Faculty Resources
The American Psychology Association has developed a Disability Resources Toolbox (DART) that contains information for faculty to use to better support students with disabilities. Below are pertinent sections of the toolkit for faculty reference:
Toolkit II: Legal Issues – ADA, Section 504, FERPA
Toolkit III: Reasonable Accommodations Explained
The ACCESS Project, a grant-funded project on access to postsecondary education through Universal Design of Learning, houses multiple disability modules for faculty on disability information. These modules are brief and designed to quaint instructors with common types of disabilities seen in the classroom.
Types of Disabilities and Accommodations
Faculty Rights and Responsibilities
Faculty members have the right to:
- Request verification of eligibility for accommodations with the Student Success Center
- Request clarification on the reasonableness of an accommodation
- Consult with the Student Success Center about students as appropriate
- Expect students with disabilities to meet the same academic standards as peers
Faculty members do not have the right to:
- Access the student’s diagnostic information
- Refuse to provide authorized accommodations
Faculty members have the responsibility to:
- Provide requested accommodations in a reasonable and timely manner
- Meet with students confidentially to discuss how their accommodations will be provided
- Provide classroom materials in alternative format when documentation supports the request
- Refer to the Student Success Center students whom they feel may have a disability (if a written request for accommodation does not exist)
- Place a statement in the syllabus telling students to inform the professor of any special needs as soon as possible to ensure that those needs are met in a timely manner
For more information, see Colorado State University’s Access to Postsecondary Education Through Universal Design Learning’s module regarding Faculty Rights and Responsibilities for more information.