by Dr. Sarah Ruth Jacobs
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Approximately 19% of all college students have disabilities, and about a third of students with disabilities report needing accommodations. Often teachers or administrators may be surprised by an accommodation request, and it might take a significant amount of time to fulfill that request. In a survey, over 30% of students requiring accommodations gave a “poor, fair, or neutral” rating to the timeliness of their tech accommodation. Not providing timely accommodations can be a legal liability, as found in the case Smith v. State University of New York. That is why it is crucial that colleges and individual instructors prepare courses to be as highly accessible as possible from the beginning and lay the groundwork for accommodations before students begin coursework.
For faculty, this might include:
- Openly advocating for students with disabilities from day one. Faculty should familiarize themselves with what kind of documentation students will need to present to the disability office to demonstrate disability and what kind of built-in accommodations are available, such as a center for testing accommodations. At the start of every course, faculty can assure students that accommodations are or will be made available to address a wide variety of disabilities, including newly-developed or overlooked disabilities like depression. Faculty should also assure students that they do not need to disclose the nature of their disability to faculty, and that any disclosures will remain confidential.
- Designing courses with Universal Design for Instruction in mind. Universal Design means designing learning in a way that makes materials and assignments accessible to as wide a range of users as possible. This might mean providing material in a variety of formats, such as a video that is captioned as well as an additional transcript. Students can be invited to participate in class in different ways, such as sharing their writing, engaging in hands-on activities in a flipped classroom, or small group discussions (think-pair-share). Students might be given different options for assignments, such as allowing students to opt out of group work or give oral presentations instead of written assignments.
- Making sure digital materials are accessible. The Department of Justice has stated that college websites should be in compliance with WCAG 2.0 AA standards. College faculty should strive to make digital course materials and online courses comply with the same standard. The AA standard means that “the website is usable and understandable for the majority of people with or without disabilities.” Requirements to meet the AA standard include providing captions for live and prerecorded video, providing visuals that do not require distinguishing colors for understanding, and providing alternative text for any non-textual elements. All of the standards marked A or AA on this website are included in the AA standard (whereas AAA items are more stringent than AA and are not required).
- Utilize any available instructional supports. Many colleges have their own captioning and transcription services to assist faculty. Often, for online courses, a college’s disability office may conduct a mandatory accessibility review of each course. Even if a course review isn’t required, faculty may consider asking the disability office to review course materials and give guidance on how to improve course accessibility.
Administrators, on the other hand, can consider the following:
- Easing the transition from high school. Students with disabilities face a lot of challenges in transitioning to college, from losing certain services to having to meet new physical demands. The college may require a recent and/or highly specific form of documentation of disability to begin the accommodation process. Colleges should strive to be flexible in what documentation is acceptable, as well as proactive in planning for and providing all needed accommodations from the first day students attend classes.
- Working to address student needs that are not covered by ADA. Students are responsible for providing their own documentation of disability, and the ADA does not require that colleges provide personal services to students outside of the classroom. That being said, some college disability offices will evaluate students for certain disabilities, and college disability officers should be able to point students to professionals who can conduct timely evaluations. Disability officers should also be able to refer students to campus organizations or private services that help students with disabilities.
- Faculty training and course review. Colleges should train all faculty in how to fulfill accommodation requests and how to design accessible courses. Whenever possible, and particularly for online courses, there should be an accessibility review prior to course approval.
Accommodations and universal design do not mean that faculty members need to lower course standards. Quite the opposite, these adjustments give the flexibility and alternative learning approaches that will help students meet and exceed course standards.
Fletcher Grey, a co-founder of Disability Cultural Centers United, a communications network that aims to connect disability centers across the U.S. for the purpose of coordinating broader efforts to include and protect those with disabilities, reflects on some of the successful approaches he has seen to welcoming students with disabilities: “The most progressive models right now are multi-modal, which approaches students in four or five different ways to give them what they need. Discussion forums, essays, and in-class discussions provide insight while allowing for varied input across the board. Contract grading (do X amount of work, get a B. Do X extra amount of work, get an A) has gotten students to push themselves, because teachers and students both are conversing about standards, negotiating terms, and accomplishing more than if teachers themselves enforced their own worldview. End-of-semester portfolios as a final assignment has saved me time and energy in terms of grading, especially if definitive connections are made between the works presented. Treating students as the professionals that they want to be (lawyers, doctors, scientists, social workers, officers, etc.) promotes reflection, accountability, and furthers their drive to succeed.”
Above all, faculty need to demonstrate a willingness to students to not just meet them where they are at, but to value and honor their unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences beyond simple gestures toward accessibility. That is why, in turn, faculty might consider how accessibility standards and acknowledging diversity might be incorporated into course material and course assignments.
Additional Legal Note: As a federally protected class, college students with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations under the following statutes:
- All public colleges are required to conform to Title II of the ADA, which “requires that people with disabilities have equal access to…programs, services, and activities.” This means that the college must provide, at its own cost, auxiliary aids to those with disabilities to ensure equal participation. These aids could include (but are not limited to) “qualified interpreters on-site or through video remote interpreting (VRI) services, notetakers, real-time computer-aided transcription services, telephone handset amplifiers, or telephones that are compatible with hearing aids.” Accommodations may also include “modifications to policies and procedures.”
- All public and private colleges that have events that are open to the public must ensure that these events are accessible to those with disabilities under Title III of the ADA. On May 19 of 2023, the Department of Justice released a detailed letter warning that “Public and private colleges, universities, and other postsecondary institutions must take appropriate steps to ensure that communications with individuals with disabilities are as effective as communications with others, including providing appropriate auxiliary aids and services. Auxiliary aids and services include qualified interpreters, open and closed captioning, and accessible electronic and information technology, among other methods.”
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requires that all colleges that utilize federal aid must provide auxiliary aids to students with disabilities so as to ensure an equal opportunity to participate in programs and activities. Courses and other digital content must be accessible to students who are disabled, such as students who use screen reader technology.
- Additionally, individual states may have laws related to accessibility.
