Accommodations
Student Disability Services (SDS) is dedicated to helping students find and implement reasonable academic accommodations. This accommodation process involves input from both the student and the instructor.
To determine appropriate accommodations SDS engages in an individualized inquiry that balances the needs of the student and the academic objectives of the course or program.
Instructors are not required to provide accommodations until the student has presented a Letter of Accommodation (LOA) for information about how to respond to requests for accommodations visit our Information for Instructors webpage. Please let SDS know if you have questions or need clarification.
All students who have completed their SDS initial meeting will qualify for priority course registration.
Students and instructors are encouraged to review the list of common accommodation descriptions below:
Common accommodation descriptions
Class notes
Allow Audio Recording of Class
Student may audio record lectures and discussions. The student is responsible for providing their own recording device. Video recording classes is not permitted.
Deadline and absence accommodations
Deadline Modification
Students are expected to adhere to all deadlines as per the syllabus. Occasionally, a student eligible for Deadline Modification may need 24-48 hours flexibility for a specific assignment.
Deadline flexibility should be discussed by the instructor and the student at the beginning of the semester. Conversations with the professor need to take place prior to the deadline passing.
This accommodation requires the student to speak with each instructor about how the accommodation will be implemented in each course. The accommodation becomes active at the point the student has a conversation with the instructor. Even if a student doesn’t think that they will need a plan for the semester, it is a good idea to be prepared and get an agreement in place because accommodations are not retroactive.
For complete details visit this page: Deadline Modification
Disability-Related Absence and Deadline Modification (DRADM)
You can find more information about the DRADM Accommodation here:
Other accommodations
World Language Substitution Courses
Some students have a disability that may prevent them from meeting the world language requirement. SDS has an agreement with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Tippie College of Business, and the College of Education to consider providing substitution courses for this requirement based on a recommendation from our office.
For most disabilities a measured impact of the disability specifically on learning a foreign language must be established. A letter recommending substitution classes is typically not sufficient. The documentation must measure why learning a foreign language is more difficult than other academic tasks that are less impacted by the disability. Typically, this requires a complete Psychoeducational or Neuropsychological testing battery, current within the last five years or completed using adult testing norms. Anxiety about taking a foreign language class or speaking a foreign language in class is not considered a disability in this regard, nor is lack of preparation or recent exposure to a language. Please contact sds-info@uiowa.edu for additional information or before having any testing done in support of this request.
Students are encouraged to begin the process of requesting substitution courses for the World Language requirement early in their academic career. It may take time to obtain the necessary documentation for this accommodation and to make the arrangements to complete the substitution courses with the help of an academic advisor.