Accessibility and Teaching
Faculty Responsibilities
- Make sure that each course, viewed in its entirety, is accessible. The Digital Accessibility Hub has many resources available for making your course content accessible.
- Support and implement reasonable accommodations as identified in a letter of accommodation from ADS.
- Consult with the Office of Accessibility Services in a timely manner with any accommodation-based questions or concerns, including requests that may conflict with course objectives or requirements.
- Maintain confidentiality regarding accommodations and diagnosis. Students are not required to disclose their diagnoses. If a student discloses a diagnosis, this information is to be treated as confidential under the protections of FERPA.
- Include a disability announcement on the course syllabus.
- Support and implement the reasonable accommodations as identified by the Office of Accessibility Services without it being a burden on them.
- Faculty are asked to make a good faith effort to accommodate students throughout the semester.
- Faculty are responsible for educating their teaching assistants on confidentiality and best practices when working with students with disabilities so that they can implement the accommodations as well.
Faculty may also let students know the types of accommodations that are available through the Office of Accessibility (OA).
- Verify that the student is registered with OA and has testing accommodations on the current accommodation letter.
- Communicate with the student where they would like to take their test.
- Students who only need extra time may be able to take their test with the class and either start it early or finish it after the class so long as there is no conflict with the student’s schedule, the instructor’s schedule, or the classroom availability.
- Students may also be able to work out arrangements with the instructor directly to take it privately with them.
- Students can arrange for a proctored test through the OA testing office. This option is most appropriate for students who may need assistive technology to assist them.
- Makeup exam policies may need to be adjusted as an accommodation and clear expectations about what is reasonable for each course should be established.
- The makeup test must be timely and it must take place at a time and place agreed on by both the instructor and the student.
- Extra time on an untimed take home exam is not required. In rare cases, it may be reasonable to provide additional time on a take-home exam. Faculty should contact OA for assistance in establishing appropriate accommodation logistics.
- If OA reports to faculty any test irregularities, it is the responsibility of the faculty member, along with the department, to investigate allegations and take any punitive measures.
- Notetakers are fellow classmates that provide a copy of their notes to a student with a disability who needs a supplemental copy of notes. A recruitment template is available on the link below. Faculty are asked to make an announcement or send out an email to their class to assist with finding a notetaker for the student with a disability. Faculty may be required to assist in providing supplemental notes to a student if a notetaker is not identified in a timely manner.
- Sonocent/Glean is a software that allows students to record audio and type their notes simultaneously, with many other features such as the ability to color-code audio that allow for a more efficient note-taking experience. Sonocent/Glean is most often best utilized by students who prefer to type notes and/or whose classes involve PowerPoints and other electronic forms. It is not recommended for students whose workload is pen and paper heavy, such as math, chemistry or physics concentrations.
- Zoom has the option of a transcription feature. It can be used to prepare a transcript of your Zoom video. Unfortunately, proper names and discipline specific terms may not be accurate. Faculty can edit the transcript and then share the video, or the Zoom vtt file can be opened in word and shared as a document.
- Notes need to be provided in a timely way
- Lectures can be recorded in Zoom and shared.
- Some students may ask to record the lecture through their phone or computer or third party software.
- Students who are approved to record as an accommodation sign an agreement with OA ensure that the recording is used for their purposes only.
- Recordings should be posted within 48 hours of class.
- Some students with disabilities may need materials in a large print or electronic format. It is recommended that faculty send an electronic version in advance to the student.
- It is critical to ensure that all materials posted to ELMS are in an accessible format.
- Equations, diagrams and tables will need more specialized conversions; seek assistance from OA with as much notice as possible as these adaptations may require additional time.
- Students with a hearing loss may require an ASL interpreter or real-time transcription services (TypeWell) for classes.
- Students who are hard of hearing may require the use of an Assistive Listening Device (ALD).
- Students must be able to see you, the board and the interpreter/captions.
- All communication to the student should be directly to them, not the interpreter
- Face forward when speaking and always use a microphone in larger settings
- Videos should all be captioned before being shown
- Recorded classes should be captioned before posting to ensure equal access
- Video captioning information is listed in the resource section below.
- Coursework deadline flexibility (i.e. additional time on assignments/ability to move or delay an exam)
- Flexibility with attendance, tardiness or the need to leave class when symptoms arise.
- Incompletes are not approved as an accommodation and are at faculty discretion.
Determining fundamental alterations and essential requirements
As stated in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act:
- No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in section 705 (20) of this title, shall, solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
- In its course examinations or other procedures for evaluating students' academic achievement, a recipient…shall provide such methods for evaluating the achievement of students who have a handicap that impairs sensory, manual, or speaking skills as will best ensure that the results of the evaluation represents the student's achievement in the course, rather than reflecting the student's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where such skills are the factors that the test purports to measure).
Under the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008, “A public entity must reasonably modify its policies, practices, or procedures to avoid discrimination. If the public entity can demonstrate, however, that the modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of its service, program, or activity, it is not required to make the modification” (ADA Title II Technical Assistance Manual). Through various Department of Justice Office of Civil Rights case resolutions, the federal government has clarified that colleges and universities must:
- engage in an individualized, interactive process with each student request for accommodations and avoid blanket statements or policies regarding accommodations (OCR No. 10-16-2203),
- the student must not be put in the place of requesting their accommodation more than once and must not be left to negotiate their accommodation with faculty (OCR No. 01-16-2113)
- the decision of whether an accommodation may fundamentally alter an essential course/ program objective must be made by a group of knowledgeable and trained individuals at the college within the program and the disability services office (OCR No. 01-16-2120; 03-14-2248),
- the group pursues a thoughtful, careful, rational review of the course/program essential objectives and requirements (OCR No. 01-16-2120), and
- considers a series of alternatives and modifications that does not fundamentally alter the course/program even if it is not the accommodation originally requested (OCR No. 01-16-2120).
What does fundamental alteration mean within the context of higher education and disability?
A "fundamental alteration" is a change that is so significant it alters the essential nature of a course or a program of instruction.
- A major change in the nature of the program.
- Lowering an academic standard.
- Removing or waiving acquisition of a skill that is essential.
- Removing or waiving acquisition of a skill that is directly related to the health and safety of others.
- Removing or waiving requirements that are directly related to qualifying for that license.
Whether accommodations “would fundamentally alter the nature of its service, program, or activity” must be reviewed on a case-by-case basis (Title II, Americans with Disabilities Act). The goal is to distinguish the nature of how the course has always been taught from the truly essential objectives and requirements of the course or academic program. Through this process, methods of instruction and assessment may be examined to determine how the course or program information is taught and whether there are opportunities for alternate format of materials, alternative teaching and learning methods, additional skills or strategies, etc.
- Universities are not required to modify academic requirements that are essential to the instruction being pursued or directly related to a licensing requirement. However, flexibility in instructional methods, assignments, or assessment may be appropriate as a reasonable accommodation depending on the nature of the course and its requirements. Often alternative opportunities are available for teaching and learning the information, the format of materials, skills etc.
If it is determined that a requested academic adjustment would result in a fundamental alteration, the University must then consider whether there are alternative academic adjustments that could accommodate a student without fundamentally altering the course.
Essential requirements
Essential course and program objectives are identified as the core learning outcomes (such as skills, knowledge, or licensure requirements) that all students must demonstrate, with or without accommodations, which are part of the interconnected curriculum requirements of the degree or academic program.
Established essential objectives and requirements:
- Clearly articulate the overall purpose of the course/program
- Identify required mastery of specific skills, knowledge, principles, and concepts
- Convey the framework used to set academic and program standards
- Ensure a fair deliberation with qualified campus professionals when determining if a requested accommodation would be a fundamental alteration
To determine the essential requirements for a course or program, the following questions should be considered:
- What fundamental course objective does this accommodation alter?
- What practical function does this fundamental objective serve in the academic program?
- Can the department provide documentation of the fundamental course objective (e.g. syllabus, professional association certification requirement, technical standard, etc.)?
- How does the requested accommodation alter this fundamental course objective?
- Has this accommodation been approved to students without disabilities or for any other situation or reason in your class in the current semester or in the past? If so, Why?
- Is there any alternate way the student could demonstrate competence without undermining the essential course objectives? For example, an alternate accommodation that would not alter the essential objective of the course/program.
- Has the program or professor ever made modifications to the standard, learning outcome, or expectations in other student situations? If yes, how is the current situation different?
- Programs or degrees
- What skills or competencies will be needed within the field after graduation?
- What are the requirements for licensing or professional accreditation?
If a faculty member is concerned that an accommodation fundamentally alters an essential
requirement or course objective of a course or academic program, please contact Accessibility and Disability Service. The University of Maryland Policy on Access for Individuals with Disabilities provides further guidance.
Any additional compliance questions may be directed to the ADA coordinator.