Understanding Accommodations

Creating Access

At SAAS, we believe environments create barriers more than the individual’s personal diagnosis or situation.

Examples of environmental design include:

  • A physical building or office space access and layout;
  • Office policies and procedures for accessing resources available through an office, program, or resource;
  • Course teaching methods and learning assessment methods;
  • TV and online videos, and whether or not they are captioned;
  • Personal attitudes and general awareness of society’s contribution to disability;

SAAS strives to proactively identify and remove access barriers, promote inclusion, and minimize the need for individual accommodations. Upon request, the university will provide reasonable accommodation(s) to otherwise qualified students as required by law to ensure equal access to educational opportunities. 

Students who have been approved for accommodations will use Accommodate to make and track supplemental accommodation requests, manage their accommodation letters, and check the status of other service requests.

Basis for Determining Accommodations

SSD engages in an interactive process to explore academic and housing accommodations based on disability. During the exploration process, SSD will review disability-related documentation and evaluate the unique attributes and requirements of the course, program, or activity. Instructors may be consulted about the application of accommodations for their specific course content.

Accommodations are determined to be reasonable if they do not constitute a fundamental alteration to a program, course activity, or compromise academic integrity. If course modifications, auxiliary aids, or services that are ineffective or constitute a fundamental alteration are not reasonable, they will not meet the ADA and Section 504’s minimal standards. 

In general, it is the student's responsibility to make their disability status and subsequent need for an accommodation known.

FERPA

During the process of exploring accommodations, the SSD may collect documentation regarding a student’s disability. Once collected, this information becomes a part of a student’s academic record and is protected by The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). If a student would like someone outside of the university (i.e, parent, guardian, partner) to join in conversations regarding the student’s accommodations and past use of accommodations, the student will need to complete and return to our office a FERPA: Consent Form for Disclosure prior to making an appointment to meet with their coordinator. Please know a student can revoke consent given at any time, to do this a student can submit the previously submitted form with the bottom portion filled out or send an email from their Umich email address stating they would like resend access.

To learn more about FERPA, you can visit the University of Michigan Office of the Registrar or the U.S. Department of Education.

ASL Interpreting

ASL interpreters support students with hearing-related disabilities by listening in class and translating lectures and discussions into American Sign Language. They may also translate the student's signed communication into spoken English when the student is called upon, has a comment or question, or makes a presentation.

ASL interpreting services are scheduled by the Services for Students with Disabilities office (SSD) upon request from the student approved for the accommodation. A student with an ASL interpreting accommodation must submit their semester request through Accommodate. SSD will then follow up with the student regarding their request. If a student submits a request directly to a course instructor, the instructor should forward it to ssdrequest@umich.edu with the student’s name and contact information.

The ASL interpreting service provider attending the class (remotely or in person) may need to work directly with the instructor and SSD to gain access to the course materials and become familiar with the course content. All assignments and course-related information will be kept confidential. SSD covers the cost of ASL interpreting services for students approved for the accommodation.

While working with interpreters, it is the responsibility of the student to:

  • Provide SSD with at least 24 hours' notice before the start of any class you will miss. This will allow reassignment of the interpreter.
  • Communicate with the ASL interpreter if you have questions or concerns regarding the services provided. 
  • If, after working with the ASL interpreter provider, you continue to have concerns about the services being provided, contact your coordinator or SSDrequest@umich.edu immediately. 

It is the responsibility of the interpreter to:

  • Follow the Code of Ethics for Interpreters established by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.
  • Inform SSD of any absence requiring a substitute ASL interpreter so we can make arrangements for that class to be covered.
  • Wait 20 minutes, if you know who your student is and they are not in attendance before you leave class.

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART)

CART provides real-time translation of spoken English into written English, displayed on devices such as laptop monitors, tablets, or cell phones. This allows the student to read what is being said during a class session, both lecture and discussion.

Real-time captioning services are scheduled by the Services for Students with Disabilities office (SSD) upon request from the student approved for the accommodation. A student with a CART accommodation must submit their semester request through Accommodate. SSD will then follow up with the student regarding their request. If a student submits a request directly to a course instructor, the instructor should forward it to ssdrequest@umich.edu with the student’s name and contact information.

The captioning service provider attending the class (remotely or in-person) may need to work directly with the instructor and SSD to gain access to the course materials and become familiar with the course content. All assignments and course-related information will be kept confidential. SSD covers the cost of real-time captioning services for students approved for the accommodation.

While working with CART services, it is the student's responsibility to:

  • Communicate with SSD and the CART provider at least 24 hours before the start of any class to be missed. CART providers are only scheduled for classes in which students are in attendance.
  • Inform SSD and the CART provider of any changes to class schedules, including course drops/adds, classroom changes, or additional review sessions, etc.
  • Communicate with the CART provider regarding questions or concerns about the services provided.
  • If, after working with the CART provider, a student continues to have concerns regarding services being provided, they should contact their coordinator or SSDrequest@umich.edu immediately.
     

CART provider's responsibility is to:

  • Be punctual to secure the best possible seating and set up equipment without disrupting the class.
  • Inform SSD of any absence requiring a substitute CART provider so we can make arrangements to cover that class.
  • Wait 20 minutes, if you know who your student is and they are not in attendance before you leave class.

Resources to Help Locate Your Textbook

Digital textbooks are available from many sources, and students can find accessible Alternative Formats directly without going through Services for Students with Disabilities.

  1. Bookshare (free for those who qualify)
    1. Do I qualify?
    2. What does it Cost?
    3. Have an account? And want an Individual Membership? Send an email to ssdrequest@umich.edu
  2. VitalSource (for purchase)
  3. University of Michigan bookstore (many textbooks available as e-text)
  4. University of Michigan Library book and article search
  5. Project Gutenberg (free ebooks, EPUBs and Kindle books)
  6. Amazon.com (searching for texts here can result in many different formats)

If you need assistance in locating an accessible textbook, please enter the request (include ISBN number) into Accommodate (How to Enter Textbook request).

Course materials (i.e. articles, handouts) that are not in an accessible format can be uploaded into Accommodate to be converted (How to enter Course material request).