Faculty Responsibilities:

Supporting Students with Disabilities

As the number of students with disabilities attending postsecondary education continues to increase each year, faculty must understand their responsibilities under disability law. The Office of Disability Resources at SVA is available to assist faculty in understanding these responsibilities, implementing disability accommodations, creating inclusive learning spaces, and providing overall support to students with disabilities.

From the U.S. Office for Civil Rights (OCR):

“OCR enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II), which prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability. Every school district and nearly every institution of postsecondary education in the United States is subject to Section 504 or Title II. Entities covered by these civil rights laws have an obligation to comply with legal requirements and to carry out their programs and activities in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis of disability.

Institutions of postsecondary education must provide an appropriate academic adjustment based on students’ disabilities and individual needs when necessary to avoid discrimination. In providing an academic adjustment, a postsecondary institution does not have to eliminate or lower essential requirements or make modifications that would result in a fundamental alteration of the programs or activities being offered or impose an undue burden on the institution.”

SVA Accessibility Policy and Course Syllabi

The following mandatory disability statement is located in the Policy section of all SVA course syllabi. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the language.

"SVA is committed to ensuring access to educational materials and instruction for students with disabilities. To receive disability accommodations for this course, students must register with SVA’s Disability Resources office. Once the student is approved for accommodations, the instructor will be notified. Instructors do not have to provide accommodations unless they have received notification from Disability Resources. All instructors are required to adhere to the school’s policies regarding accommodations for students with disabilities. Students who have a need for academic accommodations, or suspect they may have a disability, should contact Disability Resources at d isabilityresources@sva.edu."

Faculty Responsibilities When Working with Students with a Disability Accommodation

Check your SVA email regularly and open any emails from Disability Resources. You will also be asked to login to MyAccommodate on your SVA MyID Dashboard to view and sign Accommodation Letters. Signatures only indicate to Disability Resources that you have read the letter. You are still obligated to provide the stated accommodations even if you do not sign the letter.

Ensure students receive the accommodations identified in the Accommodation Letter provided by Disability Resources. You must implement all accommodations indicated by Disability Resources on the Accommodation Letter. You should not provide accommodations in addition to those stated unless you would do so for all other students. Some accommodations like audiobooks, will be solely provided by Disability Resources-these will be noted. Disability Resources will also coordinate proctoring extra time on exams with students and instructors.

Reach out to Disability Resources with concerns about attendance accommodations or other accommodations that may seem “unreasonable” for your course. Disability Resources will obtain more details from you and work with you to determine a reasonable accommodation. Please note: Audio recording is ALWAYS allowed if deemed necessary for the student under Disability Law. Intellectual property or privacy claims do not trump disability law. Students with audio recording accommodations will sign an audio recording contract with Disability Resources which prohibits them from sharing the recording or using it for any other reason than as an accommodation for disability.

Work collaboratively with Disability Resources and inform them of any challenges implementing accommodations or any concerns you have about the student’s use of accommodations.

Preserve confidentiality of a student’s disability and accommodations and discuss disability-related matters in private with the student or Disability Resources.

Hold students accountable to SVA’s grading, behavioral, and academic standards. It helps if you clearly communicate course grading standards not outlined in the student handbook to all students.

Do not discriminate. Students cannot be denied access to your course due to a disability. Students should not be treated differently based on their disability status.

Most students with disabilities thrive at SVA when they are provided the appropriate accommodations. Due to the unique faculty composition at SVA (most are practitioners in their field, not trained instructors), many faculty feel they do not have the tools to teach and support students with disabilities. Disability Resources is here to assist you with ideas for tailoring instruction, adopting inclusive pedagogy, implementing accommodations, and overall supporting students with disabilities. Please reach out anytime to talk with a staff member. We look forward to working with you to ensure SVA is an accessible and inclusive campus environment where students with disabilities have equal access to educational programs and the opportunity to participate fully in all aspects of campus life.

SVA Disability Resources: Committed to Access for All

Contact Information:

Disability Resources

212-592-2396

disabilityresources@sva.edu

Staff (Fall 2023):

Caryn Leonard-Wilde, CRC, LMHC – Associate Director

Annemarie Veira, CRC – Coordinator

Angelica Passioura, CRC, CVE, Coordinator

For printable versions of the documents linked in this email, please visit here.

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Faculty Responsibilities:

Supporting Students with Disabilities

SVA Accessibility Policy and Course Syllabi

Faculty Responsibilities When Working with Students with a Disability Accommodation

provost@sva.edu