Information for Faculty
Achieving reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities involves shared responsibility among the students, faculty, staff, and SAS.
Students disclose disability accommodations to you via an accommodation letter from Student Accessibility Support. The letter signifies that the university has received appropriate documentation of the student's disability and that we have determined reasonable accommodations specific to the impact of the disability/condition. The letter informs you of the existence of a disability; more importantly, we hope that it becomes the springboard for a dialogue between student and instructor.
Accommodations cannot be requested retroactively, i.e., an instructor is not accountable for providing an accommodation when a student has not presented a letter of accommodation before a given exam or assignment in question.
For further questions about how to implement academic accommodations, please check our Faculty FAQs or reach out to us directly at access@brandeis.edu.
If an instructor needs support with proctoring exams/quizzes for students in their course with approved exam accommodations, please complete the SAS Exam Proctoring Request Form. We ask that this form is filled out at least seven days before the scheduled exam, so that SAS can coordinate and recruit a proctor.
Partnering with Student Accessibility Support
Information about a student's disability is confidential, but communication between a faculty member and a Student Accessibility Support specialist is interpreted as serving the student's needs.
To support faculty in managing multiple accommodation letters, we have created this "Student Accommodations" tracking spreadsheet. Please feel free to download a copy to your hard drive and edit away.
Determination of reasonable accommodations is done through SAS, with established processes. Through the interactive process, the student and SAS discuss diagnostic needs to determine appropriate accommodations. No faculty member is expected to be put in a position of having to determine an appropriate accommodation for a student on his or her own.
At times, a student will request an accommodation that may not be appropriate to the course or to the university context. If determined not to be appropriate, steps will be provided to support the student. A member of the SAS team will engage in a dialogue with the student about what is appropriate and what is not — and about strategies to support the student.
When the student presents their accommodation letter to faculty, the student and the instructor discuss how the accommodation/s will be implemented in the specific course. If there are any questions or concerns, the student and/or the instructor should communicate with SAS (access@brandeis.edu).
Accommodation letters issued by SAS are broad, reflecting different student needs as well as different course structures. What may be appropriate for one kind of course may not be appropriate for another. When faculty receive a letter from SAS and have concerns about whether an accommodation would fundamentally alter their course, they should consult the Reasonable Accommodation Guide (PDF) to help determine next steps in collaboration with SAS.
Syllabus Statement
Please copy and paste the following statement, in bold type, in your syllabus:
Brandeis seeks to create a learning environment that is welcoming and inclusive of all students, and I want to support you in your learning. If you think you may require disability accommodations, you will need to work with Student Accessibility Support (SAS). You can contact them at 781-736-3470, email them at access@brandeis.edu, or visit the Student Accessibility Support home page. You can find helpful student FAQs and other resources on the SAS website, including guidance on how to know whether you might be eligible for support from SAS.
If you already have an accommodation letter from SAS, please provide me with a copy as soon as you can so that I can ensure effective implementation of accommodations for this class. In order to coordinate exam accommodations, ideally you should provide the accommodation letter at least 48 hours before an exam.