Faculty Handbook

Introduction

Disability Services is dedicated to making Nipissing University an equally accessible learning environment for all students. It is mandated, by law, that students with disabilities have access to the same educational programs and services as students without disabilities.

As a faculty member, it is important to remember that all students bring a unique set of strengths and experiences to university and that students with disabilities are no exception. In most cases you will not notice differences between those students who are registered with Disability Services and those students who are not.

Also as an educator, you may be required to adjust your teaching practice slightly in order to accommodate the needs of students with disabilities. This may include, but is not limited to, adjusting deadlines, adjusting classroom policies (such as the use of technology within the classroom), and working with the Disability Services Office during testing.

This resource was written to assist faculty in comprehending the academic accommodation process and providing a guideline to assist in an equally accessible learning environment for all students.

Disability Services
Learning Strategists
Disability Services Officers
Adaptive Technology Technician
Faculty
Students

The Disability Services Team

Lee Pedersen

Manager, Student Support Services

705.474.3450, ext. 4493

leep@nipissingu.ca

Paul Courville

Adaptive Technology Technician

705.474.3450, ext. 4401

paulc@nipissingu.ca

Mike Walker

Learning Strategist

705.474.3450, ext. 4333

mikew@nipissingu.ca

Daralynn D’Angelo

Learning Strategist

705.474.3450, ext. 4235

daralynd@nipissingu.ca

Heather Lee

Disability Services Officer

705.474.3450, ext. 4202

disability@nipissingu.ca

notetaking@nipissingu.ca

heatherl@nipissingu.ca

Chelsey Leal

Disability Services Officer

705.474.3450, ext. 4331

disability@nipissingu.ca

notetaking@nipissingu.ca

chelseyl@nipissingu.ca

Diane Sheldon

Secretary Disability Services

705.474.3450, ext. 4362

dianes@nipissingu.ca

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Legal and Policy Background

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees:

[Every] individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination…

The Charter is responsible for making Canada more accessible. The Ontario Human Rights Act strengthened the foundation of the Charter by legislating duty that ensures legal responsibility provincially.

Ontario Human Rights Commission’s ‘Policy and Guidelines on Disabilities and the Duty to Accommodate’ (2001) states:

...education providers have a duty to accommodate the needs of students with disabilities, unless to do so would cause undue hardship… Accommodation is a means of preventing and removing barriers that impede students with disabilities from participating fully in the educational environment.

Full copies of these polices are available at OHRC Resources page:

http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/resources

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act is available at:

http://www.aoda.ca

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Principle Terminology

Disability
According to the Ontario Human Rights Code:

A disability may have been present from birth, caused by an accident, or developed over time. It includes physical, mental, and learning disabilities, mental disorders, hearing or vision disabilities, epilepsy, drug and alcohol dependencies, environmental sensitivities, as well as other conditions.

Barriers

Institutional or academic barriers are what create disability-related needs, as they prevent a person with a disability from becoming fully involved in society.

Documentation

Documentation provided to Disability Services is assessed by the appropriate Learning Strategist to determine if there is a disability-related need. If it is established that a disability related need exists, the University, as per the OHRC, has a duty to accommodate; unless to do so would cause undue hardship and/or the student cannot meet the “essential requirements” of a course.

Without documentation, a student cannot be registered or given support services through Disability Services.

Accommodation

Academic accommodation is a process by which students are provided conditions, services, and/or tools, which help to compensate for the effects of their disability in studying, classroom learning, testing and other evaluation. These accommodations are determined by the Learning Strategist and are based upon recommendations made in the documentation— these accommodations are unique and specific to a student’s disability-related needs.

Appropriate accommodation is fair and is meant to “level the playing field”. An accommodation should not provide an “unfair advantage” to students with disabilities over other students; course requirements should not be modified and standards should not be changed for students with a disability. If the student’s disability prevents them from doing “essential requirements” the University is not legislated to accommodate them.

Three key principals, developed by the OHRC, provide Disability Services a foundation from which an accommodation plan is built. Nipissing University must respect the rights of persons with disabilities by ensuring integration and full participation at Nipissing University. We must value students with disabilities as unique individuals and they must be assessed and accommodated individually.

We must respect the dignity of students with disabilities, including integrity, empowerment, confidentiality, privacy, comfort, autonomy, individuality and self-esteem.

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Categories of Disabilities as per Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities

Students who fall under the following categories
will work with Mike Walker as a Learning Strategist.

Acquired Brain Injury

Depending on the intensity of the injury and the location in the brain, one or several brain functions can be affected including motor-coordination, sensation, perception, speech/language processing, intelligence and memory.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Behavioural characteristics that are seen frequently in adults with ADD/ADHD are inattentiveness, restlessness, a quick and excessive temper, impulsiveness, moodiness, disorganization and low stress tolerance.

Learning Disabilities

A learning disability affects the manner in which individuals with average or above average intelligence take in, retain and express information. Major types of learning disabilities fall into two categories:

academic learning disabilities, which may include difficulties in reading, writing, or mathematics, and
cognitive learning disabilities, which may include perceptual skills, memory and retrieval skills, reasoning abilities, or oral language.

_________________________

Students who fall under the following categories
will work with Daralynn D’Angelo as a Learning Strategist.

Deaf, Oral Deaf, Deafened, Hard of Hearing

For deaf or hard of hearing students, communication can be frustrating for both the student and the person with whom he/she is communicating. If you are experiencing difficulty communicating try using an alternate communication methods such as written, bodily expression, or devices such as an ubi-duo.

Chronic Medical/Systemic

A student who suffers from a systemic disability may have limited strength, mentality or alertness due to acute health problems. One major problem common to all students with a chronic or medical / systemic disability is fatigue.

Low Vision, Blind

Partially Blind: Includes but is not limited to eyestrain while reading, need for large print handouts and textbooks, difficulty reading poor quality print or an inability to read certain colors.

Legally Blind: Legally blind is defined as visual acuity equal to or less than 20 / 200. Legal blindness in Canada is defined as a range of vision from the perception of light up to 10 percent vision.

Mobility

The degree of limitations will vary from student to student and it is unlikely that any two students who use wheelchairs, walkers, canes , etc. will be identical in strength, stamina and/or dexterity.

Mental Health

Students with psychiatric disabilities present some of the most difficult challenges. A student with a psychiatric disability has little control over their disability (especially those without medication) which causes a range of emotional disturbances, ranging from recalcitrance to disruptiveness.

Temporary Conditions

Some disabilities are temporary but have a serious impact on the student's ability to function in his or her usual manner. These can include fractured/broken bones, severe sprains, infections, medical problems, surgery, and other non-permanent disabilities. Students who are recovering from these or similar circumstances can be eligible for services with the appropriate documentation.

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Confidentiality

It is expected that any person working with students within Disability Services will respect the strictest confidentiality in regards to any information obtained from, by, or about the student.

Any information and/or documentation shared by a student with Disability Services is confidential and can only be made available to other departments, faculty, or staff if the student provides specific written consent. A student who consents to the release of information must specify who can receive the information and what information can be disclosed.

If a student wishes to receive accommodations in specific classes, the student must self-identify to the professor by providing them with an issued Letter of Accommodation and then accommodations can be implemented. *Please note that the student does not need to notify the professor about specific details pertaining to his or her disability.

Testing and other accommodations may not be provided through Disability Services until a student self-identifies to a professor via his/her Letter of Accommodation and/or in person.

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Roles and Responsibilities

Disability Services

Educate the administration, faculty, staff and students about disabilities, policies, procedures, and responsibilities.
Provide appropriate and necessary accommodations to students with disabilities, while respecting their dignity, without creating undue hardship for the university.
Provide support to faculty in the accommodation of students with disabilities in their classes.
Maintain the confidentiality of records and communication concerning students with disabilities, except where disclosure is required by law or is authorized by the student.
Organize accommodated testing services.
Facilitate focus groups to enhance our service delivery to students.
Organize seminars and workshops for students with disabilities.

Learning Strategists

Receive, evaluate and maintain the confidentiality of any disability-related documentation provided by the student.
Assess the need for academic accommodations of students with disabilities based on disability-related documentation provided.
Develop individualized accommodation plans that provide essential services, technology, and/or supports that ensure students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to be successful at university.
Respect student confidentiality, rights and dignity.
Plan, organize and implement disability awareness training.
Ensure that the student’s disability-related needs are met as per Ontario Human Rights legislation www.ohrc.on.ca/en/resources/Guides/AccessibleEducation?page=fghj-Contents.html
Advocate on behalf of students who are registered with Disability Services.
Refer students to one of our Academic Skills Coordinators, Counsellors or Peer Tutors for academic or personal support.

Disability Services Officers

Organize and oversee all accommodated testing, including:

hiring, training, and monitoring proctors and scribes.
ensuring appropriate testing accommodations are met for each student.
communicating with professors to ensure proper administration of test/exams.

Organize and oversee note-taking and note-sharing support, including:

hiring, training, and monitoring note-takers,
ensuring students receive quality notes in a timely fashion.

Adaptive Technology Technician

Demonstrate Assistive Technology and train students in the use of the tools.
Advise students on computer systems needed to support the accommodation software.
Service and maintain laptops with all of the technology loaded on them that can be lent out for trial of the software.
Prepare course textbooks and readings in alternate format.

Faculty

Faculty members have a duty to accommodate students registered with Disability Services according to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982), and the Ontario Human Rights Code (revised 1990) and the AODA (2005).

A faculty member must:

Assist Disability Services in providing authorized accommodations in a reasonable and timely manner.
Never, under any circumstance (unless given specific permission by the student) disclose information regarding the student’s disabilities or accommodations.
Respect the student’s rights and dignity.
Provide Disability Services with a copy of quizzes, tests and midterms in a timely fashion when a student requests to write with Disability Services.
Abide by all departmental and university policies and academic regulations.
Assist Disability Services to reschedule test/quizzes and midterms that need alternate times or dates due to disability-related reasons.
Communicate with Disability Services regarding any questions or concerns about a student and/or his/her accommodations.

Students

Although students with disabilities have the same responsibilities as all other students, they have additional responsibilities regarding their academics.

A student registered with Disability Services must:

Initiate a request for accommodations with Disability Services in a timely fashion.
Submit appropriate documentation of his/her disability from a qualified health-care professional.
Self-identify to his/her professors that he/she is registered with Disability Services by providing the professors with an issued Letter of Accommodation.
Meet with, appropriately discuss, and/or advocate his/her accommodation needs in a timely fashion with professors, seminar leaders, and laboratory technicians.
Maintain regular and punctual attendance in all classes and notify Disability Services of absences due to disability related reasons. *If you have a concern regarding a student’s attendance, please contact his/her Learning Strategist.
Utilize learning strategies implemented by his/her Learning Strategist.
Schedule quizzes, tests and midterms a minimum of 7 days before the scheduled test date with the Disability Services Officers.

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Academic Accommodation

Disability Services makes every effort to ensure that academic integrity is not compromised when developing accommodation plans.

With accommodation the manner in which a student completes course work or exams may be different from the rest of the class, however, faculty should use the same criteria for the grading of students with disabilities as they use with all their students. Any student who is not meeting course expectations should be graded accordingly. Passing a student with a disability out of pity or failing them for using alternative methods of learning is unethical and would be doing a disservice to the student and to the community.

Possible Adaptive Technology

Smart Pens/Digital Recorders
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)
Laptop for Note-taking
Zoom Text /JAWS
Dragons Naturally Speaking
Kurzweil
CCTV (Closed Circuit Television)
Spell Checker/Grammar Check
Scanner/Scanning Pen

*Other Adaptive Technologies may be used.

The following is a list of possible academic accommodations for any type of disability. Please note the list is not exhaustive.

Lecture and Seminar/Tutorial/Lab Accommodations

Testing Accommodations
Adaptive technology
In-class note-taking or note-sharing assistance *see below for further details
Handouts enlarged or on coloured paper
Extension on assignments
Ergonomic chairs/Adjustable tables
Learning Assistants
Preferred seating and freedom to change position
Laptops/Notebooks
Allowance to make-up missed coursework for excused absences and / or extended absences
Class presentations/lectures presented both orally & visually
FM systems
Captioned films, videos, and scripts when possible
Descriptive Video
Permission to tape / digitally record lectures
Allowance for sufficient or more frequent breaks
When possible, notes/presentation in advance
Support Persons/Service Animals

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Testing Accommodation

Disability Services will administer any accommodated testing that is required and scheduled by the student.

The process is as follows:

If students have registered to write a test with Disability Services, the professor will receive an email notification indicating the student’s name, course code, date, and the time the student has requested to write the test.
*Please note that, typically, this time may be slightly different than the remainder of the class, but should not be significantly different.
The professor will provide a hard or electronic copy of the test/quiz/midterm to Disability Services within a reasonable time frame prior to the date the test is to be written (preferably the day before).
*This is not required for final exams being written during the exam period. For final exams, please submit the exam to FASS and they will provide Disability Services with a copy.
Should a student have a question during the test, a proctor will escort the student to the classroom, or the proctor will invigilate in the classroom while the professor visits the student.
During final exams, we ask that the professor visit students writing with Disability Services at least once within the first hour of the examination.
Disability Services will email the professor when the test/quiz/midterm/exam is ready to be picked up. Pick-up is available in A201 during the Disability Services Officers’ Hours.

*Note: we do not to deliver to mailboxes.

The following is a list of possible testing accommodations for any type of disability. Please note the list is not exhaustive:

Additional Time
Distraction Reduced Room
Private Room
Computer
Grammar/Spell Checker
Dictionary
Alternate Scheduling
Calculator
Info/Formula Sheet
Test Enlarged
Test on Coloured Paper
Use of Adaptive Technology such as Kurzweil, Dragons Naturally Speaking, Inspiration, or JAWS
Dictation of Answer to Scribe
Earplugs
White Noise
Ergonomic Chair
Access to Food/Medications
Access to Washroom
Pain/Rest Break
Allowance for Extensions or Deferrals

*Note: Student access to the Internet is prohibited and password protected, unless access is a course requirement, e.g. Blackboard access, etc.

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Note Taking Accommodation

Note-taking is a proven way to provide equal access and to contribute to the success of students who have various disabilities. By relying on a note-taker to provide them with notes, students can devote their full attention to the professor, classroom discussions, and other learning activities. In addition, we encourage those students who can to continue to take their own notes as well.

*Please note – some students may not require the support of a note-taker if the professor is willing to provide a copy of the PowerPoint and/or Slides in advance or allow the use of a tape/digital recorder.

A note-taker may be a student registered in your course or an external person hired to be a note-taker. If the note-taker is registered in the course, he/she is to participate in the class as all other students do, but will provide a copy of the notes to the student receiving note-taking support. If the student is not registered in your class, they will attend each class and take notes for the student but will not participate in the class.

Students registered with Disability Services who receive note-taking services are required to attend class, and should notify Disability Services if they are absent due to a disability related concern. If a student is absent the note-taker will still be present in class and it will be decided by the Learning Strategist whether the student will receive the notes.

Disability Services only oversees note-taking for students registered within our department. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the note-taking process, or note-takers within the classroom, please contact the Disability Services Officers.

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Audio Recording in the Classroom

For some students with disabilities, audio-recording of lectures is a useful and necessary accommodation that enables them to gain full advantage of a course or lecture that might not otherwise be accessible to them.

Permission to Audio-Record Classes

Permission will only be granted to students who have submitted appropriate documentation that identifies this accommodation as supportive of their disability.

Students for whom this is an approved accommodation will be required to complete the Audio Recorded Lecture Procedure Agreement, confirming that the recording will be used exclusively for the purposes of private study.

If a student has permission to audio-record a class, the course instructor is responsible for informing all Teaching Assistants or Guest Lecturers involved in teaching that student.

The student must then obtain permission from the professor to use audio-recording in the classroom. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the student’s Learning Strategist.

See our guidelines for students using audio recording in class by visiting the following links or by speaking to a Learning Strategist.

Audio Recording Procedures (.pdf 28 KB)
Audio Recording Agreement (.pdf 22 KB)

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Support Persons/Services Animals

You may have students within your classroom who require either support persons or service animals. Support persons and services animals can include, but are not

limited to, interpreters, note-takers and guide dogs.

When communicating with a student who has a support person with them, ensure that you make eye contact with the student and speak directly to them and not the support personnel.

If the student in your class is accompanied by a guide dog, do not pet or distract the dog in any way, as the dog is working.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding support persons or service animals within your classroom, please contact the student’s Learning Strategist.

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Accommodation Letters

The Letter of Accommodation might be the basis for your initial communication with a student with a disability in your class. This letter is issued to the student by the Learning Strategist and is typically delivered to the professor in person by the student during the first few weeks of each term. If the student is uncomfortable giving the professor the letter in the class, the student may request an appointment in which to deliver the letter.

The Letter of Accommodation is a summary of the academic accommodations and support the student might be accessing in order to participate in lectures, complete course work, and/or write tests and exams. Although the majority of classroom and testing support will be arranged and provided through the Disability Services Office, we want the professor to be aware of this support and we need the professor’s cooperation.

For example, supports such as providing your class textbooks in alternate format to a student with a reading disability will be arranged through the Disability Services Office; however, if you have an in-class reading assignment, you may need to provide this reading in a format accessible to the student. Either the student or the Disability Services Office can help you if you are unsure what the student might need and how to provide the accommodation listed in the letter.

Please remember the Letter of Accommodation is a confidential, disability-related document, and the professor has a responsibility to keep this document secure and the information within it confidential.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q. I have a student who is not registered with Disability Services, but I think that they might have a disability, what should I do?

A. You can discuss with the student the difficulties that he/she may be having in your class; if you discover that the student is struggling for a specific reason other than a disability, it would then be appropriate to discuss possible solutions with the student. You may direct them to the Office of Student Development and Services for peer tutoring services and/or academic skills support. If you still feel that a disability may be the cause, then you can recommend that the student speak to someone at Disability Services.

Q. What do I do if I disagree with the recommended accommodations?

A. If you have questions about the accommodations recommended for a student in your course, contact his/her Learning Strategist. These discussions can be very useful for clarifying misunderstandings and reaching mutually acceptable solutions.

Q. What happens if a student is suspected of academic misconduct during a test or exam?

A. In the event that a student is suspected of academic misconduct (e.g., questionable material is found), the student is allowed to finish the exam and a Disability Services staff member will try to locate the professor. The material is returned to the instructor along with the exam and a written report describing the incident. It is left with the instructor to follow university protocol in handling the situation.

Q. Does a faculty member need to give a copy of his/her own lecture notes to a student with a disability as a reasonable accommodation?

A. Although this can be very beneficial, faculty are not obligated to provide lecture notes if another effective accommodation, such as a digital recorder or note-taker, can be provided. Should a note-taker be unable to attend class, and replacement note-takers are unavailable, you may be asked if you have a copy of notes that would be suitable for the student.

Q. Are students who write in a distraction reduced environment or a private room supervised as they are writing to prevent cheating?

A. All students who use exam accommodations are supervised while writing. Students are only allowed to bring approved materials into the exam rooms and these materials are checked by a Disability Services staff member before the student commences the test. Proctors are present to supervise the students who write in a distraction reduced environment where Disability Services staff are not present. The computers used by students have the Internet disabled and are monitored by the staff of Disability Services.

Q. Can I see the documentation which outlines why a student with a disability should be accommodated?

A. All documentation that is provided by the student to Disability Services is strictly confidential and therefore cannot be shared with anyone. If a student decides on his/her own accord to share information, it is at his/her discretion and the information shared with you should remain confidential.

Q. Why do students with psychiatric disabilities require academic accommodations and what might their accommodations consist of?

A. Many students with psychiatric disabilities will experience setbacks in their mental health that may be caused by changes in their medication, the side effects of their medication or the fluctuating intensity of their symptoms. A common accommodation may be alternate scheduling for assignments and/or tests.

Q. What if I have a student request to write their test on a different day or different start time than the rest of the class?

A. Due to the accommodation of additional time, some students may require to begin a test early to avoid their additional time overlapping with a later class. Disability Services may have the student write the test early, but will not allow the student to leave the office until the class has began writing the test.

If the student wishes to write his/her test on a different date and/or different time than the class, he/she must obtain permission from the professor. The Disability Services Officers will contact the professor for verification and offer the professor the choice to provide an alternate version of the test.

Q. If a student is using a scribe as a test/exam accommodation, what does the scribe do?

A. The role of the scribe is to transcribe the oral answers provided by the student to an alternative format. The scribe does not add to or alter the student’s answers; he/she is simply a medium for the student’s answers to be transcribed into an alternate format.

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Additional Resources

Universal Instructional Design for Post Secondary Instruction
Guelph University and Georgian College both published implementation guides to universal instructional design.

Georgian's Guide:

http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/repository/mon/8000/243213.pdf

Guelph's Guide:

http://www.tss.uoguelph.ca/projects/uid/UG16-implementation%20guide.pdf

Accessibility Legislation in Ontario (AccessON.ca)
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA, 2005) is helping all those with disabilities with better access to and participation in all aspects of daily life in Ontario.