Information for Faculty
More students with disabilities are attending Case then ever before. Requests for accommodations and special considerations can be confusing and sometimes overwhelming unless you have the proper information and tools to deal with the situations. This page is intended to provide some information and guidelines to assist you as you sort out the requests that your students are making.
Students with disabilities are responsible for initiating requests for services and accommodations through the Disability Resources office in Educational Services for Students (ESS). Please refer to the Case Policies and Procedures.
Often, students need encouragement to come forward and talk with you about their need for accommodations or considerations in your courses. It is helpful for all faculty to have a statement, on the syllabus for each course, reminding students who need accommodations to talk with you and/or to meet with the office of Disability Resources early in the semester, to arrange such accommodations.
Students who approach you with a request for an accommodation or special consideration should have a memo to give to you verifying their eligibility. The memo will be from the student and the associate director of Disability Resources. The memo will not indicate the specific disability and will only identify the approved accommodations for the student. Students are responsible for bringing memos to faculty each semester and talking with them to determine the method for implementing any accommodation. Faculty may want to find out if there are other things that can assist the student in the classroom. For example, a student may not hear very well and not need specific classroom accommodations but, may benefit greatly from making an arrangement with the professor to have a seat close to the front of the room. Sometimes, students may refer to their memo and then ask for special considerations that are not mentioned in the memo. You are not expected to accommodate anything other than what is asked for in the memo. You are definitely not expected, and, in fact, are discouraged from granting accommodations to students who do not provide you with a memo.
Remember, you always have the assistance of the Disability Resources office in ESS when working with students with disabilities. The office of Disability Resources will review documentation and make a determination of eligibility. Some accommodations are fairly standard.
You are encouraged to put a statement regarding disability on your syllabi each semester. We suggest the following wording, but if you have crafted a statement which you prefer to use feel free to do so:
- Academic accommodations are available to students with documented disabilities. In order to access the accommodations for which you may be qualified, please register with the office of Disability Resources (ESS, Sears 470). The staff there will verify your need for specific accommodations and provide you with a memo to inform me of your needs. Once you have received this memo, please make an appointment to see me privately to discuss your needs. Please be aware that any needed accommodations cannot be implemented retroactively; therefore timely notification of your needs is in your best interest.
It may help for you to review an article that first appeared in "Academe", it was posted on the AAUP web site.This article specifically addresses issues of concern in higher education and may be relevant to the types of situations that you encounter.
A succinct explanation of the legal statutes that apply to students with disabilities is published by the US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (the enforcement agency for the statutes). You can read the booklet and even order copies.
Additionally, please review this article for information regarding the state of Learning Management System (LMS) accessibility and a review of LMS accessibility and the practice of site and tool design for increased accessibility in the classroom.
All the faculty at Case are ready and willing to work with students with disabilities. There is a balance that needs to be maintained between challenge and support, just as there is for all students. If you are unsure, don't hesitate to ask. Call Susan Sampson at 216-368-0677, Lesley Brown at 216-368-5230, or Sarah Baker at 216-368-5230.