Understanding Student Accommodations
Ensign College provides academic accommodations, auxiliary aids, and services to students with disabilities and consults with the college community regarding disability access issues. The Disability Services Office reviews student requests for academic accommodations (e.g., extra time during testing, deadline extension requests, etc.) due to disability on a case-by-case basis.
Accommodations should be reasonable and should not alter the essential functions of a course or program. In some cases, an accommodation may not be reasonable for a specific class. To learn more about the review process and how to dispute an accommodation, please see the Essential Function Review Procedure.
Accommodating Students
If one of your students has received an accommodation, you will receive an e-mailed letter from the disability services office. If a student tells you about an accommodation that is not on their letter (or you haven’t received a letter), please ask the student to request it through disability services.
When you receive the letter, please talk to the student about implementing the accommodations. You shouldn’t ask students what their diagnosis is, but you can ask about the nature of their difficulties. Allow the student to take the lead on disclosing personal information. Ask questions such as, "Is there any more I can know about your situation to help you?" or "What can you tell me about your learning style?”
Students can request accommodations anytime during the semester, not just at the beginning. You are not required to make any accommodations retroactively. You are, however, welcome to do so if it feels appropriate.
Instructors who receive accommodation letters or other disability-related information from students should keep that information confidential from other class members and should refrain from revealing personally-identifiable information to other instructors.
If the student is asking for something you would do for any student, then you do not need to coordinate with disability services, though the student should be made aware of the services offered. If you would only do the accommodation because of a student’s disability, then you should refer the student to the disability services office.
In addition to the syllabus statement, we recommend you make an announcement in class. You may also want to mention other support services on campus offered, such as tutoring, advising, counseling, and mentoring.
Yes. Receiving academic accommodations doesn’t guarantee that a student will pass a class. Once a student receives their granted accommodations, they should be held to the same standards as any other student.
While all in-class accommodations might not apply to online classes, some accommodations do still apply. Consult with Disability Services if you have questions about whether an accommodation applies in an online class or how to provide an accommodation.
Temporary medical conditions such as broken limbs, surgery, flu, and pregnancy are not usually considered disabilities and students should work directly with their faculty (however, please note that pregnancy falls under Title IX, and reasonable accommodations may be activated through this channel). Faculty have the right and responsibility to determine what are reasonable adjustments for students in the case of temporary injury or illness. If questions arise as to what is reasonable, the program chair and disability services office can assist with recommendations for assistance.
Students are required to notify you at least 24 hours before an exam if they would like to use exam accommodations, so you can provide the test/quiz and test request form to TestingServices@Ensign.edu. The student must also schedule their appointments with Testing Services at least 24 hours in advance.
Please contact disability services to discuss your concerns.
Please contact Human Resources.
There are a few reasons this may be. The student may not need his/her accommodations in your particular class. (It’s so easy to send letters electronically that many students go ahead and send them to each and every one of their instructors regardless of their need in that class.) The student’s accommodations may not need coordination with the teacher (e.g., note taker, alternative format textbooks). Or the student may be waiting to see if he/she actually needs to utilize accommodations in your particular class.
Syllabus Statement
Ensign College abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which stipulates that no student shall be denied the benefits of an education "solely by reason of a disability." If you have a disability that may impact your work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please contact Disability Services so that such accommodations may be arranged. For more information, visit https://www.ensign.edu/disability.