Teaching Hub

Confused About Accommodations? Streamline the Process in 5 Easy Steps!

by Brittany Gregg, Assistant Director, Office of Disability Services

The beginning of the semester is always a busy time — we are inundated with emails, updates, meetings, and requests. This is also when students start to send their accommodation letters, adding to the communications you receive.

The Office of Disability Services (ODS) offers the following five steps to streamline the accommodations process for faculty.

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1. Don’t wait for an emailed accommodation letter.

You can sign in to the portal to see real-time updates for every course you teach. The portal displays all accommodations requested by your students and helps you track everything in one place. Access the portal via the ODS website or through MyBama (in the Faculty Teaching section).

2. Remind students to meet with you.

We received feedback from faculty that fewer students met to discuss their accommodations last semester. ODS continues to stress the importance of this to students.  If your students haven’t met with you, send them an email reminder, or announce during class that any students receiving accommodations should visit you during office hours within the next week.

3. Tell us if you have notetaker preferences.

If there is a specific student you would like to serve as the notetaker for one or more course sections, or if you are providing students with notes or using Panopto, there is now a way for you to indicate this in the portal.

4. Complete a Testing Agreement if you plan to use the ODS Testing Center.

The accommodated testing tutorial was updated to provide you with a better sense of the options available through the portal.

5. Complete an Attendance Modification Agreement for your courses.

While a smaller number of students receive this accommodation, it is good practice to consider how you would modify your course requirements for accommodated students who may need additional flexibility with attendance and due dates.

Review ODS guidance on how to modify course requirements. You can access Attendance Modification Agreements through the portal and can print copies to provide to students with an accommodation of modified attendance.

As additional updates and recommendations are available, ODS will communicate via email, but we also encourage you to bookmark our website, where you can find real-time updates regarding the portal and guidance for faculty.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns. We welcome feedback and communication from the faculty! We wish you a wonderful spring semester!