Understanding Accommodations

Creating Access

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.

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.

Rights and Responsibilities

Creating equitable educational opportunities is a collaborative effort between the student, faculty, and instructional staff; academic units; and SSD. We encourage you to review SSD’s Guidelines for Ensuring Equitable Academic Access, which outlines the following:

  • The individual roles of students, faculty, and instructional staff, which includes course coordinators, and SSD as it relates to academic accommodations to ensure accessible environments.
  • Expectations around notification, communication, and implementation of accommodations.
  • How SSD can support students and academic units and how students and faculty and instructional staff should proactively communicate their disability-related needs, questions, or concerns.
  • The importance of maintaining privacy when discussing disability-related information and implementing accommodations.

FERPA

During the process of exploring accommodations, 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. 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 U-M email address stating they would like to rescind 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 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. 

The ASL interpreter 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 a minimum of two weeks' notice of the request.
  • 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. 

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 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:

  • Provide a minimum of two weeks' notice of the request.
  • 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.

Accessible Course Materials

Digital textbooks are available from many sources, and students can find accessible alternative formats directly without going through SSD.

If you need assistance in locating an accessible textbook or would like accessible versions of other kinds of course materials (such as articles or handouts), please submit an alternative format request in Accommodate.