To: New Teaching Faculty
From: Deb Glennen, Director, Disability Services for Students
Subject: Accommodating Students with Disabilities at UND
Date: January 2008

On behalf of the staff at Disability Services for Students (DSS), I would like to welcome you to UND. At some point this year, you will likely be working with a student who has a disability, and I would like to let you know how disability accommodations are provided on our campus.

Our mission is to assist faculty in providing equal access in the classroom to students with documented disabilities while maintaining academic standards. DSS determines a student's eligibility for accommodations, identifies the specific accommodations each student is authorized to use, and collaborates and consults with you regarding the implementation of the accommodation(s). Once accommodations have been authorized, it is the student's responsibility to discuss his/her accommodation needs with you and make any necessary final arrangements for their provision.

If you have questions about the student's request, you may ask to see his/her verification document. The DSS Verification of Need for Disability Accommodations document describes the student's disability-related functional limitations and lists the specific recommended accommodations that may compensate for those limitations. This document is reviewed and updated every semester. Students are usually a good source of information about their access needs so we encourage you to talk with them. However, if you're not sure how to respond to a request, it's appropriate to tell the student "you'll get back" to him/her. This allows you time to consult with one of the DSS disability specialists about what is reasonable.

Faculty should include a disability access statement on each course syllabus and read it during the first week of class of each semester. For example:

If you have emergency medical information to share with me, need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, or you need disability accommodations in this course, please make an appointment with me. My office location and hours are ( ) ( ). If you plan to request disability accommodations, you are expected to register with Disability Services for Students,190 McCannel Hall, 777-3425 v/tty).

Other considerations

Showing videos/DVDs in class:

To ensure that videos and DVDs are accessible for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, check to see if captioning is present or there is a captioned version available. Contact DSS on how to determine if your material is already captioned or for assistance with scripting or captioning your video/DVD If the student is blind, review the video/DVD to see if some of the visual content will need a verbal description.

Providing accessible seating:

If the reason a student requests an accessible table or chair is obvious, there is no reason to contact DSS for verification of need. In addition, some students may not have a disability-related need but do need a table and chair (e.g., a person of large stature). We encourage you to make these arrangements directly with Paul Clark in Facilities, 7-3005.

Please call us if you have a question or would like more information, 777-3425. We welcome your feedback on all aspects of the accommodations process.

Disability Specialists:

Judy Sannes judysannes@mail.und.nodak.edu
Cheryl Brooks cherylbrooks@mail.und.nodak.edu
Deb Glennen debglennen@mail.und.nodak.edu

Visit our website at: www.und.edu/dept/dss and click on "Faculty" for more information on disability topics eg. students with suspected disabilities, emergency evacuation procedures, etc.