Faculty Support Information

The Office of Disability Accommodation Support (ODAS) was created to coordinate academic support services for Liberty University students who have documented disabilities. ODAS works to ensure that students with disabilities receive equal access to opportunities without barriers to instruction, in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The university has given ODAS authority to interpret disability documentation, determine the existence of a disability, and determine appropriate accommodations in this setting. These accommodations serve to “level the playing field” between students with disabilities and students who do not have a documented disability.

Confidentiality

ODAS keeps students’ disability information strictly confidential and will only communicate accommodation information to faculty members.  While a student may feel comfortable discussing his or her disability as related to classroom accommodations, he or she is not required to disclose this information to faculty, and faculty may not ask the student for it.  If a student identifies him or herself as having a disability but does not have accommodations in place, the faculty member should refer the student directly to ODAS to begin the accommodation process.  Faculty members cannot ask students for documentation relating to a disability.

Accommodations

ODAS advisors can meet with students at any time during the semester to review disability documentation and determine appropriate accommodations, and then notify faculty of these accommodations. Accommodations should be provided from that point forward in the semester – they are not expected to be applied retroactively.  Accommodations should only be provided once faculty members receive an official accommodation notice from ODAS; we discourage providing accommodations in the absence of an official accommodation memo.

Students are required to request their accommodations every semester, and ODAS will send a new accommodation memo to faculty.  Your responsibility is to provide the accommodations beginning when you receive notice of them, and it is the student’s choice as to which accommodations to use in each of his or her classes. Students are advised by ODAS that accommodations do not work retroactively, so if a student chooses to take a test without extended time and the result is a low grade, the professor is not obligated to allow the student to retake the test using extended time.  Likewise, a student is required to request an extension on an assignment prior to its original due date; if he or she did not do so, the professor is not obligated to allow for a late submission without a penalty.

For all disability testing accommodation requests (i.e. quieter environment, extended time, oral testing), the Testing Center is the officially designated place for all tests administered outside of the regular classroom. A professor has the right to administer the test at another location, but has an obligation to ensure that the testing accommodations are upheld.

Please Note:  A student with a disability should be held to the same course expectations and conduct standards as any other student in your class.  If you believe an accommodation will fundamentally alter the essential components of your course, or that a classroom disruption is a result of a student’s disability, please contact ODAS to discuss your concerns.