Office for Equity, Diversity, and Global Outreach

Working with Students with Disabilities:
Pointers for Faculty Members

1. Include on each course syllabus an invitation for students who need accommodation due to a disability to notify the instructor as soon as possible. Suggested wording for such an invitation:

Any students with disabilities who need accommodation in this course are encouraged to speak with the instructor as soon as possible to make appropriate arrangements for these accommodations.

In addition, consider making syllabi available on the Internet.

2. Ask students who request reasonable accommodation based on disability to provide a completed Verification of Disability Status Form from the Disabilities Services Office.

You are not required to accommodate students who do not have this verification.

Examples of reasonable accommodations include:

alternative testing, notetakers, sign language interpreters, tape recorders, auxiliary aids such as captioned videos & large print services, assistive technologies such as auditory trainers, text scanning and speech synthesis, computer readers, and speaking tactile graphics systems

3. Students with disabilities are expected to inform their faculty members of their needs as early as possible in the semester. Students are not required, however, to reveal the precise nature of their disability to the faculty member; that information is maintained confidentially in the Disabilities Services Office. A student may choose to sign a release of information but is not required to do so.

Treat any information received about a student's disability as highly confidential and do not share it with others unless the student has provided a signed release of information form.

4. Be prepared to make modifications in degree or course requirements to reasonably accommodate the needs of students with disabilities; such modifications should be made on a case-by-case basis after consultation with appropriate campus resource people (see #9. below).

5. Adapt teaching techniques and materials used in the classroom as needed to provide accessibility and accommodation in individual cases. Seek assistance from the Disabilities Services Office. Staff there have expertise to assist faculty in deciding which accommodations and modifications are most appropriate and helpful. For example, frequent use of visual projections may be inappropriate for a class that includes a student with a severe visual impairment. In addition, offering to share lecture notes or encouraging students with visual or motor impairments to tape lectures may greatly enhance their learning.

6. Do not advise students with disabilities toward more restrictive careers than students without disabilities (unless such advice is based on strict licensing or certification requirements in a profession).

7. Have a plan for emergency exit from classroom and building. Consider which procedures are most appropriate for the particular disabilities of students currently enrolled; consult with the student(s) in making this determination.

8. Encourage the inclusion of people with disabilities in instructional materials and classroom discussions to facilitate positive learning experiences.

9. Be aware of University offices available as resources for faculty with questions about these responsibilities:

Additional related information is available on the web:
NDSU Office of Equity, Diversity, and Global Outreach www.ndsu.nodak.edu/equal_opportunity
(see the section on Disability found in Equity, Diversity, and Global Outreach Resources)

NDSU Disability Services Office:
www.ndsu.nodak.edu/counseling/disability

   

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Prospective students may schedule a visit by calling 1-800-488-NDSU.

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