Attendance or Deadline Modifications
Chronic conditions with unpredictable flare-ups are a common reason for supporting deadline and absence flexibility.
Access needs related to attendance and assignment deadlines are most often connected to chronic health conditions or emergent illness/injuries. Many chronic health conditions such as diabetes, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic migraines, etc. can have unpredictable flare-ups. When someone experiences a flare-up, it can be hours to days before they recover enough to resume daily activities. Attendance and Deadline Modifications are in no way intended to force an instructor to redesign their course or develop a secondary method for assessments. These accommodations are also not intended as a substitute for time management and organizational skills; there are many resources available to help students develop these skills.
Attendance Modifications
For students with chronic health conditions, attending class can be interrupted by disability flare-ups. Students work with their access specialist to determine the additional time they may request to make-up missed work.
Instructors are expected to allow students to make-up graded class assignments within the timeframe outlined on the student’s course accessibility letter. Instructors are not required to re-teach course content. This accommodation is not intended for time management or non-disability related events.
We recommend students and faculty reach out to an access specialist if a student requests to use attendance modifications more than 3 times per semester. This will allow us to clarify any misunderstandings or provide additional assistance to struggling students.
Deadline Modifications
Some students experience disability flare-ups that can interfere with daily functions. At times, this impacts a student's ability to complete assignments or homework by a given deadline.
Students are expected to request to use the accommodation in writing, prior to the assignment deadline. This accommodation is not intended to be used as a time management tool and/or used for every assignment in a class. We recommend students and faculty reach out to our Access Team advisors if a student requests to use deadline modifications more than 3 times per semester. This will allow us to clarify any misunderstandings or provide additional assistance to struggling students.
Late to Class
Disabilities can make arrival at class on time a challenge. Since attendance is often a graded element, it’s important that disabled students are not penalized. Often students need more than the traditional 15-minutes between classes. The expectation is that students with this accommodation should receive attendance credit, be allowed to complete opening classwork, etc.
Remote Participation
Under very limited conditions, remote access to class may be a reasonable way to provide a student with access to the learning environment. Determining the reasonableness of remote access to class is a partnership between the access specialist and instructor(s). Common reasons when remote participation may not be reasonable are: synchronous group work is part of a graded learning objective, specialized tools or equipment are required, or remote access does not allow for an essential graded learning objective to be assessed.