Frequently Asked Questions
Faculty are encouraged to view the “CDA Faculty & Staff Hub” for additional guidance, updates, additional FAQs, and important links to AIM, the College’s accommodation portal.
- We each share a role in the institutional responsibility to provide meaningful access for students with disabilities. Because faculty are responsible for designing and delivering their courses, they are also principally responsible for ensuring that their courses are accessible (or can, in a timely manner, be made accessible) to students with disabilities.
- Faculty members play a key role in our community’s shared responsibility to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Center for Disability Access (CDA) provides and manages the majority of support services the institution is required to make available to students with disabilities. The primary way that you support qualified students is by providing reasonable accommodations or auxiliary aids and services. To ensure academic accommodations are provided promptly and effectively, maintaining compliance and clear communication is essential.
- You are not responsible for making decisions about accommodations: CDA manages requests and collects appropriate documentation in evaluating student eligibility for accommodations. We determine what particular accommodations or support services students receive on an individual basis and according to the student’s documented needs.
- Specific faculty responsibilities will be laid out explicitly in each student’s accommodation letter, provided by the Center for Disability Access (CDA) via e-mail notification in your RIC email account and via AIM’s Faculty Portal.
- All accommodations listed in the student’s letter must be honored. The accommodations are designed to provide the student equal access to the curriculum. If you have questions on how to implement any of the accommodations, please consult with the CDA.
- Please also consult with the CDA if you are concerned that an accommodation may reduce standards, eliminate essential requirements, or fundamentally alter your course. The requirement must be essential to the course learning outcomes, technical standards, or applicable licensing or accreditation requirements and may not be discriminatory in nature. The CDA will consult with you, the department chair, and other knowledgeable faculty, experts, and professional organizations to make an objective determination. The approved accommodation should be provided until a determination regarding fundamental alteration has been made. If the accommodation does present a fundamental alteration, CDA will work collaboratively with the student and relevant faculty and experts to identify potential alternatives.
- All Accommodation Letters from the Center for Disability Access are sent via email through the Accessible Information Management (AIM) platform. If an eligible student with a disability requests an ADA Accommodation Letter, you’ll receive an e-mail notification in your RIC email account with the student's name, your course information, and a link for e-signing the Accommodation Letter via AIM’s Faculty Portal.
- If a student tells you they need an accommodation, but you have not received an Accommodation Letter, please refer them to the Center for Disability Access.
- Per protections established by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), disability documentation submitted by students to our office is kept separate from their academic records. These records are not available to anybody outside the CDA. However, we are permitted by FERPA to share information about the impact of a disability and about accommodation eligibility with other RIC officials who have a legitimate educational interest.
- Under these guidelines, faculty do not have the right to demand access to a student’s disability documentation. If a student requests that you provide an accommodation without presenting an accommodation letter to you, please recommend that they channel their requests to the CDA.
- If a student discloses that they have a disability, we encourage faculty to refer them to the CDA, by providing them with our information. If you think you have a student with a disability who has not directly disclosed to you, we encourage you to ask them how you can support. Rather than focusing on disability/diagnosis, focus on observed behaviors and/or specific examples of their academic performance. We advise you to recommend the several support services and departments available to them on campus, including the CDA, Academic Student Success, Learning 4 Life, etc.
- It is not appropriate to ask whether or suggest that a student has a disability.
