Roles and Responsibilities

In order for the accommodation process to proceed smoothly, all parties need to understand their roles and responsibilities.

Students participate in the process by:

• Providing the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services (OARS) with documentation of their disability.
• Keeping their assigned accessibility specialist informed and providing updated documentation if your disability or its symptoms change.
• Requesting accommodations as far ahead of time as possible. Some accommodations cannot be effectively arranged if they are requested on short notice.
• Discussing accommodations with faculty and staff members as needed and notifying OARS right away if there are any concerns or difficulties with receiving accommodations.

OARS is responsible for:

• Clarifying what documentation is needed to determine eligibility for accommodations.
• Maintaining student files in a confidential manner.
• Sending to faculty or staff members individually specific emails identifying reasonable accommodations.
  • These emails will detail who is responsible for specific parts of providing accommodations and what to do if there are any concerns.
• Releasing disability-related information on a need-to-know basis to other university faculty and staff members.
• Discussing with students how their disability impacts them at the university, and informing them when additional documentation is needed in order to receive requested accommodations.
• Helping students to identify reasonable accommodations.

Faculty and staff participate in the process by:

• Supporting and implementing reasonable accommodations as identified in the email from OARS.
• Consulting with an accessibility specialist if requests seem to conflict with course or program objectives/requirements.
• Maintaining appropriate confidentiality.
• Submitting course text/materials lists to the bookstore as early as possible so students with alternative textbook accommodations can access them in the needed formats.
• Including an announcement on syllabi directing students to OARS if they need an accommodation related to a disability.