QUESTIONS/FAIRNESS/ CONSEQUENCES

What if I have Questions about a Request?

Are these Accommodations Fair to Other Students?

What are the Consequences of Failing to Respond?

scales of equality

WHAT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT A REQUEST?

If a student requests an accommodation you feel is unreasonable, or for other reasons question its validity, feel free to contact RDS (491-6385).

Most students who identify as having a disability will have had contact with this office and their needs have been verified by professional staff. Once identified, students are given a copy of written verification of the accommodations for which they are eligible. This written verification is addressed to each student's instructor for each semester. If a student does not have this verification with him/her, or has one that does not indicate an appropriate name of an instructor, you have the option of refusing the request until it is verified.

However, not providing an accommodation in a timely manner for a student once he/she had made the need known may be in violation of the law. Therefore, please call RDS for 1) verification to determine if the student is recognized as a student with a disability and 2) advice on what to do next.

If RDS can verify the student is recognized as having a disability, you will likely be advised to provide the accommodation (providing it is reasonable and appropriate for that particular disability). If a student has not identified him/herself with the office, please refer the student to the office so that the staff can help in the process of determining the most appropriate and reasonable accommodation concerning your class.

You may feel the need for an accommodation is valid but the accommodation does not appear reasonable or workable for the requirements of your class. It may seem that the accommodation would substantially alter the fundamental nature of your course. If so, please call RDS for consultation. Often other accommodations can be determined that will not alter the fundamental nature of your course without affecting the mandates against discrimination based on disability.

Eventhough you may be able to provide a specific accommodation independently from the assistance of RDS, please discuss the accommodation with RDS staff who have more experience in determining what may or may not be appropriate for a given need, especially if an accommodation is requested independently by the student without our verification. Not all requests for accommodations by a student may be appropriate or necessary for a given situation.

ARE THESE ACCOMMODATIONS FAIR TO OTHER STUDENTS?

A disability inherently can put a student at a disadvantage in comparison to the other students in your class. An accommodation for the particular limitations of a disability is meant to minimize this disadvantage and to "even out the playing ground" - or to provide an equitable environment for the student with the disability. Therefore, it can be considered UNFAIR to the disabled student to NOT provide an accommodation.

An accommodation is related to the presence of a hearing, visual, mobility, learning, or other disability. Since the majority of your students will not have such conditions, it is unnecessary to accommodate them in the same way because their needs as individual students will be different than those of a student with a disability. No two students are alike. Therefore, the need to treat them as if they were all the same, or equal, is an inequitable and unjust expectation. In addition, research indicates that accommodations such as extra time on exams does not benefit the student without a disability while it significantly improves test scores of students with disabilities (time constraints may actually test students' limitations rather than their knowledge).

It is important, however, to remember that all students should have the same expectation to learn the material of a particular class. Some students will do well and some others will not; sometimes due to individual student effort and motiviation and sometimes due to the method you choose in teaching and/or measuring their learning. However, the latter can present artificial barriers to students with disabilities regardless of their effort and motivation. Accommodations are means by which disabled students have the opportunity to transcend these barriers as they participate in the educational process.

Accommodations are by no means fool-proof and even with a reasonable accommodation a student may still fail to learn the material. Nevertheless, what is important is that the student is given the opportunity to learn, and a fair chance to show how much he/she has learned, through methods that facilitate both those processes.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF FAILING TO RESPOND?

Both ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are civil rights laws. A student who feels discriminated against based on his/her disability has the right to file an informal or formal complaint internally with the university's Office of Equal Opportunity and/or an external formal complaint with the U.S. Office of Civil Rights for further investigation. In addition, the ADA allows an individual direct access to the courts as a means to address the claim of discrimination and you can be held personally responsible for your actions. For more information concerning your individual responsibility, please contact the Office of Equal Opportunity, 491-5836.

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Resources for Disabled Students
100 General Services
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA (970) 491-6385

	RESOURCES FOR DISABLED STUDENTS
RDS is part of the Division of Student Affairs	100 General Services, Fort Collins, CO 80523-8002 (970) 491-6385 (V/TDD), (970) 491-3457 (Fax)