Disability Services for Students provides support to those faculty members and instructors who have a student with a disability enrolled in their course. A basic overview of the disability accommodation process is provided below. If more information is needed, please don't hesitate to contact the Disability Services for Students office at extension 8214.
Sample Instructor Notification of Accommodations
When a student with a disability enrolls in a course, faculty and instructors can expect two things to occur. First, an e-mail arrives from the UNK Disability Services for Students (DSS) office. It lists and describes the specific accommodations assigned to the student. Second, the student with a disability contacts the instructor or faculty member to discuss how best to implement each accommodation in the specific course. Students have a responsibility to communicate their needs to each instructor. If a student does not make arrangements with the instructor sufficiently in advance, the accommodations listed in the e-mail need not be provided. However, when a student requests assigned accommodations, they must be provided as soon as reasonably possible. Occasionally, an instructor or faculty member may find that an accommodation conflicts with an essential element of the course. In this case, contact the Disability Services for Students (DSS) office for a meeting and provide the accommodation in question until the situation is resolved. In most cases, the notification e-mail is sent approximately 10 days in advance of the semester. However, if a student registers with Disability Services for Students after classes have begun the e-mail is sent as soon as possible thereafter. The student's status as a person with a disability is confidential.
For more information about the disability accommodation process, see the Responsibilities section below or contact the Disability Services for Students at (308) 865-8214 or brandtdl@unk.edu.
Occasionally, a student may claim disability status and ask a faculty member or course instructor for accommodations directly rather than going through the Disability Services for Students registration process. While granting this request may seem easier in the short term, it creates problems for the student, faculty or instructor, and the university in the long term. It is strongly recommended that any student who identifies themselves as having a disability complete the registration process with Disability Services for Students (DSS) before being provided any disability-related accommodations. If a student identifies themselves as having a specific disability, medical diagnosis, or psychological diagnosis please refer them to Disability Services for Students (DSS). Keep in mind that the referral is made after a disability diagnosis is disclosed. It is not appropriate to ask someone if they have a disability.
It is recommended that faculty and instructors include in every syllabus a statement asking students to inform them of any disability-related needs to ensure that those needs are met in a timely manner. A further recommendation is that the statement be read aloud during the first week of class. This approach demonstrates to students that the University is sensitive to and concerned about meeting the needs of ALL students in the course. Furthermore, it affords students the opportunity to make their accommodation needs known early in the semester.
Suggested statement for course syllabus:
The following is the recommended ADA Syllabus Statement. If you have another version you prefer, please contact the Disabilities Coordinator at 308-865-8214. To protect you and the students, it is required that you include this statement.
Students with Disabilities or Students Who are Pregnant
It is the policy of the University of Nebraska at Kearney to provide flexible, individualized, and reasonable accommodations to students with documented disabilities or students who are pregnant. To receive accommodation services for a disability, students must be registered with UNK Disabilities Services. Contact David Brandt, in the Academic Success Office, 163 Memorial Student Affairs Building, 308-865-8214 or by email brandtdl@unk.edu to register.
For students needing accommodation due to pregnancy, you need to contact Student Health. (The following link provides information for students and faculty regarding pregnancy rights. http://www.nwlc.org/resource/pregnant-and-parenting-students-rights-faqs-college-and-graduate-students) Students with disabilities or students who are pregnant need to provide the proper documentation from Disability Services or Student Health to their faculty members in order to receive academic accommodations. Anyone who feels they were not afforded these rights, should contact the campus Title IX/ADA Officer at 308-865-8655.
To be eligible for disability-related services, an individual* must have a documented disabling condition as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 1990. Disabilities served include physical and mental impairments that may include but are not limited to vision, hearing, mobility, learning, systemic, psychiatric, and brain injury. The University of Nebraska at Kearney requires documentation from an appropriate, licensed professional to certify individuals as having a disability. The cost of obtaining documentation will be borne by the individual. If the initial documentation is incomplete or inadequate to determine the extent of disability and appropriate accommodations, the University of Nebraska at Kearney will have the discretion to require supplemental assessment of disability. The cost of the supplemental assessment shall also be borne by the individual. If the University determines that a second professional opinion is warranted, the University shall bear that cost. Pending receipt of documentation, the University of Nebraska at Kearney reserves the right to deny services or accommodations.
* Individuals include faculty, staff, students and guests of the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
The UNK Testing Accommodations is located in MSAB 164 and is available for students who require exam accommodations that cannot be provided in the classroom. Only those accommodations previously approved by the Disability Services for Students (DSS) office will be provided at the Testing Center. The Testing Center Guidelines describe student and faculty responsibilities in this process and must be followed in each testing situation. Testing Accommodations Guidelines for Students & Faculty
In the event an instructor does not deliver a test to the DSS Office Testing at the appointed time, the student will wait approximately ten minutes and then contact the instructor for guidance as to when the test will be delivered to the Testing Center.
Faculty are responsible for captioning their media. Captioning is necessary because one manner of accommodating persons who are deaf or hard of hearing is to provide captioning for media. This media includes videos, DVDs, and all subsequent technologies. Faculty need to make sure the technology they are using in the classroom is capable of running closed captions.
- For closed captioning, ask the Calvin T. Ryan Library to check all resources, including WorldCat and Limit to Nebraska.
- When faculty look at the catalog record, it should indicate if the video has closed captioning.
- This allows Library staff to see if other libraries in the Nebraska system might have a video with the captions.
- Questions faculty need to ask themselves:
- Did you check the VCR settings in the room you were using?
- On a DVD player have you changed the settings to turn that functionality on?
- Films on Demand is available from the Calvin T. Ryan Library home page under ‘Articles & E-Resources’ and then using the a-z list you can locate it alphabetically. The following is a permalink to the page to gain access: http://rosi.unk.edu/record=e1000507~S0
- The Calvin T. Ryan Library also has VAST: Academic Video Online, videos for classroom use. VAST has transcripts of the videos. http://rosi.unk.edu/record=e1000514~S0
A transcriptionist may be in the classroom to facilitate communication between the deaf/hard of hearing student, the instructor, and fellow students. Instructors should interact with the deaf/hard of hearing student just as they would with their other students. The transcriptionist will position her/himself in the classroom where she/he can easily access instructor and student discourse. Depending on the student's degree of hearing loss and preference, the transcriptionist will raise her hand and communicate the student's questions or comments.
Students with many types of disabilities, such as people who have low vision, a learning disability, or severe arthritis, require assistance in taking notes during class. Instructors are asked to make a request that a volunteer from the class share their notes with a student who has a disability. The student with a disability will meet with the volunteer notetaker and make arrangements for sharing notes at the end of the class period. Students may also make free photocopies in the MSAB Computer Lab. The intention of this accommodation is to assist students who cannot generate a complete set of notes on their own; it is not a replacement for attendance. Therefore, notes are only provided when the student with a disability attends class.
Please follow these steps if a student requests a notetaker:
- Make an announcement to the class that there is a student who needs a volunteer notetaker this semester. This involves sharing their notes with someone who cannot take adequate notes on their own.
- As you make this announcement please remember that disability information is confidential, it is important that the student with a disability is not identified in front of the entire class.
- When a student volunteers, ask them to stay after class for a brief meeting. The student with a disability will meet the volunteer at that time and make arrangements for obtaining the notes. It is helpful when the instructor oversees this initial meeting.
If the student with a disability has a complaint about the quality or delivery of the notes, it is his/her responsibility to alert the Disability Services for Students Office. The instructor may be asked to assess the quality of the notes, or ask for another volunteer.
- Provide information and services so that students with disabilities may participate in all of the programs, services, and activities of the institution.
- Provide services in a timely fashion.
- Review documentation of a disability for eligibility and determine on behalf of the institution what types of accommodations are appropriate.
- Keep disability-related information confidential, discussing it only with those who have a valid reason to know.
- Help faculty and staff provide reasonable accommodations.
- Consult with university administration, faculty, and staff on the provision of services, accommodations, and access as required under current federal and state law.
- Advocate responsibly for the rights of persons with disabilities.
- Voluntarily identify disability-related needs to the Disability Services for Students office.
- Provide documentation of disability to the DSS.
- Formally request needed accommodations and services in a timely manner.
- Notify the DSS of any changes or concerns in needed services or accommodations.
- Abide by the student code of conduct set by the university.
- Attend class and maintain the academic standards set by the university, the college, and the department.
- Use services responsibly and treat service providers and faculty with respect and courtesy.
- Abide by the policies of the DSS; specifically the Student Handbook) & Documentation Guidance on this site.
- Include a statement in your syllabus informing students about reasonable accommodations.
- Refer students to the DSS to have the disability documented and appropriate accommodations determined.
- Help provide reasonable accommodations including the use of auxiliary aids, note-takers, and captioned videos.
- Provide advising, counseling, and instruction to students with disabilities in a fully accessible environment.
- Show confidence in students abilities to achieve their intellectual, personal, and professional potential.
- Keep disability-related information confidential.
- Discuss all student-related information directly with the student.
- Provide a campus in which educational, cultural, and extracurricular activities are physically and programmatically accessible.
- Create policies that encourage the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all programs and activities.
- Provide a process so students with disabilities may address their grievances with the institution and the office(s) that provide service
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