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.

The process of getting your Deadline Modification (DM) accommodation in effect is:

1. Realize that accommodations take time to put in place, so it is important to plan ahead.
2. Look at the syllabus for each course. Focus on policies for deadlines.
3. Think of strategies that might work for you or have worked for you in the past based on your diagnosis.
4. Make an appointment at the beginning of the semester to meet with your instructor during office hours or at another arranged time to discuss the use of the DM in their class.
5. Give the Letter of Accommodations (LOA) to your instructor at the beginning of your meeting or attach the LOA in an email as a PDF.
6. You are not required to share your diagnosis with the instructor; you may share as much or as little as you feel comfortable telling them.
7. You and the instructor will discuss how to meet the essential elements of the course and the specifics of your DM such as modifications of assignment deadlines.
8. Examples of components to include in the agreement with your instructor:
   • Expectations regarding how you and the instructor will communicate related to this agreement - how and when you will notify an instructor of the need for an extension on an assignment.
   • How the instructor wants to be contacted (example: phone, email, after class) when you need the accommodation.
   • Limits to the length of deadline extensions regarding assignments, including papers, presentations, etc.
   • We recommend that any oral communication regarding the plan is followed up with written confirmation of the agreement to protect both parties. An email is sufficient for this purpose.
9. You will need to stay in close communication with your instructor. If you see that you are going to exceed the guidelines that have been agreed on, contact your instructor as soon as possible.
10. If you have any problems creating the agreement with your instructor, please call SDS at 319-335-1462 and schedule an appointment with your Access Consultant to discuss these issues.

Understand that you will need to work ahead as much as possible and it is an expectation that a student is able to show progress toward completing the assignment when the Deadline Modification is requested.

Unlike Disability-Related Absence and Deadline Modification (DRADM), this accommodation does not cover absences, exams, and quizzes.