Instructor Support

Role of Faculty

SDSU faculty play a critical role in the progress of all students toward their learning goals, success of all students including disabled students. While it is impossible to list all of the ways that you can impact the learning outcomes for disabled students success of a student with a disability, here are a few pointers to keep in mind:

• Using a statement in your course syllabus, encourage and invite students to discuss the need for accommodations. The University-wide Syllabus template has an example syllabus statement.
• Work with the student and SDS staff to collaborate on the accommodation process.
• Work with appropriate campus staff to ensure that all materials are accessible on Canvas and that your courses follow the principles of Universal Design.
• Respect a student's right for privacy. Discuss matters related to disability with students privately, during office hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

General Information

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Who is responsible for facilitating students’ accommodations?

On the accommodation letter, next to each accommodation, SDS lists who is responsible for facilitating each accommodation. This may be a staff member in our office, or it may be the role of faculty.

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Who do I contact if I have a specific question about a student’s accommodation?

While speaking with the student on how they’ve used this accommodation in the past is the best strategy, if you have additional questions each student’s SDS counselor is listed on the accommodation letter.

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Testing Accommodations

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My student has testing accommodations, but my exams are online and can be taken anywhere. Do they need to schedule an exam with the Test Accommodation Center?

Not necessarily. If the class is taking the exam at home, then the student should be allowed the same opportunity. If a student has extended time for exams as an accommodation, then the instructor should be able to.

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My student has accommodations that I am unsure of how to apply to my exams. How do I navigate this situation?

Please contact the Test Accommodation Center at [email protected] as soon as possible. We can advise on trying to find a suitable solution that will work for all parties involved.

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I am teaching a large class that is split up into several sections. Is there a way to reduce the number of emails I receive?

Unfortunately, our system is not able to consolidate courses into one large course to make management easier. Please reach out to us at [email protected] to see there may be alternate solutions outside of our system that may be preferable.

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My student has said they had registered through the SDS Connect website, but I have not received any emails. What could be the issue in this case?

Our system pulls contact information from SDSU's registrar's database. All communication is done via instructors' official SDSU email addresses and cannot be modified.

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Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing

My pre-recorded auditory content has automatic captions. Are these accessible?

Not entirely. Even with automatic captions getting better, they still may lack things such as audio cues, speaker identification and proper punctuation that make the captions readable. For further information, contact SDS Media Captioning Coordinators.

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Tools for Instructors

The DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) Project, primarily funded by National Science Foundation, the State of Washington, and the U.S. Department of Education, serves to increase the successful participation of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs such as those in science, engineering, mathematics, and technology. DO-IT is a collaboration of UW Information Technology and the Colleges of Engineering and Education at the University of Washington.

We encourage you to review the excellent information on instructional strategies on the DO-IT website to expand your knowledge of helping students with disabilities in your classrooms.

• Learning Disabilities
• Mobility Impairments
• Health Impairments
• Mental Health/Psychiatric Impairments
• Hearing Impairments
• Blindness
• Low Vision
• Other Impairments

Additional Resources

• Working with Students with Disabilities
• Academic Accommodations for Students with Learning Disabilities
• Academic Accommodations for Students with Psychiatric Disorders
• The Faculty Room Resources
• CSU's Accessible Technology Initiative
• Faculty Ambassadors
• Cart Transportation Services

The staff in Student Disability Services is always available to work with you to develop strategies for working with students with disabilities in your classroom. Give us a call!

Universal Design

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework based on research in the learning sciences, including cognitive neuroscience, that guides the development of flexible learning environments that can accommodate individual learning differences.

There are three major principles that are part of universal design for Learning

• Multiple means of representation to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge
• Multiple means of expression to provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know
• Multiple means of engagement to tap into learners' interests, challenge them appropriately, and motivate them to learn

Examples of incorporating UDL into your course proactively:

• Have instructional materials in your course in multiple formats such as allowing students to print out lecture slides to take notes
• Record lectures for students to review later
• Incorporate a variety of content to demonstrate course concepts (visuals, text, videos, etc.)
• If possible, offer different ways students can be assessed throughout the course.
• For more information visit Instructional Technology Services.