Responsibility of the Faculty

It is the shared responsibility of the faculty and student to cooperate with ABAC’s ADA personnel in providing authorized accommodations and support services in a fair and timely manner.  Faculty should meet as quickly as possible with students who request accommodations. Students should initiate this meeting, but faculty may take the initiative when students are reluctant to self-advocate.

Faculty should not refuse to provide reasonable accommodations, to question the validity of a documented disability when accommodations have been authorized by the College, or to request to examine the students’ confidential documentation without the students’ written permission.  However, faculty members should have input and should arrange with students the means for providing accommodations in a particular class. Please remember that the more information a faculty member has about a student’s disabilities, the more he/she may be able to help. A student must be able to comprehend the course material and communicate that comprehension to the instructor. Accommodations give the student the opportunity to achieve that outcome. Reasonable accommodations do not alter the fundamental nature of the course or program. If a faculty member has questions about the appropriateness of a reasonable accommodation, he or she should consult with the appropriate ADA personnel. If the disagreement is not resolved, the faculty member should contact the Vice President for Student affairs.

If a student requests that an instructor provide accommodations for a disability and the faculty member has had no official notification of the student’s need for accommodation, it is important that the instructor assist the student in contacting either Dr. Maggie Martin or Ms. Annie Sims. If the disability is visible (use of wheelchair, hearing aids, service dog, etc.) and the requested accommodation is obviously appropriate, the faculty member should provide the accommodation while the referral is being completed.

Last updated Friday, February 13, 2009 03:09 PM