Office of Disability Services

Roles & Responsibilities

lab instructor working with students

Faculty & Staff

With each passing year, the number of students with disabilities attending post-secondary education continues to grow. As SFA faculty and staff, you play a critical role in providing access to students with disabilities. Students who register with Disability Services are encouraged to meet with their professors each semester, following the issuance of their accommodation notification, to communicate and collaborate regarding the reasonable accommodations implemented for equal access to education. The following information is intended to familiarize you with the roles and responsibilities of faculty and staff in this process as well as acquaint you with specific procedures involved with the Disability Services testing center.

Faculty and Staff Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Integrate accessibility into the planning process for departmental facilities, programs, activities and services.
  • Provide access for persons with disabilities to programs, services, activities and facilities of respective department.
  • Seek guidance from Disability Services to identify resources available for providing access.
  • Utilize, and be responsive to, the use of assistive equipment/technology or modifications that will facilitate effective communication for persons with disabilities.
  • Minimally, include a statement on each course syllabus that informs students of the necessity to apply through Disability Services should reasonable accommodations be requested.
  • Maintain confidentiality. Refrain from discussing accommodations with a student in the presence of fellow students or others who do not have an “educational need to know.”
  • Become familiar with each Faculty Notification Letter received. This accommodation notification is initiated by the student and emailed from Disability Services, and should be discussed with the student in regards to how accommodations will be provided throughout the semester. Inquiry about diagnosis is NOT permitted.
  • Refer students to Disability Services if they are experiencing academic difficulty or need access, should circumstances indicate a referral would be appropriate.
  • If the disability is clear and you are awaiting official notification of needed accommodations, provide assistance as appears appropriate during the interim.
  • Contact Disability Services for clarification when questions arise regarding accommodations. Do not refuse to provide an approved accommodation. A student may register for accommodations at any point during the semester.
  • Provide alternative testing accommodations in the department OR provide the alternative testing contract and exam to the Disability Services testing center. Please follow the exam proctoring services guidelines if the DS testing center option is used.

From the Office of Civil Rights:

OCR enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II), which prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability.  Every school district and nearly every institution of postsecondary education in the United States is subject to Section 504 or Title II.  Entities covered by these civil rights laws have an obligation to comply with legal requirements and to carry out their programs and activities in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis of disability.

Institutions of postsecondary education must provide an appropriate academic adjustment based on students’ disabilities and individual needs when necessary to avoid discrimination.  In providing an academic adjustment, a postsecondary institution does not have to eliminate or lower essential requirements, or make modifications that would result in a fundamental alteration of the programs or activities being offered or impose an undue burden on the institution.