Information for Faculty and Staff

Overview

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, instructors must provide reasonable academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. Examples of academic accommodations include provision of lecture notes for students with attention concerns or low vision; extended testing time for students with reading concerns; scribes for students with orthopedic difficulties taking written exams; and preferred seating arrangement for students utilizing speechreading or in wheelchairs. Instructors are to announce procedures for arranging academic accommodations at the beginning of each semester and include the information in the course syllabus.

Our staff is available to provide consultations via e-mail or phone. An on-call staff member is always available to promptly respond to your questions during our office hours. We encourage all faculty, staff and students to call us should questions or concerns arise.

Arranging for Accommodations

Students seeking academic accommodations first register with Student Disability Services and meet with a counselor in our office who reviews documentation and determines eligibility for services. Students approved for accommodations then arrange to meet privately with course instructors. At this meeting they present the instructor with a Student Academic Accommodation Request (SAAR) form and discuss their academic needs.

Students who request academic accommodations for disabilities but have not yet registered at SDS need to be referred to our office to complete the registration process before accommodations are arranged. For more information, please contact us.

Exam Accommodations

Our office helps faculty and students arrange for exam accommodations such as extended testing time, distraction-reduced exam room, or scribes to record answers. If desired, exams may be administered in our office. For specific instructions, please see the Student Academic Accommodation Request form the student presents to you. For information on sending exams to our office, see Exam Accommodations.

Text Reformatting

Our office helps students gain access to printed classroom materials (including textbooks, syllabi, and handouts) in alternative formats such as Braille or audio books. The process involves the teamwork of students, instructors, publishers and our staff:

• At registration time, our office contacts students about their reformatted text needs for the coming semester.
• We obtain the course schedules of students who indicate a need for reformatted texts.
• Once we have schedules in hand, we contact course instructors to obtain the list of texts required for each class.
• We write to publishers to request electronic texts or desk copies.
• We convert texts to a format the student can use.

Because it generally takes four to six weeks for publishers to send us the materials requested, it's vital that we hear back from instructors as soon as possible in order to ensure adequate time for text reformatting and delivery to students.

Sign Language Interpreters

Instructors who need to request sign language interpreters or speech-to-text services are encouraged to contact SDS promptly to ensure timely arrangement of services. Although we strive to respond to all service requests, we may be unable to meet requests made less than 48 hours in advance.

Campus Accessibility

Our staff is familiar with the full range of campus and community transportation services available to people with disabilities. We work with students one-on-one to determine the best way to meet their particular needs. For more information, see Campus Accessibility.

Students Who Suspect They May Have a Disability

If you have students who suspect they might have a disability but have not been evaluated previously, please encourage them to contact SDS for referrals. University Counseling Service (UCS) provides screening and psychoeducational evaluations for learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders on a limited basis. Students may contact UCS at 335-7294, for information. Our office also has a list of referral resources available to share with students who seek psychoeducational evaluation. Some colleges have an office or a staff member designated to assist students with disabilities. For more information, students may consult the student handbook of their college or contact the dean’s office.

Computer Access for Students with Disabilities

A variety of computer resources are available on campus and at Student Disability Services. Anyone interested in utilizing or learning about assistive technology such as screen reading software, voice recognition systems, alternative input devices, Braille embossers, and many other innovative software products and devices, is welcome to contact Student Disability Services at 335-1462 (voice and TTY) to arrange a training session with an SDS staff member.

Additional Information

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Faculty Rights and Responsibilities
• Exam Accommodations
• Assistive Technology
• Publications and Tipsheets

If you have additional questions, please contact our office directly:

Phone: (319) 335-1462
TTY: (319) 335-1468
E-mail: sds-information@uiowa.edu.