Welcome to the SSD Faculty Home Page. On this page you will find information and links to information that we hope will help you serve students with disabilities better. We hope you will find this information informative and useful, and we hope you return often and view any updates which are added from time to time. Please feel free to take the time to investigate all of the links. We think that the information provided will answer many of your questions regarding serving students with disabilities.
Legislation Supporting the Need for Services
Rights and Responsibilities: Yours, Ours, and the Students
- Faculty Rights
- Faculty Responsibilities
- Student Rights
- Student Responsibilities
- Services for Students with Disabilities Rights
- Services for Students with Disabilities Responsibilities
Helping the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Student
Helping the Blind/Visually Impaired Student
Helping the Student with a Mobility Impairment
Helping the Student with a Learning Disability
Characteristics of the Written Expression of Students with Learning Disabilities
A Message to Faculty
Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) has been designated with the responsibility of processing requests for accommodation and ensuring that appropriate accommodations are provided. However, it is the responsibility of the UNIVERSITY to accommodate students with disabilities. SSD serves as a resource for faculty and staff who work with students with disabilities. The SSD director and staff are available to answer questions, consult on problem situations, provide information, and support for accommodating students. By working together we can ensure that students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in all aspects of higher education.
Legislation Supporting the Need for Services
Following the enactment of legislation requiring institutions of higher education to provide access to students, Colleges and Universities have experienced significant increases in the enrollment of students with disabilities. The two primary pieces of legislation that place obligations on Universities include Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Both require access beyond architectural barriers to include accommodations providing equal access to all aspects of recreational and academic opportunities. Specifically, Section 504 provides that:
"No otherwise qualified individual with disabilities in the United States...Shall, solely by reason of his/her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance"...
Furthermore, Subpart E of 504 specifically addresses mandates for institutions of higher education requiring that an institution be prepared to provide appropriate and reasonable accommodation to policies and practices to allow students with disabilities to participate in the same activities and programs as non disabled students. It is therefore the responsibility of faculty and staff of the University to provide accommodation to ALL QUALIFIED students through the assistance of the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD).
By federal law, a person with a disability is any person who:
- Has a physical or mental impairment
- Has a record of such impairment; or
- Is regarded as having such an impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities such as self-care, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, or learning.
Additionally, under the provisions of Section 504 the University MAY NOT:
- Limit the number of otherwise qualified students admitted that have a disability;
- Make pre-admission inquiries as to whether an applicant has a disability;
- Exclude an otherwise qualified student with a disability from any course of study;
- Provide less financial assistance to students with disabilities than is provided to other students, or limit eligibility for scholarships on the basis of disability;
- Counsel students with disabilities into more restrictive career paths based solely on their disability;
- Measure student achievement using modes that adversely discriminate against the student with a disability;
- Establish rules and policies that have the effect of limiting participation of students with disabilities in educational programs or activities.
Rights and Responsibilities: Yours, Ours, and the Students
Faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have the right to:
- maintain the University's Academic standards;
- request or ask the student to complete the accommodation process before providing accommodation;
- ask a student to meet with them to discuss the student's need for reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids;
- consult with student, SSD or the ADA/504 compliance officer about the selection of equally effective and appropriate accommodations, adjustment and/or auxiliary aids;
- deny a request for accommodation if the student has not been approved for such accommodation;
- choose how test accommodations are made (i.e. by the instructor vs. in the SSD office);
- refuse to provide an accommodation, academic adjustment, and/or auxiliary aids that is/are
inappropriate or unreasonable because they may:
- pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others;
- constitute a substantial change or alteration to an essential element of a course or program; or
- pose undue financial or administrative burden on the University.
Refusal can be made only after consulting with the ADA/504 Compliance Officer.
Faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have the responsibility to:
- inform students with disabilities of University procedures for accommodating students;
- ensure that University courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities, when viewed in their entirety, are offered in the most integrated and appropriate settings;
- refer students to the SSD office;
- provide handouts, video tapes, and course packs in accessible formats upon request;
- work with the SSD office to recruit note takers and readers;
- make yourself available to students to discuss accommodations, clarify information, recommend ways to secure tutors, etc...
- evaluate students on their abilities, not their disabilities;
- provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and auxiliary aids for students with disabilities upon a timely request by the student;
- maintain appropriate confidentiality of records and communication concerning students with disabilities except when disclosure is required by law or authorized by the student;
- place book orders in a timely manner to allow for books to be tape recorded, put in electronic format, or reproduced in Braille;
- provide the student or SSD with a syllabus or reading schedule upon request for the purpose of having the book tape recorded, put in electronic format, or reproduced in Braille.
Students with Disabilities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have the right to:
- equal access to courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities available through the University;
- reasonable, appropriate, and effective accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids determined on an individual basis;
- appropriate confidentiality of all information pertaining to his/her disability with the choice of whom to disclose their disability to except as required by law;
- information reasonable available in accessible formats.
Students with Disabilities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have the responsibility to:
- meet with the University's qualifications and essential technical, academic, and institutional standards;
- identify themselves in a timely manner as an individual with a disability when seeking an accommodation;
- provide documentation from an appropriate source that verifies the nature of the disability, functional limitations, and the need for specific accommodations;
- follow specific procedures for obtaining reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids.
Students with Disabilities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has the right to:
- maintain the University's academic standards;
- request current documentation from a student completed by an appropriate professional source to verify the need for reasonable accommodations and academic adjustments.
- discuss a student's need for reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids with the professional source of his/her documentation with the student's signed consent authorizing such discussion;
- select among equally effective and appropriate accommodations, adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids in consultation with students with disabilities;
- deny a request for accommodation or academic adjustment if the documentation does not identify a specific disability, the documentation fails to verify the need for the requested service(s), or the documentation is not provided in a timely manner;
- refuse to provide an accommodation, academic adjustment, and/or auxiliary aids that is/are
inappropriate or unreasonable because they may:
- pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others;
- constitute a substantial change or alteration to an essential element of a course or program; or
- pose undue financial or administrative burden on the University.
Students with Disabilities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has the responsibility to:
- ensure that University courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities, when viewed in their entirety, are offered in the most integrated and appropriate settings;
- provide information regarding policies and procedures to students with disabilities and assure its availability in accessible formats upon request;
- evaluate students on their abilities, not their disabilities;
- provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and auxiliary aids for students with disabilities upon a timely request by the student;
- maintain appropriate confidentiality of records and communication concerning students with disabilities except when disclosure is required by law or authorized by the student;
- inform students with disabilities of University policies and procedures for filing a formal grievance through Equity Access and Diversity (EAD) and/or through external agencies (e.g. Office of Civil Rights).
The Accommodation Process
Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) is the first place a student should be referred to when a disability has been disclosed to an administrator, instructor, or faculty member. If you are working with a student that you suspect has a learning disability, we recommend you refer them to the SSD director or assistant director so they may be screened to determine whether full assessment is recommended. This needs to be done in a very sensitive manner. For suggestions on how to talk to a student about the possibility of a learning disability, please consult with Veva Cheney, Director of SSD or Barbara Woodhead, Assistant Director of SSD.
Below are some indicators that a learning disability may exist:
- there is a discrepancy between quality of homework and class discussion vs. test scores;
- the student fails to finish exams but performs well on the portion they do finish;
- there are letter or number reversals in their written work;
- content of written work is acceptable however, there are many grammatical and spelling errors;
- student reports that it takes an excessive amount of time to read material;
- student reads questions but cannot understand what is being asked, but when question is read to them they can easily answer.
As mentioned earlier, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has established a procedure for accommodating students. Accommodations are determined on an individual basis. SSD believes that the student is the most valuable resource for determining what accommodations enable the student to succeed. The process is as follows:
- The student discloses their disability to UNL staff or faculty and is referred to the SSD office; or the student contacts the SSD office directly
- The student meets with the director or assistant director, completes the Accommodation Planning Form (APF) and submits documentation of their disability from the appropriate professional (e.g. Clinical Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Audiologist, Ophthalmologist, Physician, or Specialist)
- The SSD office forwards the APF, documentation, and recommendations for accommodation to the ADA/504 Compliance Officer
- The ADA/504 Compliance Officer reviews the file and issues and Individual Accommodation Plan (IAP)
- Copies of the IAP are sent to the student and SSD.
- It is the responsibility of the SSD office to inform the student of their responsibilities and procedure for accessing/requesting services
- It is the student's responsibility for requesting services as needed each semester
- It is the joint responsibility of the student, SSD, and faculty to arrange for the accommodations that have been approved.
Additional Information About Accommodations and Students with Disabilities
The following circumstances may arise from time to time and may cause some confusion:
- A student may never contact SSD, Students with disabilities are not required to seek academic accommodations. Participation is voluntary.
- A student may wait until later in the semester to contact SSD and request services
- Students may forget or choose not to inform their instructors that they have an accommodation plan with SSD
- A student may choose to stop using an accommodation at some point during the semester or may not follow through with arrangements
- A need for additional accommodations may arise
- A student may show you his/her IAP but may not tell you about his/her disability (he/she has the right to confidentiality)
- A student may not clearly articulate his needs or represent his or herself clearly
- A notetaker or reader arrangement may not work out for one or both parties, causing difficulties in the student's ability to obtain information in a timely manner
- A student may seem to have a disability but no documentation exists
- A student may disclose a disability and ask you to provide accommodations, but fail to seek services at the SSD office
- A student may claim they have not received their notes or textbooks in alternate format when asking for extensions on assignments or retakes on exams, when in fact they have received these materials
- a student may ask for test accommodations after they have failed an exam (ADA is not retroactive)
These and other special circumstances may need to be examined as they occur. SSD is available to work with faculty and students to resolve any questions or concerns.
Suggestions for Helping the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Student
- See that the student gets preferential seating. The student should be seated near the front of the class so that she/he can get as much from hearing as possible, and is in a position to get lip-reading cues.
- Don't talk with your back to the class (as when writing on the whiteboard)...it destroys any chance of the student getting facial or lip-reading cues.
- If you are going to be showing slides or movies, it would help the hearing impaired student greatly if you could provide an outline or summary of the materials to be covered. She/he is going to be at a disadvantage in trying to process information from such presentations.
- When showing movies, make sure they are captioned, and you can work equipment in the classroom.
- When questions are asked from the class, it would be of great help to the student if you would repeat the question before answering it. If you have given her/him preferential seating so that you can be seen and heard easily, the student will not be able to see and hear the rest of the class well.
- Beware of giving procedural information while handing out papers, etc. Make sure such information is clearly understood by the student.
- Recognize that the student may have need of a notetaker for your class. When you are "listening" with your eyes, it is difficult to take good notes simultaneously.
- If the student needs to use sign language, you might discuss with the student and the interpreter where it would be best for the interpreter to be located to provide the greatest benefit for the hearing impaired student without being distracting to the other class members. You may wish to experiment with different placements until you find the most successful one.
Suggestions for Helping the Visually Impaired Student
- Your cooperation in allowing tape recording of lectures will be greatly appreciated.
- Preferential seating is important for this student. Since visual cues may not be available, you may want to make sure the student is getting all the auditory cues possible. If the student is using a guide dog, it would be helpful for the student to have an assigned seat so that the dog can aid her/him in getting there.
- Give students plenty of notice in the event that research papers are to be assigned-someone may have to aid in that literature search, both in finding materials and translating them. You may want to extend deadlines for this student.
- When using the whiteboard, lessen the glare as much as possible, and write in big letters.
- It may be necessary to make accommodations for test-taking for this student if he/she needs a reader, a scribe, access to special equipment, etc..
- Important information should be emphasized verbally, not just on the whiteboard.
Suggestions for Helping the Student with a Mobility Impairment
- If notetaking is a problem for this student, you might have copies of your lecture outlines made for him/her.
- Give thought to structuring lab experiences for someone in a wheelchair. If the student's arm/hand mobility is limited, could she/he participate in such an experience on a "buddy system" with another student doing the active experience portion of the exercise?
- It may be necessary to make arrangements for tests to be taken in some alternative manner. Could they be taken orally? Could they be taken with a T.A. doing the writing under dictation from the student? Could the student take the test in the normal manner if given more time for writing and/or use of a computer?
- Remember that the student with lower body mobility problems ONLY is just like any other student sitting down. Don't assume there will be difficulties encountered.
Suggestions for Helping the Student with a Learning Disability
- Give extra time for long reading assignments for the student with a reading disability.
- Don't be afraid to discuss with the student individually what his/her limitations are, what situations are difficult, and what accommodations would be helpful on a one-to-one basis.
- This student may need accommodations in test-taking (extended time, a scribe, a reader, etc.).
- Your cooperation in allowing tape recordings of lectures is appreciated.
- Do not ask students with reading disabilities to read aloud in class.
- Allowing the use of a computer for writing assignments and/or tests may give the student a chance to better show his/her command of the information without getting bogged down in format details.
- It would be helpful if vocabulary unique to a particular course could be written on the board during lecture.
Some Characteristics of the Written Expression of Students with Learning Disabilities
(adapted from Mary Kay Galotto, Montgomery College, Diagnostic/Prescriptive Learning Specialist)
- Handwriting
- Often the student's writing looks childish. Letters may be poorly formed; the writing may sprawl unevenly across the page; letters are poorly or incorrectly formed; crude block letter printing frequently may be seen.
- Spelling
- Spelling errors may be gross, demonstrating little resemblance between the sight and sound of the word. Basic sight words may be misspelled, such as "which", "every", "for", "they", while more difficult words are produced correctly. Reversals of letters within a word may occur. Letters may be arbitrarily repeated. Endings may be omitted.
Common spelling errors
"reference" for "reverence"
"gramer" for "grammar"
"museam" for "museum"
"atitude" for "attitude"
Characteristic LD Spelling Errors
"equiptment" for "equipment"
"facecion" for "physician"
"presuse" for "precious"
"quitity" for "quantity"
- Choice of topic
- Students with learning disabilities often pick concrete, simple topics. A narrative is usually the simplest to handle, because an experience is already structured chronologically. Although they may have little difficulty discussing more abstract topics, they may not be able to organize their thoughts easily to set down on paper.
- Organization
- Discourse is frequently disconnected, with little logical transition from one point to another. Word choice is poor. For example: "For instance, one who cannot hear of one who cannot see as readily as a 'normal' individual is stricken with the inability to perform just a normal individual in today's society."
- Vocabulary
- Written Vocabulary may not match oral vocabulary. Students often are very aware of their spelling deficiencies, and will limit their expression severely rather than risk misspelling.
- Mechanics
- LD students have the predictable mechanical errors that any student might demonstrate. Usually it is a question of degree of difficulty. Besides sentence fragments, mistaken pronoun reference run-on sentences, misplaced modifiers, etc., the LD student may randomly sprinkle capital letters throughout a paragraph, misuse standard end punctuation, and use various homonyms creatively-"sun" for "son", "two" for "too" or "to", "toed" for "towed", etc.
- Appearance of the paper
- Besides the specific items mentioned above, papers of LD students frequently look immature. There are many cross-outs, write-overs, and erasures. This is different from an edited paper, where corrections and additions are being made. The appearance of the LD student's paper may signal having word-to-word difficulty.