Disability Support Services
Tutorial Assistance Information

Adjustment Info

Academic adjustments are modifications to courses or curricula. They may include requests for course waivers and course substitutions. When a student requests these modifications based on his/her disabilities, certain procedures are required. This document describes the process students should use to initiate such requests and the mechanisms that Disability Support Services (DSS) and academic units should utilize to respond to them.

Background Information

Section 504 Regulation at 104 CYR, 104.44 (a) regarding academic adjustments, requires post secondary institutions to make such modifications to academic requirements as are necessary to ensure that such requirements do not discriminate against qualified students with disabilities. The regulation also states that academic requirements that institutions can demonstrate are essential to programs of instruction being pursued by such students, or to any directly related licensing requirement, will not be regarded as discriminatory. Title II of the ADA at 28 C.F.R. 35.130(b)(7) requires reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures when the modifications are necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disabilities, unless public entities can demonstrate that making modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the services, programs, or activities.

Student Request

In order to request an academic modification based on a disability, a student must have an open case at DSS. Opening a case means supplying appropriate disability documentation and entering into an Accommodations Agreement with a staff member. The accommodation request portion of the Agreement will state the specific academic adjustment requested (i.e. waiver, substitution).

The student's documentation must contain specific and reasonably current information, provided by qualified experts, that supports the request. DSS staff will determine at this point whether the disability of the student in question justifies modification to a given class or program of instruction. Students should understand that DSS provides consultations to faculty based solely on students' needs and the impact disabilities may have on specific courses. Academic units determine whether or not a particular course or assignment is fundamental to degree programs.

Student Responsibility

Write a letter requesting the modification you are seeking and address to the chair of your department.

DSS Responsibility

If your situation justifies it, DSS will provide you with a letter to attach to your request detailing the academic impact of your disability. DSS verifies your disability in the context of your request.

Academic Responsibility

The designated individual, with appropriate departmental support, will determine whether your request is consistent with the pedagogical intent of the program. They will consider what skills, assignments, courses, deadlines, etc., are fundamental to the degree in question. They make the final determination as to course/program/or college requirements.

Information For Faculty/Academic Units

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) requires that the consideration process include the following elements-

1. The decision must be made by a group of people who are trained, knowledgeable, and experienced in the area;
2. The decision makers must include a consideration of alternatives as essential requirements, and;
3. The decision should be a thoughtful, careful, and rational review of the academic program and its requirements.

At issue is the balance between providing academic adjustments to disabled students to ensure that the requirements of programs do not discriminate, and the University's obligation to ensure that all students meet essential requirements needed to successfully complete a program of study.

OCR can require modifications if the requested modification does not lower academic standards, fundamentally alter the nature of the program, or impose an undue burden, and if the modification meets the underlying reason for the requirement.

Courts generally defer to academic determinations by universities based on the expertise of the institution and the right to academic freedom.

Documentation

The decision that results from this process should be documented, including an explanation of the purposes or objectives of the academic program and how the essential requirement is necessary to achieve these objectives. The student will be notified of the outcome in writing. DSS will maintain the documentation in the student's file at DSS if it made available to DSS.

Reconsideration

After the proper review of essential program requirements, the University does not have to reconsider each time a request is made. Reconsideration is appropriate when technical advances or theoretical changes in the field require it.

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