>>WILLEMIN: Hi. I'm Susan Willemin, the director of Disability Support Services, and I'd like to give the faculty five quick tips for working with students with disabilities. Tip number one: encourage students to disclose their disability as soon as possible by including a syllabus statement, and the statement can be very simple, such as, if you need an accommodation due to a disability please contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. A memo from Disability Support Services authorizing your accommodations will be needed. And you should note that students are only required to disclose a disability if they want to request an accommodation, but if they want to request it they must disclose and provide documentation.

Tip number two: the disability support services office determines a student's eligibility for accommodations and services so if a student hasn't given you a memo from Disability Support Services, you shouldn't provide accommodations on the basis of a disability no matter how convincing the student is. The student has to meet specific requirements to be eligible for accommodations that include submitting appropriate documentation of their disability that support the need for accommodations approved by DSS. And we want that to be consistent for our University and our practice is consistent with other universities in this regard.

Tip three: as a faculty member, you play an important role in providing accommodations of course; however, it shouldn't be time-consuming. So Disability Support Services is a resource for you to expedite the accommodations process. And a good example of this is using the Testing Services Center, which is as much for faculty as it is for our students. Importantly, you should provide help with course work to a student with a disability as you would provide help for any other student. If a student with a disability needs more assistance than you can reasonably provide, you can refer the student to DSS or another appropriate campus resource. 

Tip number four: information related to a student's disability is confidential and is protected under FERPA. The student should be afforded the opportunity to meet with you privately to discuss disability related matters and you should only share disability related information on a need-to-know basis.

And finally, the last tip is accommodations are designed to mitigate the effects of a disability so the student has an equal opportunity to meet the course standards, not to change or circumvent them. If a student with a disability can't meet the course standards even with accommodations, it may mean the student won't pass. Accommodations give students a chance to compete on a level playing field, they don't guarantee success. And finally, to emphasize again, DSS is a resource for faculty. So please don't hesitate to contact our office with questions or concerns regarding a student with a disability or with an accommodation, and it's important, I think, to know that every DSS registered student is assigned a specialist and you can ask to speak directly to the specialist. And we can also consult with you regarding students who may not be registered with Disability Support Services, but who you have a concern about or may want to refer for further services. And there's our contact information. And I look forward to working with you and your students with disabilities in the future. Thanks.