Disability Services

Instructor's Handbook: Accommodating Students with Disabilities

6. What to do if...

What to do if...

... you think a student may have a learning disability.

Refer the student to the Disability Services Office (533-6467) for a screening interview with the Advisor or Learning Strategist.

... your department doesn't have access to a computer for a midterm exam.

Call the Disability Services Office and see if a computer is required for the particular format and duration of exam you are planning. Perhaps an exception can be made, or other arrangements for use of a laptop can be considered. For accommodations requiring a computer, arrangements can be made through the Exams Office. The student should present a form to the professor, who completes it and sends it to the Exams Office along with a copy of the exam, at least three days prior to the exam date.

... your department doesn't have a quiet, distraction-free space for a student to write a midterm.

Consider an open-book exam and let the student take it home; book a classroom; schedule exams through the Examinations Office so that students have access to the rooms provided by that office.

... your budget doesn't allow for additional hours of proctoring.

Speak to your Department Head about the need to accommodate students with disabilities; develop some other benefit for T.A.s who proctor, such as arranging a discount at the bookstore, coupons at the Grad Club, additional computer time, etc.

... other students complain about accommodations made for students with disabilities (especially invisible disabilities such as arthritis, hearing impairment, learning disabilities or head injury).

Remind them that "equal does not mean the same". Educate students about the need to accommodate students according to their disabilities. Proper accommodations do not provide an advantage to students.

... you don't understand a recommended accommodation.

First consult with the student, then call the Disability Services Advisor or Learning Disability Specialist and discuss your concerns.

... you don't know what your responsibility is.

Call the Disability Services Office and ask.

... a student fails to give you adequate notice of his or her need for accommodation on an exam not run by the Exams Office.

Students are required to give instructors five working days' notice of their need for exam accommodations. They receive this information in the annual interview and in their copy of the accommodation memo. If they do not provide the information in time, you are not obliged to accommodate them.

... you do not receive your notice of recommended accommodations and the student is requesting something.

Call the Disability Services Office and check it out. The student may not have registered with the Office yet (i.e. may not have requested accommodation through the Office), or the Office may be behind in its correspondence or waiting for documentation. The Office can confirm status and needs by phone, if necessary.

... you cannot find an exam written by a student with a disability.

Call the Exams Office or the Disability Services Office to see where the exam was written and where it needs to be picked up.

... a student asks for a better mark as an accommodation.

Students with disabilities should not receive preferential marking based on the disability. Occasionally, if an accommodation has not been provided, the instructor may wish to review the grade awarded. The Disability Services Advisor is always available for consultation on these incidents.

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