FAQ'S for Faculty and Staff
1. How are academic accommodations determined?
After the student registers with the DRC, a DRC counselor will work with the student to determine what accommodations would be reasonable for their learning or health challenges.
2. What if I disagree with an approved accommodation?
If you do not agree with an approved accommodation, it is because it probably doesn't apply to your particular course or you are misunderstanding the details of the meaning of the accommodation. Therefore, it is very important that you meet with your students who deliver an accommodation letter to you. Please take about 15 minutes to discuss all of the details of their accommodations with them.
3. Why am I being asked to provide my instructional materials electronically and in advance of class meetings?
Some students require an alternative way to read their reading materials for your class. For example, some students require all text to be in braille. Other students require text to be converted into a format that can be read by their text-to-voice software on their smart device. Both of these types accommodations could take weeks and sometimes months to convert/create and deliver to your students in a timely manner. Therefore, that is why you may receive requests from our Alt Media team for:
- ISBN of textbooks
- Approximate timelines of dates for starting each chapter
- A syllabus for approximate dates of assignments, quizzes, and exams
- All handouts and supplemental written materials
4. Do faculty members have the right to access diagnostic information regarding a student’s disability?
No. Faculty do not have the right to access the student’s diagnostic information. Cañada College follows the rules of confidentiality that are described in Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act(1973) and Federal Education Right to Privacy Act (FERPA).
5. As a faculty member, how do I inform students in my classes about the services and accommodations that the DRC has to offer?
It is expected that all faculty post a disability statement about academic accommodations in their syllabus. When you review your syllabus with your class on the first day of class, it would be great if you could stress that the DRC is a great resource to ALL students. So if anyone has had accommodations in high school OR have a history of struggling in school, please encourage them to reach out to us. We are available to meet with any students one-on-one if they have a history of struggling in school. even if they do not have any documentation of disabilities.
6. As a faculty member, am I required to provide the accommodations the DRC authorized?
Yes, you are. However, if there are any accommodations you cannot provide for any reason, please contact a DRC counselor or director, so we can brainstorm with you on finding an alternative/similar accommodation.
7. I have a student in class who told me he/she/they have a disability, but has not requested accommodations that I know of. Am I still responsible for accommodations?
Yes and no. No, because you are only responsible for reasonable accommodations if a student has an official accommodation letter. However, it's also no because if you can clearly observe that the student requires accommodations in your, class you must work with the student to come up with a fair way they can access all of the opportunities as other students in the class (e.g. student is in a wheelchair. is wearing a hearing aid. has a service dog, is clearly pregnant, has lost all of the hair on their face and head from chemotherapy, etc). But it is highly recommended that you encourage them to register with the DRC in case they need more support (such as adaptable furniture, a magnifying machine, real time captioning, etc).