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Faculty Rights and Responsibilities

The University has a right to:

  • Identify and establish core competencies and technical standards for their academic program.
  • Maintain the rigor and the fundamental nature of their course content. Faculty should not lower course expectations or fundamentally alter the nature of the course at the request of a student with a disability. If a student makes such a request, related to an approved disability absence, faculty should consult with Access Services.
  • Require students to demonstrate their knowledge of crucial course content.
  • Negotiate an accommodation with the Access Services office if an accommodation seems unreasonable.

Faculty is primarily responsible to provide academic accommodations approved by the Access Services office on the Letter of Accommodation and to work with Access Services and students to make reasonable accommodations in a timely manner. Other responsibilities include:

  • Faculty must let students know that accommodations are available to students with documented disabilities, including inputting the syllabus statement in every class syllabus. Please see syllabus statement page for exact wording.
  • Provide only the adjustments on the Access Services Letter of Accommodation unless it is an accommodation that you are willing to offer all students in the class.
  • Faculty are responsible to provide testing password or a pdf copy of the test to Access Services no later than 24 hours BEFORE the regularly scheduled test time.
  • Contact Access Services if there are questions or concerns about requested adjustments and/or for assistance in identifying the best method for providing accommodations for students enrolled in classes.
  • Refer any student to Access Services who is requesting adjustments but does not present a Letter of Accommodation.
  • Ensure instructional materials are accessible. Access Services can collaborate with faculty to ensure access. This may include: video captioning, transcripts of audio lectures/podcasts, and accessible materials (i.e. course packs, lecture exhibits).
  • Maintain confidentiality. Faculty should not ask students about the nature of their disability or to provide medical documentation.
  • Implement best practices in teaching to reach a diversity of learners.