the barrier, through the intake meeting
- Uploading medical, educational, therapeutic, and/or psychological records on the ODAS Accommodation Request Form link
- Providing copies of external documentation to the ODAS Director directly
- Submitting updated medical documentation or additional information through self-report at any time as part of a supplemental accommodation request if there is a change to disability-related needs and barriers
Non-Burdensome Process:
Woodbury strives to ensure that its documentation processes are not burdensome and do not have the effect of discouraging students from seeking protections and accommodations to which they are entitled.
Additional Information:
Students may meet with the ODAS Director at any time for clarification regarding the documentation guidelines.
Renewal of Academic Accommodations and Supplemental Requests for Accommodations:
Students who register for accommodations provide ODAS with consent to continue to have accommodations in place during their time at Woodbury. Each semester, ODAS engages is an auto-renew process for eligible students registered for accommodations. There are some exceptions to auto-renewal, such as temporary accommodations pending further documentation or accommodations for a short-term disability.
It is ultimately the student’s responsibility to ensure that their accommodations are active and in place at the start of each semester. Students must maintain their own copies of their NAAL and be proactive in ensuring that their instructors have received a copy from ODAS. Students must contact the ODAS Director if there are any concerns about whether a current NAAL has been provided to their instructors for the current semester. Students also must inform ODAS if they make changes to their course schedule after the start of the semester so that all instructors will receive the NAAL.
Should the student’s disability-related status change at any time, or should the student require additional or different accommodations, the student must inform ODAS promptly and make a Supplemental Accommodation Request if needed. Supplemental Accommodation Requests may be submitted online through the Accommodate system.
Temporary Accommodations
Although it is not required by law, Woodbury University will consider granting temporary accommodations on a case-by-case basis. Students seeking temporary accommodations will be required to provide clinical documentation of any condition that requires such an accommodation. The documentation should adhere to the same standards noted above, and should also include expected duration and severity of condition or disability.
Appeal and Grievance Procedures:
Students who disagree with determinations made by ODAS, including determinations about documentation and the initial intake process, have the right to appeal such decisions in writing. All appeals are to be timely submitted in writing to ODAS, and the ODAS Director will promptly notify the Student at that time of the process for the appeal. The appeal will be decided by an appropriate University official.
Students with concerns about potential disability-based discrimination may also contact the United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, 50 United Nations Plaza, San Francisco, California 94102, 415.486.5555, or by email at OCR.SanFrancisco@ed.gov.
Limitations on Accommodations:
Accommodations are not retroactive. This means that students who are not registered with ODAS will not be granted retakes of past exams and/or assignments based on newly verified disabilities.
The institution is not required to make academic adjustments that would substantially change the fundamental nature of the program. Therefore, accommodations that fundamentally alter the program or course in question will not be granted. Accommodations are designed to ensure access, but all students still must meet the essential requirements of their programs, majors, and courses of study.
An accommodation that may have been appropriate in another setting may not be appropriate at Woodbury. Accommodation decisions are made on a case-by-case basis considering all information in the interactive process and considering what is necessary and reasonable for student’s courses in order to ensure access.
Further Information On Academic Accommodations:
Accommodations are based on alleviating specific, identified barriers to access based on the individual student’s needs, and what is provided to one student may not be appropriate or necessary for another. The following list is provided as examples of possible accommodations:
- Extended time on testing
- Alternative setting for testing
- Alternative format textbooks for materials
- Note-taker support through assistive technology software
- Permission to audio-record lectures
- Breaks as needed
- Access to instructor notes or slides
- Assistive listening devices
- Extended time on individual assignments
Exam Proctoring by ODAS:
Students with testing accommodations, including testing in a separate setting, may access the Testing Center located in the Whitten Student Center on an as-needed basis. The ODAS Director supervises the proctoring of individual student tests and exams in the Testing Center. Students must contact the ODAS Director in advance in order to reserve time in a testing room. Students are requested to do so at least one week prior to the scheduled exam, and it cannot be guaranteed that a testing room can be made available if students make their request later. Students must provide the Director information regarding the course and date of the exam. The ODAS Director coordinates with the instructor regarding exam logistics. Due to limitations on resources, it is not always possible for the exam to be proctored at the exact same time as the class takes the scheduled exam.
Attendance Accommodations:
ODAS will consider an attendance policy modification allowing for additional disability-related absences on a case-by-case basis, with supporting documentation, participation of the student in the interactive process, and determination that the accommodation is necessary to ensure equal access. Where a student has a chronic condition with unpredictable episodes, modifications to attendance policies may be necessary and appropriate. However, ODAS must engage in an individualized process to determine reasonableness of the student’s absences if a concern arises, and students still must be held to the fundamental expectations of the course. Where additional absences impact student’s progression in the course, instructors should promptly consult with the ODAS Director.
Attendance accommodations are not meant to be used to excuse personal time off or situations unrelated to the disclosed disability.
Students must inform instructors when they are absent and it is the student’s responsibility to complete any make-up work required. Instructors are not required to re-teach a course lecture or content that a student missed.
Audio-Recording Guidelines:
Under Section 504 and the ADA, institutions of higher education must provide auxiliary aids and services to students with documented disabilities and must not deny equal access to programs, courses, or activities. Audio recording devices may be considered a valid auxiliary aid to supplement or substitute note-taking for some students with disabilities, and audio recording of lectures may be a reasonable and necessary accommodation for students who have a disability-related barrier that impacts note-taking, attention, or other areas.
In the event that the NAAL includes audio-recording as a reasonable accommodation, the NAAL serves as written notice to the instructor that the student will be audio recording lectures in the course for note-taking purposes. No separate instructor permission or form is required for this accommodation to be implemented.
Instructors should inform the class that classes may be audio recorded as part of the accommodations of some students in the course, taking care not to disclose any personal details regarding the specific student or students who may be accessing this accommodation. Instructors may announce this in class or may include a statement in the syllabus. Instructors are encouraged to contact ODAS to consult regarding language for the syllabus regarding this policy.
In some circumstances, there may be concerns about audio recording of classroom discussions inhibiting the free exchange of information by other students or violating privacy. Because the use of a recording device is a necessary accommodation for some students as a substitute for note-taking, situations where the inhibition of use of audio recording by the accommodated students based on these concerns should be extremely rare. Instructors should consider whether portions of the class involve personal discussion and self-disclosure of a highly private nature. In the event that it is determined necessary to ask a student to stop recording, the instructor must work with ODAS and the student to identify an alternative for access to note-taking for the portion of the class lecture impacted.
ODAS-registered students must review and become familiar with their rights and responsibilities related to audio-recording as an accommodation. ODAS students are informed that they must adhere to relevant ODAS guidelines when their NAAL includes audio recording as an accommodation. ODAS students may request to meet with the ODAS Director at any time regarding policies and procedures.
Student Responsibilities Related to Audio-Recording of Lectures:
The academic accommodation allows for audio-recording of class lectures, and does not necessarily grant student permission to record in other settings or situations on campus.
The recordings of lectures and classes are for student’s personal use only as a substitute or supplement for in-class note-taking. The recordings are not to be used for any other purpose.
Student may not share the audio recordings with others, post the recordings online, sell the content of the recordings, or in any other way make them available for the use of others.
Student should be aware that the information contained in the recorded lectures may be protected and may not be published or quoted without explicit consent of the lecturer and proper identification.
In some circumstances, continued recording in a specific class may be prohibited at the discretion of the professor when the content involves discussion of a personal and private nature or protected self-disclosure. In these cases, Student will cooperate when asked to stop recording and will work with the instructor and ODAS to identify an alternative note-taking support.
If the student’s accommodations also include use of note-taking software that creates a transcript of the lecture, that the above guidelines also apply to the use of that software.
Violation of these guidelines may result in referral to the Dean of Students for a possible violation of the code of conduct. Any violation may also result in withdrawal of the authorization to audio record lectures, at the discretion of ODAS. In the event that permission to audio record lectures is withdrawn due to student’s violation of this policy, ODAS will work to provide student with a reasonable alternative to address the barrier created by the disability.
Students will be required to sign a copy of the Audio-Recording Guidelines when audio-recording of lectures is granted as an accommodation.
Instructors may consult with the ODAS Director at any time regarding clarification of the use of an audio-recording accommodation.