Flexibility Accommodations

Flexibility with Tardiness

In most cases, class attendance is critical to a student’s mastery of the knowledge and/or skills that are taught in a specific course. Students are expected to follow the tardiness policy established by the instructor in each class. The University recognizes, however, that there may be times when a qualified student with a disability cannot be on time for class because of disability-related reasons.

Determination of eligibility for a disability-related exception to the tardy policy is made by Disability Resources for Students staff, in consultation with the student and information from the student’s health care provider. The extent of the flexibility is determined by DRS staff, in consultation with the instructor of the course for which the exception is sought and, if necessary, with the department chair or other appropriate administrator.

Flexibility with Attendance

In most cases, class attendance is critical to a student’s mastery of the knowledge and/or skills that are taught in a specific course. Students are expected to follow the attendance policy established by the instructor in each class. The University recognizes, however, that there may be times when a qualified student with a disability cannot attend class because of disability-related reasons.

Determination of eligibility for a disability-related exception to the attendance policy is made by Disability Resources for Students staff, in consultation with the student and information from the student’s health care provider. The extent of the flexibility is determined by DRS staff, in consultation with the instructor of the course for which the exception is sought and, if necessary, with the department chair or other appropriate administrator.

Essential Course Requirements: The University will make every effort to reasonably accommodate a student’s disability-related academic needs. Please note, however, that neither the University nor an individual faculty member is required to waive an essential or fundamental academic requirement of a course, regardless of the nature of the student’s disability.

The department identifies and defines the essential or fundamental academic requirements for its courses and instructors may establish an acceptable number of excused absences in light of these essential requirements. Attendance requirements for each course are usually stated on the course syllabus.

The following questions will be considered when determining the extent to which attendance is an essential requirement of a course and whether an exception to the attendance policy may be appropriate:

Is there classroom interaction between the instructor and students and among the students themselves?
Do student contributions in class constitute a significant component of the learning process?
Does the fundamental nature of the course rely on student participation as an essential method of learning?
To what degree does a student’s failure to attend class constitute a significant loss to the educational experience of other students in the class?
What does the course description and syllabus say regarding attendance? Each instructor may have different requirements regarding attendance.
By what method is the final grade calculated?
To what degree does course material build on concepts previously taught?

Students who are approved for an exception to the attendance policy based on disability are required to notify faculty of this accommodation each semester through DRS Online. Once a student has placed the request for the notification, DRS staff will work with faculty to determine the extent of this accommodation that is appropriate for each class and develop an attendance flexibility plan. The student will receive a plan for each course.

Please note the following:

Accommodations are not retroactive. All accommodations, including an exception to the attendance policy, become effective when the instructor receives the DRS Online notification.
An exception to the attendance policy does not mean that unlimited absences will be permitted. A reasonable extension will range from 1-6 additional absences depending on the length of the class period, the number of classes in a given semester, and the nature of the course.
Exception to the attendance policy does not mean exception to any of the other academic requirements of the course. Students are required to fulfill all course requirements and will be held to the same evaluation standards as specified in the course syllabus.
Students are expected to communicate with faculty prior to absences when possible and keep faculty informed regarding their progress in the course.

Students should understand that even though an exception to the attendance policy has been made for them, absences are likely to have a negative impact on their academic performance simply because of the content and experiential learning they may have missed by not being in class. For this reason, they should make every attempt to attend class. Students should make special effort to attend class for quizzes and exams and to observe deadlines for submission of assignments.

Students should be aware that exception to the attendance policy will not be possible in all courses because class attendance is an essential, integral part of some courses. Some academic programs or majors may not be amenable to exceptions to the attendance policy. Students who know that attendance may be an on-going issue for them should consult with the academic department regarding the feasibility of attendance exceptions in the specific program of their interest.

Flexibility with Assignment Deadlines

The process that DRS uses to implement flexibility with deadlines is considered best practice in the field of higher education disability resources and is grounded in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, as well as letters from the Office of Civil Rights to various institutions of higher learning in conjunction with training provided by the Association on Higher Education and Disability. The first step of the process is to work with the student via an interactive process to determine eligibility. When we are deciding on eligibility for accommodations, we consider the student’s self-report, our professional judgment, and then fill in any blanks with 3rd-party documentation from a qualified professional.

Once we have decided on eligibility, DRS staff, in consultation with instructors, determine whether the accommodations are reasonable and appropriate based on the nature of each assignment in the greater context of the course. We consider the following in our assignment analysis:

How long is the course?
Length of assignment and advanced notice given
Does the assignment require interaction with other students?
Does the completion of an assignment impact the learning or progress of other students?
Does the student’s learning depend on feedback?
What is the time-sensitive aspects of an assignment?
Does the learning of future concepts depend on mastery of previous concepts?
What, if any, exceptions are made for other students?

Once we advance to the course/assignment analysis stage, we are no longer looking at the severity of individual students’ conditions, and we do not share the specifics of a student’s condition with faculty. Rather, we are solely considering how an accommodation might alter fundamental aspects of the course or assignment. Once the analysis of each assignment is completed, a plan for deadline flexibility is created and shared with the student.

Please note the following:

Accommodations are not retroactive. All accommodations, including deadline flexibility, become effective when the instructor receives the DRS Online notification.
Deadline flexibility is not unlimited. A reasonable extension will range from 2-4 days depending on the length of the class period, the number of classes in a given semester, and the nature of each assignment.
Eligibility for deadline extensions does not include an assurance of an incomplete if assignments are not completed within the confines of course dates. Faculty decide whether to approve requests for incompletes.
Eligibility for deadline extensions does not mean exception to any of the other academic requirements of the course. Students are required to fulfill all course requirements and will be held to the same evaluation standards as specified in the course syllabus. Students are expected to communicate with faculty prior to missing deadlines and keep faculty informed regarding their progress in the course.