Useful statistic to be aware of: 19% of post-secondary students in the US identify as having a disability (from the National Center for Educational Statistics)
Aaron Spector, Director of Disability Services
How Disability Services works with students at Penn:
- Students self-identify through the Disability Services online portal, indicate their need and the accommodations they seek
- Students can ask for accommodations anytime after they are accepted but accommodations cannot be applied retroactively (can’t ask for extra time on an exam they’ve already taken.)
- Students have the choice to renew and/or disclose their needs each semester; when students do not feel welcome, they may delay getting the support they need;
- Students who need testing accommodations need to give 8 days advance notice;
What instructors can do:
- Students often feel alone and instructors can normalize this in class just making mention of the office, and when appropriate refer students for services; also it can help to mention what you’ve done to create more accessibility for students (be transparent about how you teach your course)
- Create welcoming syllabus statements can help students with disabilities feel that they can ask for help or use accommodations without fear of stigma
- When you announce exams and send out reminders add a note encouraging students to make arrangements for the accommodations
- Help DS when they need to hire and coordinate note-takers from the class (DS will reach out to you if they need this help)
- Use the web portal for getting exams to DS. (Here’s a link to how to access and use the web porta)
- Partner with DS share constructive and productive feedback from instructors to better support processes and support and use DS as a partner to help students
Heather Love, English
- Consider how to make the class more inclusive and accommodating for all students, even those that don’t disclose
- Sense that the process can be inequitable -- costs can be high to get a diagnosis
- Be aware that accommodations don’t cover all challenges and that people’s status changes.
- Recognize that COVID has shifted everyone’s sense of what is a disability. Faculty have had to make lots of adjustments on the fly.
- The syllabus can signal a lot about your flexibility and willingness to support students
- De-stigmatization is important
- Be human and lively
- Some examples from CTL’s website
- The syllabus can signal a lot about your flexibility and willingness to support students
- Create flexible policies for deadlines and absences while still keeping structure in mind so that students have due dates and can be part of class
- Universal Design is not always possible; when not, fall back on good teaching and listening to students’ needs and everyone’s situation is different
Zahra Fakraai, Chemistry
- Understand that the process of diagnosis can take many years; chronic diseases can flare up with stress or otherwise unexpectedly
- Start with a point of empathy and be clear about expectations for class and what students need to do to demonstrate those (for example, does an exam need to be timed or can students have the option to skip or drop an assessment if they don’t thrive in a certain modality)
- Communicate with students about their needs, even if they have an accommodation; sometimes easy things can make a big difference
- Lower barriers to ask for an extension, as not all students know it is acceptable to ask for one