FAQs for Faculty

Academic accommodations are modifications and adjustments to course structures or policies that eliminate barriers to a student’s full participation in all aspects of a course.  

Accommodations are not designed to give the student an unfair advantage, alter the fundamental objectives of a course, reduce the academic rigor of a course, or create an undue burden on the instructor.

In order to receive accommodations, a student must self-identify as an individual with a disability by reaching out to our office.  

The student is then scheduled for a 90-minute Welcome Meeting with a counselor.  During the Welcome Meeting, the counselor engages in an interactive process with the student by reviewing the student’s disability paperwork and discussing the barriers to learning that a student experiences at CSU East Bay.

The Welcome Meeting concludes with the student receiving an orientation to the policies and procedures for putting accommodations in place. It is the students responsibility to notify their instructors of their accommodations each semester.

Attending a Welcome Meeting with an Accessibility Counselor is the first step to determining what services and accommodations a student with a disability can utilize. This is done through interviewing with the Accessibility Counselor and providing any disability documentation for them to review. If there is enough information, then the Accessibility Counselor will determine what accommodations are reasonable and create a Determination of Accommodations Letter. The student then receives an orientation to their accommodations, department policies, and the student accommodation portal. If a counselor does not have enough information to approve one or more requested accommodations, they will ask the student to provide documentation before providing accommodations. 

If a student does not agree with the determination of accommodations, then they can file an appeal.

A student’s accommodations are approved through a series of in depth questions that help the Accessibility Counselor and the student to identify specific barriers to learning that the academic environment creates and the accommodations that will most effectively remove the barrier. The goal of the Accessibility Counselor is to ensure that the student has the same opportunity to learn, engage, and demonstrate knowledge as their non-disabled peers. 

Often students provide disability documentation from a medical provider which is also reviewed by the counselor to help provide additional context regarding the student’s symptoms or conditions. 

Other times students provide accommodation letters from a previously attended college or an IEP from High School. The counselor will then review the accommodations from those documents to see if, and how, they might translate at CSUEB.

In short, third party documentation is not mandatory to receive services if a student’s disability is readily apparent during the welcome meeting. However disability documentation can be very helpful in determining accommodations. If the counselor needs more information before being able to make a determination, they might require the student to provide that information in the form of third party documentation.

We encourage you not to assume that someone has a disability, however if you notice a student is struggling, we recommend encouraging them to utilize the resources available on campus such as the SCAA, Peer Academic Coaching, Accessibility Services, etc.

If the student confirms the presence of a disability, we recommend encouraging the student to schedule a Welcome Meeting with our office. They can do so by calling the main office at (510) 885-3868 for an appointment. Or they can stop by in person to schedule their Welcome Meeting at LI 2400. They can also fill out an online form which our office will use to reach out to the student. 

The Accommodation Notification is a legal notice that informs instructors of a student’s need for academic accommodations. The date that the instructor receives notice of a student’s accommodations is the point at which the interactive process for faculty begins.

Academic accommodations, in short, are supports for students with disabilities that reduce or remove the barriers they face in the academic environment. Accessibility Counselors determine these accommodations based on a student’s documentation and the structured interview conducted during the welcome meeting. Common accommodations that would be listed are accessible testing, course notes, and audio-recording of courses. There are other, less straightforward, accommodations that require consulting with a student’s instructors.

We encourage students to notify their instructors about their accommodations at the start of each semester, however, this is not always possible. A student may not be approved for accommodations until after the start of the term, or a student may choose not to notify instructors until after they have been in the class for some time.

Faculty may not be notified about a student’s accommodations until the middle or end of a semester. It is important to note that accommodations are not retroactive. If a student notifies their instructor after the start of the term, the accommodations listed do not have to be implemented prior to that date. 

If you should have any questions or concerns regarding a student’s accommodations, or any other aspect of their academics as they pertain to disability/inclusive design, please reach out to that student’s Accessibility Counselor by using the email address below their signature on the email or by contacting us by phone at 510-885-3868.

As an instructor, you are responsible for engaging collaboratively in the interactive process to assist the institution in meeting its legal compliance obligations. Once an accommodation is approved and determined to be reasonable through the interactive process, you are responsible for implementing those accommodations within the learning environment. This may include, but is not limited to: providing access to course materials, extending time for exams or assignments, and coordinating with Accessibility Services offices (Accessible Testing, Interpreting, etc). You are also responsible for maintaining students’ rights under FERPA by taking steps to ensure confidentiality regarding a student’s disabilities and accommodations.

Instructors have the right to set course expectations and learning objectives and are encouraged to share their expertise and insight into their course structures during the interactive process. Instructors have the right to confirm that a student has been approved for accommodations through our office by requesting an Accommodation Notification email be sent if they have not already been sent one. Instructors have the right, and are highly encouraged, to seek clarification and guidance on a student's accommodations, especially if the instructor is concerned that a specific accommodation may compromise the learning objectives of the course. Faculty have the right to award grades that are reflective of how well the student met the stated course objectives.

Instructors are not permitted to unilaterally deny an accommodation without first engaging in the interactive process with Accessibility Services and, if necessary, their department chair. Instructors are not permitted to review a student's disability related documentation or request information related to a student’s diagnosis, though questions about barriers or challenges are often helpful in supporting a student. Instructors are discouraged from challenging or inquiring about the legitimacy of a student’s disability. Students who have been approved for accommodations have been determined, by the Accessibility Counselor, to have a disability through review of disability documentation and in depth interviews. 

Review the accommodations listed. Consider how the accommodations can be implemented in your class. If the accommodations can be implemented, confirm with the student and discuss any logistics. If you feel that the accommodation would not be reasonable or that it changes essential aspects of your course then contact the Accessibility Counselor listed in the email.

• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for curriculum designed to provide an equitable learning experience for all students. 
  • Multiple modalities, flexibility, and creativity are the key components of these principles.
• UDL embraces the fact that all students come with their own strengths and weaknesses, and that there is no “one right way” to learn or teach. 
• Challenges students to actively engage in their learning and to become aware of their own strengths and weaknesses.
• Challenges instructors to mindfully create environments that are inclusive of diverse student experiences.

Visual, Auditory, Verbal and Kinesthetic (hands on). Each learning type responds best to a different method of teaching, while some students may have more than one style.

While there are many ways to improve inclusion and accessibility in a course, not every method or strategy will work well for every course. However, we encourage you to explore the strategies laid out in the UDL principles and strategies to find a few tools that might allow you to build a more inclusive course. 

Additionally, there are a few suggestions that can be applied to any course: 

• Create and use accessible course materials. If you develop your own material, we encourage you to use the accessibility checker that is built into Microsoft products, Adobe, Google products, and Canvas.If you use material that someone else created, we encourage you to search for material that is already accessible.
• Adopt textbooks by the deadline each term. 
• Use automatic captioning when using online meeting platforms. 
• Provide students with a copy of lecture material or, if possible, record each class session so that students can review the material again.

Generally when we’re speaking about accessible documents, we’re referring to digital documents. An accessible document is one that can be accessed with assistive technology such as JAWS or ZoomText. The easiest way to do this is to run each document through the accessibility checker within the program used to create it (Microsoft products, Adobe, Google products, and Canvas.) Ideally documents will be downloadable so that students have the ability to change font, size, and color.

Videos with captioning, digital reading materials instead of, or in addition to, paper copies, and PPT slides that have been made accessibly, are a few examples of materials you could use in your course. 

Students will submit a request for accessible course materials to ITS Accessible Media. They will reach out to you with additional information regarding which materials need to be remediated and will provide you additional guidance on whether you, as the instructor, need to assist with this process.