Accommodations can be Reviewed and Limited

A reasonable accommodation is a legally mandated modification or service that gives an otherwise qualified student with a disability an equal opportunity to the educational process. Accommodations should be viewed as adjustments to how things are traditionally done. They allow students with disabilities to equally obtain, engage, and utilize the educational environment available to students without a disability. Accommodations do not alter what is being taught nor do they alter the fundamental learning objectives or requirements of a course or program. From one perspective, accommodations can be grouped into the following categories:

  • Changes to a classroom environment or task that permit a student with a disability to participate in the educational process without altering the requirements
  • Removal of physical architectural and classroom barriers
  • Modifications to policies, practices or procedures that do not alter the fundamental aspects of the course, environment, or university
  • Provision of auxiliary aids and services

Accommodations do not lower academic standards or compromise the integrity of an academic program. Academic, conduct and technical standards will always be maintained.

Following is information about possible academic, residential, and campus access accommodations. This list is not exhaustive.

Academic Accommodations

Partial waiver of a language requirement

Students whose disability may affect their ability to complete the language requirement may petition for a partial waiver of the requirement. Students should speak with their deans regarding the petition process. SAS may support a student’s request for a partial waiver of the language requirement if their documented disability indicates a functional limitation related to language acquisition. If a student does not have documentation regarding a disability, they may contact SAS to request a referral for a psycho-educational evaluation.

Reduced course load 

Yale Colleges students may qualify for a reduced courseload (two courses for one fall or spring term) on a temporary basis in rare cases if the student experiences an urgent medical need (i.e., an acute mental or physical health episode) and has completed at least one term at Yale and earned credits during that term. Should a student feel that reducing their courseload to two (2) classes will mitigate the impact of their acute medical condition while allowing them to successfully complete those two classes, they may request a temporary reduced courseload accommodation through SAS.

Yale College students may contact their dean to discuss options to reduce their courseload to three (3) classes.

Graduate and professional students may qualify for a reduced courseload on a temporary basis in rare cases if the student experiences an urgent medical need (i.e., an acute mental or physical health episode). Should a student feel that reducing their courseload to two (2) classes will mitigate the impact of their acute medical condition while allowing them to successfully complete those two classes, they may request a temporary reduced courseload accommodation through SAS. SAS will engage with the appropriate school dean to determine the programmatic requirements and possible reduced courseload for a term.

An accommodation assistant is a Yale student hired by SAS to assist a student with a disability to obtain access to course content or complete the requirements of a course (e.g., lab assistant to perform physical activities within a lab to aid a student with a disability with dexterity limitations). The accommodations assistant is not a substitute for a student’s full participation in a course. Accommodations assistants:

  • Will perform only those tasks directed by the student;
  • Are to be  used as a tool, not a tutor;
  • Will not prompt or guide a student in performing a course activity;
  • Will not explain nor interpret course materials or assignments.

Alternative Media provides students access to print material through a digital format such as PDF, Word document, ePub, or large print, and Braille. SAS collaborates with faculty and teaching fellows to obtain accessible formats of course materials for students as indicated.

Assistive Technology (AT) refers to a range of devices, applications, and services that are employed by students to assist with mitigating limitations that are the result of a disability. Note taking technology, speech-to-text and text-to-speech are examples of AT available to students with disabilities through SAS. 

Based on the nature of a student’s disability, absences from class may occur unexpectedly, impacting regular class attendance and participation. SAS understands that participation may be used as part of the student’s course grade. While faculty are not required to alter the requirements of a course or learning objectives, flexibility to complete course requirements may be necessary. 


 

Captioning or transcription services convert speech and audio information of multimedia content into a text-based equivalent. Captions are time-synced and integrated into multimedia content, while transcriptions provide the text in full separately from the multimedia content. SAS collaborates with faculty and teaching fellows to caption media or provide transcripts for students with disabilities as indicated.

American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters

American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters are coordinated for students who communicate through ASL. SAS works with outside vendors to schedule qualified interpreters for academic and co-curricular activities for students as indicated. SAS collaborates with faculty and teaching fellows when an interpreter is working in their classes.

CART Providers

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services are coordinated for students who require access to auditorily presented information through live captioning. SAS works with outside vendors to schedule qualified CART providers for academic and co-curricular activities for students as indicated. SAS collaborates with faculty and teaching fellows when a provider is working in their classes.

A student’s disability may affect their ability to complete or submit assignments, or projects on the due date as a result of unexpected symptoms related to their disability. While faculty are not required to alter requirements of a course or learning objectives, flexibility to complete course requirements may be necessary through deadline extensions. Deadline extensions apply to assignments to be completed during the term only. This accommodation does not apply to work incomplete at the end of a term or postponement of final exams.

Yale College students should work with their residential college deans regarding any request for a dean’s extension. 

Notetaking assistance is provided as an accommodation for students whose documented disabilities interfere with their abilities to take notes in class. Notetaking assistance is determined on a course-by-course basis and is dependent upon the nature of each course and the method of instruction as it relates to the student’s documented disability. Notetaking assistance is not a substitute for a student’s full participation in class. Notes and/or recordings are for students’ personal study use only and are not to be shared or posted. Notetaking assistance may include but is not limited to:

  • Technology-based assistance – use of a personal laptop/tablet, Livescribe Smart Pen, Glean, or Notability;
  • Permission to record classes (many of the technology-based options have a recording component as a built-in feature);
  • Receipt of instructor outlines and/or Power Point presentations, if available;
  • Access to recordings of course lectures, if available;
  • Receipt of notes from a peer notetaker (graduate and professional students only).

Testing accommodations are approved for students whose documented disabilities interfere with their abilities during exams. Testing accommodations are determined on a course-by-course basis and are dependent upon the nature of each course.  Testing accommodations may include but are not limited to:

  • Extended testing time;
  • A reduced distraction environment testing environment;
  • Use of assistive technology such as a computer or speech-to-text software during testing;
  • Breaks during testing.

A service dog is individually trained to perform a specific task(s) which is directly related to the person’s disability. A service dog must be allowed to accompany a student with a disability to any space on campus accessible to that student. Students may choose to notify SAS in advance of bringing their service dog to campus, and “Presence of Service Animal” would then be listed on the student’s accommodation letter. Additionally, SAS will notify public safety of the service dog in case of an emergency. However, students are not required to receive approval for a service dog with SAS. Service dogs must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service dog’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the dog through voice, signal, or other effective controls. The service dog is required to be under the control of the student. Should the dog not be under control the student may be asked to remove the dog from the room or activity.