Information for Instructors
Student Letter of Accommodation requests
Student Disability Services (SDS) determines student eligibility for accommodations. To be eligible for accommodations students must submit an application and documentation of a disability from an appropriately licensed professional. Eligible students then meet with an SDS Access Consultant to discuss the academic accommodations necessary to afford the student an equal opportunity to participate in the student’s courses. These accommodations are documented in a Letter of Accommodation (LOA).
The Letter of Accommodation (LOA) is a document that informs instructors that a student has a documented disability and is deemed eligible for specific academic accommodations. The information in the letter is confidential and should be treated as such.
Students must share the LOA with the instructor in order to receive accommodations for the instructor’s course. Instructors can view Letters of Accommodation via MAUI in ICON. Students and instructors should engage in an interactive process to determine how the accommodations will be provided in the instructor’s course.
Student Disability Services staff are available to provide consultations. We encourage all faculty, staff and students to contact us should questions or concerns arise.
How to address requests for accommodations:
Instructors are required to provide accommodations for students in their classes who provide the instructor with a Letter of Accommodation.
SDS recommends instructors take the following steps to implement accommodations.
- Inform students how to contact instructors about their Letters of Accommodation. This should occur at the beginning of the semester (preferably the first day) and be included on the course syllabus.
- Review Letters of Accommodation in their entirety. Primary instructors will receive a summary email notification when there is a new LOA generated for their course. Review these LOAs in their entirety, and refer to the SDS website for more information on common accommodations.
- Connect with the student about their LOA. This communication can occur via email, in person, or remotely (if agreeable to the student and instructor). Communications should occur privately and be limited to the information needed to implement the Letter of Accommodation in the course.
- Refrain from asking questions about a student’s disability.
- Do not ask students questions about their disability including their diagnosis or the nature of their disability.
- Do not question if the accommodation is necessary.
- Do not request documentation of a disability directly from a student. The student provides this documentation to Student Disability Services.
- Coordinate with other members of your teaching team to determine how the accommodation(s) will be provided. Consider who needs to know accommodation information and remind them it is confidential.
- Communicate plans to implement the accommodation to the student. If the accommodation listed in the LOA is provided to all students in the course, let the student know this and explain how it is provided.
- Contact Student Disability Services with questions or concerns. Each Letter of Accommodation includes the contact information for an SDS Access Consultant who can assist with student specific questions or concerns.
Managing Student Accommodation requests with MAUI in ICON:
MAUI in ICON is an application that gives instructors a simplified view of MAUI directly inside their ICON site to help manage their course. Instructors can navigate to MAUI in ICON to help organize accommodation requests. In MAUI Class List, instructors can view their class list with the date/time stamped hyperlink of a generated LOA. From there, instructors can navigate to the SDS Summary tab, where they can:
- View the Letter of Accommodation (LOAs)
- Sort by accommodation
- Email specific students or groups of students, as appropriate
- Export data to spreadsheets
These functions help instructors save time by automatically tracking requests, providing a centralized location to view all the letters of accommodation for a course, and allowing them to send bulk emails to students with the same accommodations. Visit the Office of Teaching, Learning and Technology’s website for directions on how to use the MAUI in ICON tool.
Student and Instructor Rights and Responsibilities:
Students have several rights and responsibilities as they work with Student Disability Services and their instructors. Students are responsible for sharing their Letter of Accommodation with their instructors and communicating with their instructors. More information about student rights and responsibilities are listed on Student Disability Services website.
Instructors are responsible for responding to student accommodation requests in a timely manner and for engaging in the interactive process with students upon receiving a Letter of Accommodation. Instructor rights and responsibilities are also listed on the Student Disability Services website and it is recommended to be aware of these when providing accommodations.
Student Referral to SDS
If a student expresses that they may have a disability, or an instructor believes a student may benefit from receiving accommodations, please encourage the student to contact Student Disability Services for more information. Students can learn more about the process to apply for accommodations on our website.
Tips for Common Accommodations:
- Exam Accommodations: Add exams to the Proctored Exams Portal well in advance so students can proactively schedule the exam. Upload your exam once it is completed but no less than 24 hours in advance so testing centers can be prepared. The SDS Exam Services page has more information on support for testing accommodations.
- Disability Related Absence and Deadline Modification: Meet with students who have a Disability Related Absence and Deadline Modification (DRADM) accommodation to go over expectations using the DRADM agreement form. These meetings generally happen in office hours if they do not conflict with a students’ other courses.
- Class Notes: Resources on Class Notes including tips for requesting a volunteer note taker, slides, etc.
- Course Design: Consider designing your course with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to reduce the need for student specific accommodations and increase inclusion and learning in your course. Visit the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology to learn more about strategies to support all students in your courses.