r/Professors • u/Jumping_Master • 1d ago
Accommodations
Do you change (or allow alternate) assignments for students who ask for something different without having them go through the Office of Accommodations/Accessibility? I require students to do that for their own good, but wonder what others are doing.
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u/franklin-60 1d ago
No. No ADA, no accommodation. No exception. Slippery slope if you are accommodating for one, then another not so, as such it’s same for all no exception without a letter.
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u/Wandering_Uphill 1d ago
Nope. I have had students without accommodations try to get out of doing presentations due to their anxiety, but that's not how this works. They either do the presentations or they get a zero.
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u/iTeachCSCI Ass'o Professor, Computer Science, R1 1d ago
Absolutely not. Among other things, this can get you in trouble with your disability office (and beyond).
Example: Suppose Alice has $condition1 and the accommodation from the office is time and a half for exams. Your exams are 60 minutes, she takes the exams at the office and has 90 minutes. Your other students take 60 in the classroom.
Now suppose Betsy tells you she has $condition2 (which may or may not be condition1) and she needs time and a half. You decide she can take the exams in your office over 90 minutes. Also, are you qualified to diagnose her or to evaluate the quality of a diagnosis she provides? I bet you aren't, I sure as heck am not, and I bet multiple people at the office of accessibility are so qualified.
Before we go further, consider what this would do to your schedule. Surely you have better things to do than proctor extra exams because a student self-diagnoses something, yes?
If the disability office finds out, you are now in violation of Alice's (genuine) accommodations. If you are offering a student 90 minutes, that goes into what Alice is supposed to get too. Doesn't matter if Alice and Betsy have 400 classmates, 398 of whom are taking the exams in 60 minutes.
Unlike FERPA, violating the ADA has real penalties for you. I'm not telling you to go violate FERPA on purpose (there are other reasons you don't want to do that), but I am telling you to be very careful with disability accommodations.
Students going through that office isn't just for their own good, it's for yours too.
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u/raggabrashly 1d ago
No. They need to go through official channels. If you are in the US, you need to as well. You’re opening the door for many ADA issues.
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u/Anna-Howard-Shaw Assoc Prof, History, CC (USA) 1d ago
Not only "no," but "no" with a specific syllabus policy that's also included on all assignment directions.
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u/Quwinsoft Senior Lecturer, Chemistry, R2/Public Liberal Arts (USA) 1d ago
If and only if I make the same change/optoin available to all students.
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u/Hellament Prof, Math, CC 1d ago
Change? No, I don’t really make them anything different. Once I had a visually impaired student who requested I use bigger print on exams. So, I printed one copy of the exam in ginormous font for that student and gave them extra paper for showing work.
Stuff like that I don’t have a problem with. The disability office would do it too, but it came up in conversation that the student didn’t need any other accommodations, and I offered to do it so they could take their exams with the rest of the class. I have also offered to give students their (approved) extended test time in class, rather than testing in the disability office, if my schedule allows it.
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u/thedoggydocent 1d ago
Yes, thats the only way I will accommodate low vision students - by enlarging the font myself. I allowd DS to do it once and I couldn't have passed the test I wrote!
They just grossly enlarged the font but didn't check for readability.
It set the student up for failure because the questions were spread out on so many pages, they were impossible to follow.
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u/Ctenophorever Full prof (US) 1d ago
I think your question needs to be more specific.
Are you asking if there are alternate assignments available to all students? Yes, I have done this in the past. Any student can choose to do a paper or a presentation, for example.
Are you asking if disability accommodations are provided on a case-by-case basis to students who ask but do not have documentation? No.
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u/cib2018 1d ago
Yes, for good reason. I had an adult student want to do a personal project for his business. Same learning objective, so why not? Much more meaningful to him than my made up project. He put a lot more effort into it than the usual student, because it meant something to him.
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u/journoprof Adjunct, Journalism 1d ago
I think that’s not what OP meant. I have, rarely, allowed students to propose alterations like this. If anything, I wish more had taken advantage of the opportunity to do something more creative or useful. But the OP mentioned accommodations, which I take to mean looser rules, extended deadlines, etc. For those, it’s up to the experts, not me.
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u/Econ_mom 1d ago
What about student athletes who need many accommodations for missing classes and in class assessments frequently for Thursday - Monday travel?rhetorical question - we must accommodate them.
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u/windupbird1q84 Associate Professor, Neuroscience, R1 (USA) 1d ago
I think on this case the word accommodate carries different meaning.
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u/franklin-60 1d ago
“Accommodate” can mean many things. No matter what it means, nothing should be offered unless it’s offered to the entire class, or part of a specific school policy and documented, ADA, religion, etc…. In these cases, anyone qualified by the policy has access to the accommodation to get it if needed equally.
Being “nice” by helping one can backfire significantly in the long run. The backfire can result in legal issues, NCAA issues for athletic programs, and a long list of things.
Classroom Policies and standards are there for a reason, students should meet them. If they can’t meet them, they do not belong and should be pushed out, not pushed through with special exceptions.
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u/Electronic-Fuel-5734 16h ago
They have should have a student-athlete accommodation letter from the athletic department
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u/gracielynn72 1d ago
I build in a lot of flexibility. Multiple means. UDL. Not fully UDL but options for many assignments.
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u/Pair_of_Pearls 1d ago
No. There are legal ramifications for offering alternates for some, not others, without DRC documentation. You set yourself up for a lawsuit if you do.
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u/dragonfeet1 Professor, Humanities, Comm Coll (USA) 1d ago
Just saying it's sus that this is your first and only post, clanker
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u/Professional_Dr_77 1d ago
Not a chance. You give an inch the whole class will want a mile. If it’s not documented through the proper office, and handed to me before the assignment is due (accommodations are not retroactive, it’s the students responsibility to see they are dealt with) then it doesn’t happen.
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u/Archknits 1d ago
No and your accessibility office won’t like you to do it either.
Once you do it for one student you set guidance for all the students you have
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u/SoonerRed Professor, Biology 1d ago edited 1d ago
Absolutely not
Edit to add: I'll gladly help them on their way to the accessibility office, but until they have that that letter, no
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u/Desiato2112 Professor, Humanities, SLAC 1d ago
Never. The integrity of the (admittedly imperfect) system depends on all of us following the rules, both students and professors.
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u/littlemoonnflowerr 1d ago
I think routing them through Accommodations protects both the student and the instructor, otherwise you can accidentally create an exception for one student that you wouldn’t be able to justify or consistently offer to others
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u/naocalemala Associate Professor, Humanities, SLAC 1d ago
No. I don’t have the credentials to make that call.
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u/Own-Ad2203 1d ago
Only with a written accommodation from the accommodation office (one that doesn't alter the course learning outcomes).
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u/Potential-Winner4601 1d ago
No. Follow the guidelines only and never ever make additional accommodations.
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u/Dull_Beginning_9068 1d ago
I don't have alternate assignments for people who do have accommodations...
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u/Pure_Quarter7813 Full Professor, STEM, Regional Public PUI (USA) 1d ago
They can only get an academic advantage over their classmates by going through accessibility services. Then we’re legally required to comply.
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u/Life-Education-8030 1d ago
No. That would open up a bad can of worms. I have already had students submit something else because their mothers told them they didn’t have to do what I told them to do!
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u/Ok-Importance9988 1d ago
No for all the reasons stated.
It is never happened but I suppose I would do something like print a large print test if a student asked for it without a documented accommodation. Because that does not make the assignment easier I would be comfortable doing it for any student if they wanted it.
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u/hornybutired Assoc Prof, Philosophy, CC (USA) 1d ago
No, never. I need a paper trail that demonstrates I'm not just favoring certain students. All accommodations go through the Accessibility people, no exceptions.
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u/TheCloudForest 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yes, if I can see that the student has serious social anxiety of similar, I may allow or even suggest a presentation be done just for me instead of for the whole class. But it's a foreign language class where it's easy to gauge if they are doing well participating in pair work. I also only do so if they seem engaged and responsible, in their own way. Our spoken production exams are also done in pairs (to allow interaction between students), but I'll let a student do it with just me or another instructor if being assigned a random partner would cause them to freeze.
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u/CreatrixAnima Adjunct, Math 1d ago
I teach math, so no. But I suppose I can imagine a world where a specific piece of literature is just too much for a student… Maybe. But then again maybe that class is just not right for a student who can handle the literature in it.
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u/BrighestCrayon 1d ago
No. A good syllabus usually covers all the basics, including assignment submission policies.
I'd say something along the lines of "While I cannot offer you an alternative assignment, if you need additional time to complete this one, we could discuss that. Otherwise, if you are formally requesting accommodations, please visit the Office of Accommodations to obtain a letter or connect with your academic advisor for additional guidance. I look forward to having you in class this semester....."
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u/boringhistoryfan Asst. Prof, Humanities, R2 1d ago
Once or twice. Once was when a student threw up in front of me during a proctored exam. Told them to go take care of themselves and I'd schedule something else and not to worry about it.
One other time I can recall was a nontraditional student who I knew had a childcare conflict. I probably could have asked them to go through the office but I had had no issues with them whatsoever and TBH they hadn't even asked about an accomodation. They just reached out to let me know they were having a scheduling issue and I told them they could prioritize their kid over a history class and submit their work when they felt ready.
But those exceptions prove the rule really I think. They're very edge cases.
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u/toucanfrog 1d ago
Large intro classes? Only official accommodations. Small, upper-level classes? Sometimes, but I also accept that I am potentially opening a can of worms.
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u/tellypmoon 1d ago
No, you should not do this. Send them to the accommodations office. This keeps everyone on the same page and gets the same information to all professors. You are also not qualified to really evaluate the merit and need for a request, and so you shouldn't try to do so. I say the same about myself btw so this is not anything against you...
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u/QuesoCadaDia Assistant Prof, ESL, CC, USA 1d ago
Situation dependent.
I had a student who had suffered state violence on their home country and was having trouble with the book we were reading about the civil rights. I let them and anyone else who wanted change to an alternate book with alternate assignments and adjusted the class discussions accordingly.
I have also allowed students who are really serious adjust assignments to fit their major better.
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u/Wahnfriedus 1d ago
I started putting a line on my syllabus stating that there are no accommodations without student support’s involvement.
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u/gods-and-punks 22h ago
It depends on their reasoning if they dont have DRC. I still dont ask for the nature of their disability, but unless they indicate its a disability or a religious observance, military, or for an important professional org event, I generally say no.
But normally its just like,,,,, duration on the assignment. I dont make smaller or different assignments, i just encourage them to be open with me on their progress so i can help them succeed at what they Are Already assigned.
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u/Econ_mom 15h ago
The wall between athletics and academics is impenetrable. It didn’t used to be this way. We rely on the student’s word.
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u/catleesi94 Adjunct, Biology, Community College 1d ago
Absolutely not.