Faculty Partnership

Think of academic accommodations not as a set of rigid rules, but as a meaningful deliberation to ensure students with disability have equal access to their education. Today, roughly 20% of college students have a diagnosed disability. This isn’t a hurdle—it’s a sign that our classrooms are becoming more  inclusive and accessible for everyone to reach their goals. This said, we have a ways to go to bring equality.

The Dynamic Duo: Who Brings What?

• Faculty are the Experts on the Curriculum: You know the essential learning goals and requirements of your course.

• Students are the Experts on their Disabilities: They understand how they learn best and what access looks like for them.

• The Goal: To find a “reasonable” middle ground that provides access without fundamentally altering your course standards.

The “Is it Reasonable?” Quick Check

An accommodation is a winner as long as it doesn’t:

• Change the DNA of your class: It shouldn’t alter the essential learning goals of the program.

Example: If you’re teaching a Math class focused on solving equations, giving instructions to a written exam in ASL is likely reasonable. However, if you are testing a student’s English reading comprehension, providing an ASL translation might not be. Context is everything!

• Break the Bank (or the Clock): It cannot be “unduly burdensome” for you or the department.

Example: You are teaching a Math class that relies heavily on PowerPoint presentations. You have a low vision student who has an accommodation where Power Points are produced with a black background and yellow font and are devoid of animations. While it may pain you to remove your artwork, this task should not take an inordinate amount of time. If you need assistance, ask DSC. If, however, your student wants to use their “extended time on homework” accommodation to submit all of their assignments the day before mid-term grades are due, this would most likely be overly taxing and therefore unreasonable. 

6 Steps to a Smooth Semester

1. Scope Out the Roster: Check your GU Course Section Roster before day one. Look for the blue text on the far right—click it for the full definition of the accommodation.

2. The 1:1 Coffee (or Office) Chat: Students are expected to reach out to you to schedule a meeting. If you’re teaching first-year students, don’t be hesitant to reach out first if you haven’t heard from them after the first day.

3. Ask the DSC Pros: If you see something like “alternative print materials” and aren’t sure what to do, ask the Disability Service Center (DSC) before you meet the student.

4. Invite a Guest: You can always invite the student’s Accommodations Coordinator to your meeting to help advise on implementation.

5. Get it in Writing: After your meeting, send a quick follow-up email to the student (and CC their coordinator) to document what you both agreed on.

6. Stay in Touch: If a question pops up mid-semester—like whether “extended time” applies to a group project—contact the coordinator immediately. Don’t wait until finals week!

Pro-Tips for Your Syllabus

• Consider accessibility when drafting: for example double-check that all of your required materials are available in alternative formats such as e-books; reconsider requiring videos as these are not accessible to DeafBlind students without the assistance of an interpreter.

• Add a Welcome Statement: Include a section in your syllabus about academic accommodations. (Need help with the wording? Contact the DSC!)

• Check Back Often: Students can request accommodations at any time, but remember: they aren’t retroactive. You only have to implement them from the moment you’re notified.

• The “Flexible Attendance” Conversation: This specific accommodation requires a deep dive into whether attendance is “essential” to your specific curriculum.

The Bottom Line: We are here to help you navigate this interactive process so that every student has a seat—and a say—at the table.

Suggested Syllabus Statement

The Disability Services Center (DSC) recommends that all faculty members use the following statement on their course syllabi to inform students with disabilities of the faculty member’s willingness to provide reasonable accommodations:

Gallaudet University is committed to providing all students equal access to learning opportunities. The Disability Services Center (DSC) is the campus unit that works with students who have disabilities to provide and/or arrange reasonable accommodations. Students registered with DSC are encouraged to contact the professor early in the semester. Students who have, or think they may have, a disability (e.g. psychiatric, attention, learning, vision, physical, or systemic), are invited to contact DSC for a confidential discussion. DSC is located in Peet Hall (5th floor).