FAQ for Faculty

How do I provide a small group or reduced distraction environment testing accommodations? 

A distraction-reduced testing environment is a space outside the usual classroom that minimizes auditory and visual distractions, with controlled lighting and noise. Earplugs or noise cancelling headphones, carrels and white noise machines can help facilitate this environment as well and can be loaned from SAS as needed. A good rule of thumb is up to 10 to 12 students when possible. 

A small group environment is the smallest number of students possible in a separate space than the usual class, along with reduced distraction. A good rule of thumb is up to 6 to 8 students when possible. 

When booking exams spaces, it is important to consider where the space is located. Try to reserve space close to the usual classroom when possible and avoid noisy sections of a building or near a stairwell or entrance to the building to reduce noise. If you need assistance with booking spaces, contact your department or utilize 25 live.  

What does time and one half look like? 

View our Extended Time Calculator Chart

If I have a timed online assessment but students have a few days to access it, do I need to extend the timed assessment AND the number of days they have to access it? 

No, you only need to provide extended time on the timed assessment itself. 

I provide extended time to all students, does this cover students with extended time? 

This depends. For example, if the exam is a take home exam and students have 10+ hours to work on it, then yes this would cover extended time. If the class has 50 minutes to take the exam but you are providing everyone with an extra 15 – 30 minutes for example, then no this would not cover the student’s accommodation and you would need to apply their accommodation to the full time give to all students. If there is any question about this, please reach out to the signatory in the student’s Accommodation Letter to discuss. 

Does the clock stop during breaks on exams? 

No. Extended time accommodations include the time for breaks during exams. 

How do I coordinate makeup exams for my students with testing accommodations? SAS does not proctor make up exams at the testing office. Please work with your students directly to coordinate their make up exam. If assistance is needed, instructors can reach out to sasexams@yale.edu to inquire about our Proctor 2 Go services. Instructors will need to reserve the space ahead of time and then work with the proctor assigned to assist them. 

What does Accessible Course Materials mean, and what do I have to do for it? 

• Accessible Course Materials is an accommodation for students who use text-to-speech or screen reader technologies to access their PDFs, PowerPoints, and Word documents. SAS provides these technologies to students with this accommodation, and the SAS STARS Team will make sure that the materials in your class are made accessible by creating an “Accessible Documents” folder in your Canvas course with remediated content. SAS will not delete or provide materials that are not available to all students, and the remediations should not affect your Canvas course in any other way. If you are still creating your class materials, please review the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning  Creating Accessible Course Materials tutorial. For additional questions, please reach out to the SAS STARS Team at sasat@yale.edu.   

I don’t allow technology in my classroom; do I have to allow a technology accommodation? 

• For most cases, yes, technology must be allowed for students with technology accommodations. Courses where technology fundamentally affects the class structure, such as in counseling courses, may require an alternate accommodation to fulfill the access need that the technology facilitates. If this is the case, please contact Jordan Colbert, Associate Director of Assistive Technology, at Jordan.colbert@yale.edu.  

Do I have to allow a student to record my class if they have an accommodation to record? 

• Unless there is a bona fide confidentiality concern related to private experiential discussions, client information, or unpublished research, professors are required to allow students to audio record lectures. Yale Recording Policy 9001 allows students to audio record lectures with approval from SAS and when accompanied by the SAS Notetaking Technology Recording Agreement. If you have concerns about a student recording your class based on the circumstances above, please reach out to Jordan Colbert, the Associate Director of Assistive Technology, at Jordan.colbert@yale.edu to explore an alternative way to ensure students have equal access to take notes as their peers.  

Do I have to tell others in my class that there is a student recording the class? 

• No, professors should never announce to the rest of class that a student in the class has an accommodation for a disability. Professors should include language in their syllabus or in the first lecture that states their course policy on recording lectures with the caveat that exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the Yale Recording Policy 9001.  

A student in my class has a captioner (CART) or an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter. What do I have to do? 

• Depending on the class, live captions or ASL will be organized by SAS. However, professors will need to wear a microphone (provided by the SAS student before each class) if the student is running their personal Zoom room for the captioner. If the professor is teaching in a large lecture hall, the professor will need to open a Zoom room on the classroom computer and use the microphones in the room. The captioner will be the only one joining the Zoom room to hear the audio of the class. The Zoom will not be shared with any other students and is not for remote access, nor should it be on the screen during class. If this is the case, professors will need to meet with SAS before the first class and provide SAS with a Zoom room link. If an ASL interpreter is in the class, please refer to our guidelines for working with ASL interpreters in academic settings.  

A student in my class needs captions for videos. How do I get my videos captioned? 

• Captions will be automatically set for courses that use Canvas. All course videos should be added to the media library in Canvas. If videos are being used in a lecture, please refer to the Captioned Videos in Your Lectures that SAS has created. 

How can I suggest that a student reach out to SAS without offending them? 

First, please consider referring the student to their Residential College Dean or Graduate/Professional Dean of Students. These individuals are well placed to assist the student in determining if academic support would resolve the issue or if they should be referred to Student Accessibility Services.  

If the student has already consistently engaged with campus resources, or if they are questioning the possibility of a disability, it is important to connect what classroom behaviors/performance and concerns you are seeing and why you approaching SAS may be beneficial. Avoid speculating (e.g., “I think you may have a disability”) or making general statements (“You’re going to struggle in this major”), and err on the side of expressing concern and asking questions. For instance, you might start by saying, in private, 

• “I notice that your answers on tests are typically correct but that you almost never finish your tests. Is this new, or has it been an issue in the past?” 
• “I’ve noticed you’ve seemed tired/stressed/etc. in class and I wanted to check in with you to make sure everything is okay?” 
• “What aspects of this class do you find challenging/easy, or what do you wish was different about the class to make it better for you?” 
• “Tell me about your study approach to this class. Have you explored any additional resources to assist in your classes?” 

In response, students will often open up and provide an opportunity for you to refer them to SAS.  

If I have a question about one of my students accommodations, who do I contact?  

Each college and graduate/professional school are assigned an Accessibility Specialist. This person will sign the bottom of the student’s Accommodation Letter and will be happy to work with you to clarify any questions you may have about accommodation implementation.  

Can I grant my own accommodations if it seems straightforward or easy for me to do? 

We would encourage you to refer back to SAS for any accommodations that are not listed in a student’s accommodation letter. However, here are a few things to consider. 

• Is the request something you would agree to if any student requested it? If so, go ahead and grant it. Moreover, if you think it would be helpful for all students in the class, consider offering it to everyone. 
• If the request is not something you would grant to any student, it is all right to say “no” because it is not one of the student’s listed/approved accommodations. 

Please refer the student to discuss their request with their SAS advisor however, this does not mean SAS will automatically grant their request. Moreover, when it is unclear to SAS if a particular accommodation request would be reasonable in the context of your course we often contact you for more information about your course in order to evaluate the accommodation request as part of the interactive process.  

What do I do if a student discloses to me that they have a disability? 

If a student voluntarily discloses a disability to you, it’s helpful to listen supportively and refer them to SAS, where they can explore formal accommodations and resources. You can acknowledge their openness and let them know that SAS is the appropriate office to seek any disability-related accommodations. 

What does a temporary accommodation mean? 

A temporary accommodation is typically approved for a condition that is temporary- it will resolve within a certain period of time. Examples can include injuries, concussions, etc. SAS often approves accommodations on a temporary basis to address the time period in which a student is recovering. Occasionally, a temporary accommodation will transition into a permanent one. If that is the case, the student will be issued an updated accommodation letter and are expected to share that with you.  

Is a Dean’s Extension an accommodation? 

For Yale College students, a Dean’s extension is provided by the residential college dean and is not considered an accommodation. For questions regarding DEs, please contact the residential college dean directly.  While it is sometimes the case that students with accommodations also receive Dean’s Extensions, they are two separate processes.  

I have questions about Limited Flexibility with attendance and/or limited flexibility with attendance and deadlines.  

1. What do you mean by 50% extra absences? A: As an example, if the syllabus cites 2 allowed absence, the student with this accommodation would receive 3. In the event of an odd number of allowed absences, we encourage rounding up (so 3 becomes 5, etc.) 
2. Is it appropriate to assign short alternate assignments for extra absences; if so, what might that look like? A: Faculty may certainly assign short reading responses, office hour visits or anything else that allows the faculty member to assess the student’s engagement with the material that might have been missed in class without being overly burdensome.  In some cases, no additional work is needed. Students are always responsible for asking peers for missed notes. 
3. What is the difference between limited flexibility with attendance and deadlines and limited flexibility with attendance? A: The limited flexibility with attendance (only) is an accommodation that is for Yale College. Yale College students have other resources to navigate deadline extensions. Limited flexibility with attendance and deadlines is for graduate and professional students. 
4. Why do you ask the student to cc their SAS advisor on the correspondence? 

SAS asks the student to copy SAS on the email (and for you to reply-all in your response) so that we are 

• Readily available for consultation for you and the student 
• Aware if an easy resolution to the request for flexibility has been reached or if our assistance may be needed 
• You are always invited to reach out to the advisor separately to consult in the event of any questions/concerns 
• Able to monitor if a student is indeed having occasional flares or may be in need of additional support from SAS, a dean, or other campus resources regarding possible intervention. We can also track over-use of the accommodation this way. 

5. What if this creates a challenge for my class? A: We encourage you to reach out to the person that signed the letter approving the accommodation. This accommodation may need to be altered for certain courses, and we are happy to work directly with you to come up with alternatives that support both your learning goals and the student’s needs.  
6. What if a student with this accommodation misses more than their allotted additional absences? If the absences are disability related, this should prompt a conversation with the relevant dean. If the absences are not disability related, this student should be treated the same way any student with excessive absences would be managed. Limited flexibility with attendance does not mean students can have unlimited absences.  
7. If a student with limited flexibility with attendance and deadline extensions asks for an extension of more than 48 hours, what should I do?  This should be managed like any deadline extension request. The accommodation only allows for very short extensions related to medically necessary absences. Anything above that is up to the professor’s discretion, assuming the student is being treated similarly to other students without disabilities making similar requests.