Faculty FAQs

1. Work with Student Disability Services (SDS) staff to determine accommodations.

• The interactive process is critical
• Key players must be involved, disability experts and faculty

2. Implement the accommodations approved by SDS

• OCR: Faculty can’t refuse to implement approved accommodations
• If you have concerns about accommodations, contact SDS

3. Ensure students know about Student Disability Services

• Students must follow established protocol for requesting accommodations
• If student doesn’t know about the process for requesting accommodations, they cannot be held responsible for failing to fulfill them.

4. Refer Students to Student Disability Services

• Student discloses to faculty = Student disclosing to the institution
• The word “disability” is not necessary to constitute disclosure –disclosure could be as simple as mentioning undergoing treatment or having an ailment.

5.  What Faculty DON’T have to do

• Tolerate inappropriate behavior from students. Professionalism standards are not waived, even for disability.

*Association of American Medical College & UCSF (University of California, SF).  Disability Law 101 – What Faculty need to know about student accommodations.

Students registered with Student Disability Services will self-identify their disability status by sharing an Accommodation Letter issued through the CUNY Accommodate system. This letter will list the accommodations the student is entitled to.

Please note that a Semester Request must be submitted by the student in order for you to be notified about the student’s accommodations. We do not disclose the nature of the disability—only the accommodations granted.

If a student discloses a disability to you but is not yet registered with our office, use your discretion. If the disability is obvious and the requested accommodation is simple to provide, you may offer the accommodation. Alternatively, you can inform the student that they need to register with SDS (VC 2-272) to receive official accommodations.

Accommodations/academic adjustments are reasonable modifications to programs, facilities, or curriculum that ensure equal access and opportunity for students with disabilities. By definition, accommodations must be reasonable in nature and should not compromise course standards or fundamentally alter the curriculum. Some examples of reasonable accommodations include sign-language interpreters, extended time when testing, assistive technology, recording, and class notes provided.

Reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities are determined on an individual, case-by-case basis. Eligibility for accommodations is determined through an interview and a review of disability documentation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Accommodations are determined collaboratively by the professional staff in the disability services office and the student.

Professors are encouraged to speak to Student Disability Services should they have any questions regarding reasonable accommodations. We are here to support not just students, but faculty and staff. Sometimes an accommodation necessitates that the faculty, staff and student work together to ensure access.

Student disability information is protected by Family Education Rights Protection Act (FERPA) and is considered confidential. Any public disclosure of a student’s disability is a violation of this law. Please be sensitive to this in the classroom, and do not publically announce that a student has a disability or accommodations.

Please visit our webpage or call us at 646-312-4590. We are here to answer any questions you may have and we are here to ensure you receive the support you need in the classroom.

Implementing some concepts of Universal Design in Learning into your course is a great place to start. Consider why your exams are timed. Do they have to be? Consider using video that is captioned when selecting course content so a person with low hearing can read it. Have assignments ready in multiple formats (multiple choice vs. essay). Consider multiple ways a student can indicate they have grasped the material, aside from the usual. Most importantly, all handouts and reading material should be available electronically so a person who is blind and uses a screen reader can access course content. Share your class notes, typed, electronically so a low vision/blind person can study them using a computer screen reader.

All Baruch students are held to the same code of conduct. While you are required to provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities, you are not required to tolerate behavior that is substantially disruptive to your ability to teach and to other students’ ability to learn.

No. Under copyright laws, students with disabilities are permitted to make one copy of copyrighted material in an accessible format for personal use. Students must first purchase a book, bring us the receipt, and then we work with them to convert to accessible format. Some students, as an accommodation, may record classes. When the student borrows a recorder, they sign a form stating that the recording is for study use only, and the recorder will be returned to SDS at the end of the semester. We delete and clean each device. On request, we would be happy to share this form with you.

Yes. Your syllabus should contain a statement such as this:

“It is college policy to provide Accommodations and Academic Adjustments to students with disabilities. Any student who has a disability who may need accommodations in this class should register as early as possible with Student Disability Services which is located in VC 2-272.  All discussions will remain confidential. 646-312-4590.”