Faculty Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

• How will I know if a student in my class has accommodations for a disability?

  Students who are approved for accommodations will send their faculty a Letter of Approved Accommodation (LOAA). Most students will send these letters at the start of the quarter, but some students may be approved for accommodations in the middle of the quarter. As a faculty member, you are responsible for reviewing your students' LOAAs and implementing the listed accommodations. If you have a question about how to implement an accommodation, please contact SDS. 

• I have been teaching at DU for a while, and it seems like more and more student have accommodations. Are there more disabled students at DU?

  In the 2021 census, over 13% of the U.S. population reported having a disability, with some experts estimating this percentage to be even higher. Nationally, 10-15% of college students report having a disability, and students registered with SDS at DU reflect these numbers. 

  Nearly all universities are seeing a significant increase in the number of students registered with disability services offices. There could be many reasons for this. Generally, with the amendment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 2008 to include less-apparent disabilities (otherwise known as invisible disabilities), like mental health conditions and chronic illnesses, more students qualified for accommodations. Students may receive support for these categories of disability in K-12, and continue those services in college. Additionally, the COVID-19 epidemic led to a rise individuals seeking treatment for mental health disabilities. Finally, from a social justice perspective, as Disability as an identity is becoming less stigmatized, more students are comfortable asking for accommodations. 

• How does SDS decide what accommodations a student is eligible for?

  Students who request accommodations go through an interactive process. They submit a request for accommodations alongside supporting documentation from a medical provider that attests to the presence of a disability and its impact on the student. Students then meet with an accommodation specialist, who is trained in the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 laws, and how they apply to higher education settings. Through this interactive process, the accommodation specialist determines what accommodations a student needs for equitable access. Accommodations are designed to reduce or eliminate barriers to accessing the DU experience. 

   

• A student in my class told me they have a disability, but I don't have an LOAA from them. What should I do?

  Please refer the student to our office. You can even do a warm handoff via email if you would like. We ask that you refer students to our office, rather than providing informal accommodations, as informal accommodations may not appropriately meet the student's disability-related needs. 

• Why am I receiving an accommodation letter (LOAA) from a student in the middle of the quarter? Can you have a deadline for students to send these?

  Students may be approved for accommodations and send their accommodation letters at any time. There are a variety of reasons why a student may send a letter in the middle of the quarter, including but not limited to:

  • Temporary accommodations for an illness or injury (e.g., breaking an arm while skiing or needing surgery)
  • New diagnoses: Students may be diagnosed with new or additional disabilities at any time. Remember: anyone can become disabled at any time. 
  • Change in needs: Students' needs related to their disability may change.
  • Access to medical documentation: The wait to be seen by a medical provider is often long. Students may only be able to get medical documentation regarding their disability after the start of the semester. 

  You will receive an email notification from the Accommodate Portal whenever a student sends an LOAA. It is your responsibility to read an implement the listed accommodations regardless of what point in the quarter a letter is received. 

Assistive Technology

• A student has an accommodation to use a computer, but I don't allow computers in my class.

  Some students may use assistive technology, including computers, to help with notetaking or other class functions. If a students has an SDS accommodation to use a computer or other technology, you must allow them to use their laptop. 

  If you wish to make your class more inclusive to everyone, you can practice Universal Design for Learning by allowing all students to use laptops. 

• A student has a notetaking accommodation that allows them to record classes. What if I do not want to have my class recorded?

  Accommodations that allow students to record classes reduce or remove barriers related to notetaking. Like all accommodations, this accommodation is approved on a case-by-case basis due to disability-related needs. Students may use a variety of means to record lectures, and all students with notetaking support or audio recording accommodations are required to sign a memorandum of understanding regarding their responsibilities for recording classes. Copies of these are kept with SDS. Class recordings are subject to the following understandings:

  • Audio-recorded lectures are for the student’s personal academic use only and may not be used in any way against any lecturer or a student whose remarks in class are recorded. Students with this approved accommodation cannot share the audio recordings with others or profit financially from the content that is recorded. 
  • All information contained in audio-recorded lectures is protected under federal copyright laws and may not be published or quoted without the expressed written consent of the instructor or speaker and without giving proper identity and credit to the person. 
  • Recordings are to be deleted at the completion of the course.

   

  Sometimes, classes may contain sensitive material, such as self disclosure or confidential discussions, particularly in some graduate-level course work. Some instructors may worry that having a recording device may hinder others from sharing in these cases. However, it is important to remember that audio recording accommodations are designed to mitgate barriers related to notetaking. If the discussions in question are ones in which it would be inappropriate for anyone to take notes in any form, then you can make a general announcement to the class that no students should take notes and should turn off any recording devices. However, if other students are permitted to take notes, then you should allow students with audio recording accommodations to do the same. 

• What do I do if a student requests a peer notetaker for a class?

  Most students with notetaking accommodations are approved for a notetaking support accommodation, which uses assistive technology that generates notes for a student. Please check the students' LOAA to confirm the accommodations this student is approved for and refer them back to our office.  

• I heard that all students can access text-to-speech software. Is this true?

  Yes! Any DU student, faculty, or staff member can use Kurzweil 3000, a text-to-speech (read aloud) platform. Kurzweil will read aloud most PDFs and Word documents. You can learn more about Kurzweil on our Kurzweil How To webpage.

  If you would like our Assistive Technology Specialist to do a classroom demo of Kurzweil (15-20 minutes), please email caroline.newcomb@du.edu 

Accessible/Alternate Format Readings

• A student in my class is approved for accessible course content/alternate format text. What do I need to do?

  Alternate Format Text (AFT) accommodations are to help provide class content (textbooks and Canvas readings) will function properly with text to speech technology (Kurtzweil 3000). Please contact the SDS Alternate Format Text Manager, Naomi Savas (Naomi.Savas@du.edu) by completing the following online form to properly implement this student’s accommodation

  • Alternate Format Request Form
• What can I do to make sure my course readings are accessible?

  Most students with this accommodation need to use text-to-speech technology to read course materials, including articles and textbooks. If you are uploading any readings to Canvas, check the following: 

  1. Do CTRL+F and search for a key word. If you cannot search for words, it isn't accessible.
  2. What can do you?
     1. Did you scan this reading yourself? If so, consider requesting a copy from course reserves, or see if it is available from the library instead. OTL can help with this!
     2. Run UDOIT and fix the errors!
     3. Check the document in Kurzweil. Does it read aloud accurately there? If not, you should source it from another place or consider a different reading.

  These steps will not make every reading fully accessible to every student, but they will improve accessibility for the vast majority of students. We recommend working with the Office of Teaching and Learning to help source more accessible original copies as you plan your course. 

  Additionally, if you are planning on handing out any physical copies of readings in class, make sure you have a digital copy available as well. 

• I have a student who needs captions on all media.

  You can upload  videos to Kaltura to add and edit captions. You can find information on this process from the EdTech Knowledge base:

  • Adding and Sharing  Videos in MyMedia/Kaltura
  • Editing Closed Captions in Kaltura
  • Editing Captions for YouTube Videos in Kaltura

   

Testing Accommodations

• It feels like testing accommodations are very common. Why is that?

  Testing and exams are unique experiences, in that they involve time constraints alongside measuring students' ability to perform a given task or knowledge base. Many disabilities impact students' ability to complete and perform well under time constraints or a traditional testing environment. With this in mind, testing accommodations are commonly used to reduce these barriers, allowing students to equitably demonstrate mastery of the content being tested

• Where can I find other information about testing accommodations?

  Please visit our Faculty Responsibilities for Testing webpage for other information about testing accommodations.