Students say:
Most professors are only familiar with AEO to a certain extent. They know that AEO exists and that it helps students, but their understanding is limited. Most professors try to understand; however, they don’t have to deal with AEO very much, so they don’t know a lot. Some students wish professors would make an effort to understand the reasons behind accommodations, rather than treating it as a business transaction. Many students wish that professors had some sort of disability training.
All professors seem to understand that students are not trying to gain an advantage over other students and that these accommodations are legitimate. That being said, there are still professors that are not willing to bend when it comes to accommodations. Those professors seem to be less familiar with AEO.
Professors say:
Although someone from AEO comes to speak at new faculty orientation, the information being delivered does not stick with them as well as it could, because faculty have not yet had the experience of interacting with students registered with AEO. One professor reported that there is almost no contact between faculty and AEO. “There is not very much support for faculty to know how to accommodate students, or even to know whether they should take the accommodations seriously or not,” said another professor. Not very many professors are educated about the importance of accommodations.
There has been some discussion of whether faculty who are understanding of disability should find some way to identify themselves to students. Unfortunately, no solution has been reached.
What Students Can Do to Improve Professors’ Familiarity with AEO:
– Keep notes on your interactions with professors on issues of accommodations- both good and bad. Consider providing these to AEO at the end of the year. Wouldn’t it be great if AEO referred back to these when planning their discussion at new faculty orientation?
– Encourage your professors to reach out to AEO when they have questions about your accommodations.