Reasonable Accommodations: When and If You Can Deny a Request
Location
Kennedy Union Room 211
Start Date
4-1-2023 1:10 PM
End Date
4-1-2023 2:00 PM
Abstract/Description
The Office of Learning Resources works with students to review their need for accommodations. Ideally, these accommodations could be customized for each class. However, with more than 800 active students and nearly 4,000 individual classes, this is not reasonable. Given this, OLR begins with an interactive process at the student level where accommodations are identified. Then, if there are questions about the impact of these accommodations, further discussion can be addressed with the instructor and/or department.
What are your options, as the instructor, if you have concerns with the impact an accommodation has on the fundamental aspects of your course? Discussion is needed on how to ensure access AND ensure that the fundamentals of the class are honored. In some cases, this may be a department-level aspect when there are many sections of the same course. In other cases, it may be based on the individual course objectives. In short, it is not just a statement of, “No, this will alter my objectives.” There needs to be a discussion to ensure all parties agree on the fundamental impact.
This presentation will review the general accommodations process starting with the interactive process with the individual student. We will address some key feedback from the Office of Civil Rights regarding accommodation processes. Finally, we will look at the aspects associated with the evaluation of fundamentally altering an essential course or program objective.
Reasonable Accommodations: When and If You Can Deny a Request
Kennedy Union Room 211
The Office of Learning Resources works with students to review their need for accommodations. Ideally, these accommodations could be customized for each class. However, with more than 800 active students and nearly 4,000 individual classes, this is not reasonable. Given this, OLR begins with an interactive process at the student level where accommodations are identified. Then, if there are questions about the impact of these accommodations, further discussion can be addressed with the instructor and/or department.
What are your options, as the instructor, if you have concerns with the impact an accommodation has on the fundamental aspects of your course? Discussion is needed on how to ensure access AND ensure that the fundamentals of the class are honored. In some cases, this may be a department-level aspect when there are many sections of the same course. In other cases, it may be based on the individual course objectives. In short, it is not just a statement of, “No, this will alter my objectives.” There needs to be a discussion to ensure all parties agree on the fundamental impact.
This presentation will review the general accommodations process starting with the interactive process with the individual student. We will address some key feedback from the Office of Civil Rights regarding accommodation processes. Finally, we will look at the aspects associated with the evaluation of fundamentally altering an essential course or program objective.
