Information for Faculty Members
Faculty are always welcome to contact ODS staff to consult with us regarding how best to implement students' accommodation plans, or if they have questions about the logistics of an accommodation for their specific course.
ODS typically notifies faculty of student accommodations at the beginning of each semester at the student's request. However, please be aware that students may register with us after the semester starts. Accommodations are not intended to be retroactive, but may be applied from the date that you receive a Faculty Notification Letter from our office.
The Accommodation Letter Process:
- During the student intake meeting or check-in, ODS staff will email a Faculty Notification Letter to the Faculty member to pre-notify the Faculty member of the accommodations the student is eligible to receive.
- We recommend that students bring a hard copy of their Faculty Notification Letter in person to meet with the Faculty member within one week of their meeting with ODS, in order to discuss their needs for accommodations directly with the professor. PLEASE NOTE: if you receive a Faculty Notification Letter, but the ODS student has not come to speak to you within one week of your receipt of this letter, please contact ODS staff and we will follow up with the student to discuss options.
Testing Accommodations at ODS
ODS has an online management system to help us manage the large volume of students taking their exams with accommodations from ODS. You will receive a link in the pre-notification Faculty Notification Letter (sent via email) with instructions on how to fill out test proctoring information via our Alternative Testing Contract. It's important that you fill out this Alternative Testing Contract within one week of receiving the email so that ODS students can schedule their exams with ODS. Please note that although you will receive emails about each student registered with ODS for testing accommodations, you only need to fill out the Alternative Testing Contract ONCE per semester for each course section that you teach. (If you teach multiple sections of the same course and want ODS to duplicate the contract across course sections (provided the test proctoring instructions are the same), please contact us at ods@barnard.edu or call us at 212-854-4634, and we'd be happy to assist you with this!)
Other Important Items to Note:
- ODS understands that not all accommodations will be applicable in every context, given the variety in course design and content. If you have specific questions about how to accommodate a student within the context of your course, please contact ODS staff so we can work together to find the most applicable accommodation(s) given the student's specific situation.
- Disability information is confidential. Therefore, ODS staff are not able to disclose the type of disability that the student has registered for without written permission from the student. However, we can discuss the accommodation plan and work together to discuss options regarding implementing various accommodations in your classroom.
- Students are required to self-identify to and register with ODS in order to be eligible for accommodations. Faculty are NOT required to provide accommodations to a student until they receive a Faculty Notification Letter, which formally notifies them of the accommodations the student is eligible for.
- If a student discloses a disability to you without providing you with a Faculty Notification Letter, it is imperative that you both inform the student that they need to register with the Office of Disability Services first to seek formal accommodations and contact ODS to inform them that you have made a referral about a particular student.
- Faculty should not ask a student what type of disability they have, but we encourage you to have a conversation with either the student or ODS about how the accommodations on the student's Faculty Notification Letter can be applied within the course content.
- Faculty should never ask a student about their disability or accommodations in front of other students in the course. This can in essence "out" the student with a disability to their peers and is not appropriate. We appreciate your caution and consideration.