Faculty Resources

Working with students who have accomodations

Our mission is to coordinate services to empower students with disabilities to participate and excel in every aspect of academic and campus life at WSU Tri-Cities. This includes working with faculty who have students with accommodations. Instructors are responsible for putting the approved accommodations into place. When you receive a faculty accommodations notification, you may question certain accommodations or how best to put accommodations into place. Do not hesitate to consult with the student’s Access Advisor when you have questions. Accommodations are to provide equal access and are not to compromise the integrity of the course, the course requirements or the student’s learning. This is the interactive process in seeking solutions for putting accommodations into place.

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Contact us

Gretchen Hormel
Access and Support Services Coordinator

g.hormel@wsu.edu

TriCities.AccessServices@wsu.edu

509-372-7352

Book an appointment online with Access Services

Additional information and resources

Testing accommodations

If you have a student in your class who is registered with the Access Services Office and has exam proctoring as an accommodation, please do the following:

  • Go to the Exam Proctoring Center website and submit a Proctoring Request Form. Provide the exam as soon as possible, at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the exam. Please note: The “Disabilities Services Students” paragraph provides the specifics applicable to your needs.
  • The exam proctoring office has set days and hours. Please be aware that schedule flexibility is essential, allowing a day or two between the earliest date that a proctored exam may be administered to the last date allowed. This will provide the Proctor flexibility to work with the student’s schedule, as well as the testing center’s schedule, to calendar the student’s proctored exam.
  • The Exam Proctoring Center website includes instructions for students, whose schedules have a tremendous influence on when the exam can be added to the Proctor’s schedule. Therefore, students do not have to wait for a Proctoring Request Form to be submitted by the instructor. The student can submit an online form, Student Scheduling Request – Student Use, to initiate the scheduling process. If a proctoring request form has not been submitted by the instructor first, then the instructor will be copied on the Scheduling Confirmation email with a statement and link in order that a Proctoring Request Form can be readily submitted — Proctor Request Form – Instructor Use.
  •  If you have any questions, do not hesitate to visit the Exam Proctor Center, located in the Learning Commons, or call the Exam Proctor Center at 509.372.7191. You can also email tricities.testingcenter@wsu.edu

COVID & mental health resources

Research Helps Tackle Health Barriers for People with Disabilities

PBS News Hour Report “Rethinking College & Mental Health”

National Center for Student Statistics “Students with Disabilities”

Postsecondary National Policy Institute “Students with Disabilities in Higher Education”

Center for Disease Control “Disability Impacts All of Us”

COVID & Mental Health – An Invisible Disability

When faculty are concerned and/or uncertain whether a student's accommodation is reasonable or requires a fundamental alteration to their course

Faculty members may raise questions and concerns about accommodations listed on a student’s Faculty Notification email. When faculty inquire whether an accommodation is reasonable or believe a requested accommodation may be a fundamental alteration to their course the following should occur:

  • The faculty member must immediately contact the student’s Access Advisor (the person listed in the faculty notification email) and not to the student seeking the accommodation.
  • If communication between the faculty member and the Access Advisor does not resolve the concern of whether an accommodation is reasonable or requires a fundamental alteration, the student’s Access Advisor coordinates a meeting with an ad hoc committee.
    • The ad hoc committee may include the faculty member, academic director or lead, department chair, associate dean, Access Advisor, ADA Coordinator, and/or others with knowledge of the academic area.
    • During the the meeting, the ad hoc committee will discuss related licensing requirements, applicable accreditation standards, and clarify how the questioned accommodation supports the student’s disability(ies).
    • This committee will decide whether the requested accommodation is reasonable or constitutes a fundamental alteration of the academic requirements of the course/program.
    • This committee is considered a part of the interactive process, which is required by law. In the meantime, faculty members are still obligated to provide all uncontested accommodations as stated in the faculty notification letter until resolution is reached.
    • If the ad hoc committee decides whether an accommodation is reasonable or not a fundamental alteration, the accommodation will be provided retroactively to the date of the faculty notification.

More information is available through the WSU Office of Civil Rights and Compliance.

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