Disability Accommodations FAQs

You may not legally ask students if they have a disability but you can make inquiries about the nature of their difficulties.  You may ask if they had difficulty before and how they were able to succeed in their classes.  The student may voluntarily disclose the disability.  At this point a referral to the Office of Disability Services is in order.  If he/she does not disclose, you may simply tell the student that you notice he/she is having academic difficulty and encourage him/her to talk with you about gaining assistance, just as you would with any student.

Do not provide additional accommodations for which you have not received documentation from the Office of Disability Services without talking with the Coordinator first.  You could be setting a dangerous precedent.

You will be emailed letter (Faculty Notification Letter) from the Coordinator of Disability Services, and the student is responsible for discussing each accommodation with you after the letter is received.  The letter lists the approved academic adjustments that are determined and authorized by qualified disability services staff. 

Completely! Instructors must maintain a policy of strict confidentiality about the identity of a student with a disability, the nature of their disability, and the disability–related accommodations they require.

Absolutely not. We understand that this may be difficult for some individuals who teach; however, requiring that a student disclose her or his disability to you puts the institution at great legal risk. Although you may be open to listening if a student chooses to explain her or his disability to you—without your actual or implied solicitation of information, it is very important that you communicate respect for the student’s privacy regarding the specific nature of her or his disability.

Their disability, as they understand it, will be discussed with the Coordinator of Disability Services, as well as their history of accommodation, and possible reasonable accommodations given their stated disability. The student will be informed that to be granted accommodations, they will have to submit appropriate documentation of disability. Once received, the documentation will be reviewed based on guidelines recommended by the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD). Upon review, the Coordinator of Disability Services will discuss reasonable accommodations based on the documentation available. Students without appropriate or current documentation will be given appropriate referral, if the student so desires.

A student who wishes to receive disability–related accommodations must register with the Office of Disability Services before services are rendered. Once a student is registered, faculty must provide the academic accommodations that the Office of Disability Services determines reasonable. The Coordinator provides the students' instructors with a letter of accommodations via email, prior to the start of the block. This letter substantiates proof of the disability and identifies approved academic accommodations. The student must then discuss the implementation of these accommodations with their instructor within the first three days of the block. 

Announce at the beginning of the course that you are available to discuss instructional methods and appropriate course modifications with students who have disabilities. In addition, you should include a note to this effect on your course syllabus

A reasonable accommodation is a modification that allows the student equal access to the learning opportunity. Reasonable accommodations are determined after reviewing the student’s documentation related to her or his disability. The Coordinator of Disability Services determines what accommodations are reasonable based on the specific ways the student’s disability affects their ability to access buildings, information, or resources related to their academic experience. The student will provide you with a letter from the Office of Disability Services (through email), outlining appropriate accommodations. Academic accommodations include, but are not limited to: testing accommodations, adaptive technology services, and assistance in arranging other support services (e.g., interpreters, note–takers, scribes, and readers).

Any exceptions that a professor chooses to make in her or his instructional and/or testing procedures is not deemed an accommodation of a disability. We all know that most professors choose to make exceptions for particular students from time to time (e.g., allowing a student to take a make–up test in the event of a family member’s death). However, any exceptions made based on a students alleged, but undocumented disability, can put the university at legal risk. In these cases, always ask yourself:

“Since accommodations for appropriately documented disabilities are made in the Disabilities Services office, do I have some other legitimate reason besides the alleged disability for making an exception for this student?”

“Is it an exception that I would be willing to make for any other non–disabled student?”

Cornell College is required by federal regulation to establish formal grievance procedures for providing prompt and equitable resolution of disagreements. When a dispute involves the conduct of a course or academic program, those procedures provide for consultation between the faculty member responsible for the course, the student, and a representative from the Office of Disability Services. Contact the Coordinator to learn about the grievance procedure.

Because you are the person most intimately familiar with your own courses, you may provide very valuable input in the process of tailoring the specifics of several accommodations for a given student. Also, any prior experience that you have had with the student or in working with other students with disabilities may be very valuable.

The Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states: “The results of an examination should accurately reflect an individual’s aptitude or achievement level or whatever the test purports to measure, rather than reflecting an individual’s impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills.” The courts have held repeatedly that a lengthening of the standard examination period is an appropriate accommodation for some students with disabilities.

An instructor is required to allow a student to record audio of the course if recording the class is determined to be an appropriate accommodation for a student’s disability. Tape recorders are specifically mentioned in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act as a means of providing full participation in educational programs and activities. Students who are approved to have this accommodation . This form provides assurance that the student will protect the confidentiality of the recorded information. Contact the Disability Services office with specific questions or concerns about recording lectures.  If you are concerned about confidential matters being discussed in class discussion you may request a student sign a Note–taking Support Agreement form available at the Disability Services office. Another option is to tell all students to put down their pens or close their laptops; then it would be appropriate to ask the student to stop recording. However, if other students are still taking notes it would be inappropriate to ask the student with the accommodation to stop recording the class discussion.

If you have questions about the validity of a letter presented by a student or sent to you via email, you are urged to contact the Disability Services office. Although we cannot disclose the specifics about a student’s disability without the student’s consent, the Coordinator can review the files and tell you if the forms you were presented were originated from our office and if the accommodations listed are in fact the accommodations granted. If discussions with the Coordinator indicate that the forms were not originated from our office, or the forms have been inappropriately altered, you are not obligated to accommodate the student at that time and a disciplinary referral may be made to the Dean of Students.

Also, the Coordinator may be able to discuss with you in general terms about the rationale behind certain accommodations without disclosing specifics about a particular student’s disability.

Determine to what extent class absences may fundamentally interfere with the student completing your course objectives and learning outcomes. Consult with the Office of Disability Services about note–taking services, exam accommodations, and any other support services that may be needed. It is important to note that you must not lower your academic expectations; ultimately, the student is responsible for gaining the knowledge and skills required in the class.

The ADA does not mandate specific accommodations. Accommodations are based on each individuals disability and barriers to access. Examples of common accommodations include :

  • Extended time to complete tests (typically time and a half to double time).
  • A quiet, distraction-reduced testing environment.
  • Audio textbooks and/or readers for tests, for students with visual processing issues.
  • Visual accommodations, such as sitting upfront.
  • Note-taker in class to produce readable, well-organized notes of lectures.
  • Permission to record audio of class.
  • Computer accommodation, the use of the word-processing function of a computer during tests for essays and short-answer questions.
  • Hearing accommodations, such as captioned videos and sound amplification systems.


Faculty are not required to make an accommodation that might cause an undue hardship “...an action that requires significant difficulty or expense.”

"Undue Hardship" Explained:

This section of ADA addresses the common-sense notion that not all accommodations can be provided in all settings. Here, the law stipulates that universities are not required to provide an accommodation that will impose an "undue hardship" on the operation of the class, where "undue hardship" means significant difficulty or expense in, or resulting from, the provision of the accommodation. The following are used to help make this determination:

  • Financial resources
  • Cost of accommodation
  • Alteration or change in the course requirements

If a faculty memeber has concerns about that an accommodation might cause undue hardship, please contact the Coordinator of Disability Services.

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