Student Disability Center FAQ's

 Basic information can be found at the Student Disability Office Website.

•  What does the SDC want faculty to know about their office? 
  • The SDC is a collaborative office. They want you to contact them to seek support or assistance on how to accomplish an accommodation, determine if an accommodation doesn't apply, or if a different accommodation is needed for a specific class. See their contact information on the SDC website.
• Why do we have an accommodations process? 
  • The accommodations process is informed by federal laws. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and its amendments  guide the processes.
• What does the accommodation process look like? 
  • The process is student initiated. Students contact the SDC office (by phone or e-mail) and request to make an appointment with an accommodation specialist. Our accommodation specialists are the staff in our office who have one-on-one 1-hour meetings to discuss student disabilities, the barriers they encounter in the university environment, and what kinds of accommodations they might need.  SDC starts with broad accommodations with the hope that they cover most situations and then, if need be, tailored them down to specific classes or a programs. Further information: https://disabilitycenter.colostate.edu/accommodations-process/
• Does SDC ask for documentation to verify the needs that students are asking for? 
  • Yes. SDC documentation guidelines are posted on their website.  
• Whose responsibility is it to provide the accommodation? 
  • Once the accommodation letters have been sent out, it is the instructor or the faculty member’s responsibility to provide those accommodations. SDC supports those accommodations through, for example, the accessible testing center.
• How negotiable is that letter when you receive it? 
  • First of all, make sure you understand where the letter is coming from.  Faculty may sometimes get letters from student case management,   Tile IX,  and Athletics.  Some of these other offices have a greater breadth of accommodations and different legal parameters than what SDC does. Any change to an accommodation has to be done with the SDC. Because SDC is informed by federal laws, there are two primary roadways to change an accommodation. First, an accommodation can be changed if it is deemed an undue burden. This is almost impossible because the courts would look at what resources an institution has as a whole. At a resource-rich institution like CSU, it's nearly impossible that they would deem an accommodation an undue burden. The second option to change an accommodation letter is through the fundamental alteration process. This process determines if an accommodation substantially changes or prevents a student from meeting the core course objectives. Faculty and the SDC think about course objectives that are outlined in the syllabus, the department requirements, or even accreditation standards, and how the accommodation undermines or prevents those objectives from being accomplished. Faculty are welcome to reach out to the student's accommodation specialist and communicate that they have a concern about a specific accommodation.  
• Can you give an example of when we have granted the fundamental alteration or class?  
  • CSU has some students who have dyslexia or a learning disability that affects their ability to spell, so SDC can give accommodations for leniency with spelling. However, Chemistry is such a vocabulary intensive course where if you mistake one letter, it could actually change the entire meeting of a word. In chemistry exams fluency with spelling is not appropriate and was considered a fundamental alteration. In this situation an alternative accommodation was determined. The student was allowed to have access to a list of words (without definitions) to reference for spelling. Faculty should reach out to SDC if they have questions about their course.
• What should you tell your student if you think it is a fundamental alteration? 
  • SDC recommends telling your student that you would like to talk to them and the accommodations specialist about their accommodations. You can say something like “I just want to make sure we can implement these appropriately.” SDC can then work with you to see if the accommodation will work or not and then communicate that to the student.
• Does SDC partner with other campus services? 
  • SDC supports the student holistically. If students need other supports or services that SDC does not provide, they will do referrals for tutoring, counseling, or Student Case Managment). SDC works closely with the Assistive Technology Resource Center to help provide students with different forms of assistive technology to remove those barriers around technology provides.
• What is the difference between access and success and why is that important? 
  • Faculty often see an accommodation and are concerned that the student will not be successful in the class. While SDC does want all students to be successful, accommodations are not provided from a student success mindset. Rather, the role of the SDC office is to give students equal access and equal opportunity to the university so that they can create their own success.  For example, if a student has extensions on assignments and the student uses an extension on every assignment, they may start to fall behind. This would not be indicative of success, but it may be what the student needs to have access to complete those assignments.
• Can faculty use SDC specialists for support after the letter has been written? 
  • Yes! SDC is available to negotiate conversations because this is an interactive process.
• Any tips for the syllabus? 
  • SDC specialists recommend phrasing your syllabus language from simply detailing the formal process of accommodations to one of welcome. For example, your syllabus message might read: “I welcome people with disabilities in my course. I want to help you be successful. If you have accommodations through the SDC, it's good for us to talk.” This can help encourage students to have proactive conversations, particularly when students are coming from a k-12 system where parents were the ones doing all the advocacy.
• Can SDC request to accommodate students virtually who don't have to come to campus? 
  • SDC grants virtual accommodations very, very, rarely.   When a virtual accommodation is granted, students are told that this is not equivalent access and there are no expectations for the faculty member to redesign the course for dual or hybrid format. For example, SDC would be ok with simply placing a laptop in the classroom with an open zoom screen. If students need an online course experience, they need to sign up for an online class.
• Some faculty are concerned about the accommodation for sharing slides ahead of time and recording classes. 
  • As far as slide sharing, faculty can state on their slides that it is for personal use only. If a student is found to be sharing those out more publicly that could be taken down through a student conduct code violation because it is more or less violating the rules of their accommodation. When it comes to the recording, Colorado is a one-party consent state. So, even students who do not have an accommodation can go into class and record.
• Does universal design solve accommodation issues? 
  • SDC encourages universal design and that flexibility because it creates good course design that's inclusive to everybody. However, universal design standards do not always meet legal obligations for accommodations.  SDC encourages faculty to have conversations with their office in order to help verify that the universal design will satisfy the accommodations.
• Does time and a half on exams “count” for take home exams? 
  • No. Take home exams are treated by SDC more like an assignment. If the student has flexibility with assignment due dates, they might take a one-day extension on a take home exam, but they would not receive double-time.
• What do you say to faculty and grad students who are struggling with helping students and knowing where to draw the line. 
  • An SDC representative can come to department meetings to talk about access versus success in order to help faculty who are struggling. We all want to help and see our students succeed, but there is only so much a faculty member can do.