Tag Archives: Accommodation

How Does AEO Do at Accommodating Students?

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Both students’ and professors’ biggest issue with AEO seems to be that they are under staffed.  Several students reported that there can be an issue with AEO getting back to students in a timely fashion.  One student provided an example, “If you need books on tape, you might get them after the test and that won’t be helpful.” Despite some of AEO’s shortcomings, most students registered with the office seem to agree that AEO is very supportive and that their staff are very motivated to help you.

Here is what one professor had to say about AEO:

“I have seen first hand what a wonderful job MaryJo and Steven do with academic coaching and also how good the office is at providing things like texts, braille texts if needed, extra time on tests, and proctoring arrangements for exams.  I think where the difficulty comes is with students who have not gone to the office and have not identified themselves to the office or who don’t know they have a disability and could benefit from accommodations. Some of the difficulties that arise come when a student discovers in the course of their time at Vassar that they have a disability and then the process of coming to work with the office and getting accommodations is more fraught for the student.”

Difficulties with Staggered Deadlines

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Staggered deadlines may be one of the most difficult accommodations to arrange.  Staggered deadlines involve planning alternate submission dates for papers, projects, or exams when a student has conflicting due dates for these.  The key part of staggered deadlines is the planning.  As it says on the AEO website, “Staggered deadlines are always established well in advance of the scheduled due date.”  It is the advanced planning of these deadlines that makes them “staggered deadlines” rather than extensions.  But what if you have a disability that makes it more difficult to plan? Professors aren’t required to give a student extensions.  In one student’s experience, though, professors have been very accommodating when she was unable to plan a staggered deadline in advance and allowed extensions anyway.  As you can see, this accommodation can get tricky.

Another difficult aspect of this accommodation is setting the deadlines for your assignments.  You want to make sure you provide yourself enough time to get the assignment completed to the best of your ability, but you don’t want to appear to your professor as if you are trying to buy unnecessary time.  This is why I would recommend talking to one of AEO’s academic coaches about your proposed deadlines before meeting with your professor.

In regards to staggered deadlines, one professor said, “Belinda [former AEO director] always used to say [staggered deadlines aren’t] extensions and should be worked out in advance.  But my experience in working with students who have that as an accommodation is that it isn’t always possible to work it out in advance, because a student’s schedule of academic work is like a Chinese puzzle box- there’s so many parts and if one moves- if a professor puts off an assignment or changes an assignment, then that affects everything else.”

Difficulties with AEO Registration

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1. The process

Many students report that they had a difficult time getting things settled when they first registered with AEO.  One student said that AEO took a long time getting back to her to let her know that her psychiatrist’s documentation had the wrong information.  This delay almost caused the student to be unable to request housing accommodations.  Though it all worked out in the end, the student said the “poorly organized” process caused her unnecessary anxiety.  Another student said,“I feel like they put up a lot of initial barriers to becoming approved for an accommodation, which could be a problem but at the same time kind of makes sense.”

2. The List

Another student who chose not to register with AEO said he made this decision based on the list of specific services AEO offers.  This makes one wonder how many students do not register with AEO because they do not see certain accommodations on AEO’s list.  This list is deceiving, because, in fact, AEO does offer more accommodations than those listed.  It is disappointing if students who could benefit from AEO’s services are not registering because they do not see a specific accommodation on AEO’s list.

3. The Cost

One professor said, “I’ve always been personally concerned about students whose parents are not well off financially and can’t afford the testing that’s required but I can’t say I know what the college’s current policy is on that or how they help. I know that Belinda [former Director] used to have a list of places where people could go to get the testing at a reduced fee.  In an ideal world I would like to see disability evaluations covered under college insurance policies, health insurance, so it could become an integral part of our larger health services, but that’s a dream.”

Delayed Accommodation Letters

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If you’re a student registered with AEO, you probably know that AEO isn’t the best at getting accommodation letters out as soon as we would like.  For example, even when one student tried to get her forms in before the semester started, the office was not open until the first day of classes and she was not able to actually receive accommodations until two weeks into the semester.  This brings up the following questions:

1. Should getting your accommodation letter early be an accommodation?

Maybe some students don’t have an issue with receiving accommodation letters a couple weeks into classes. But there are surely some who do.  What about the student with extended time on exams who has a quiz within the first few weeks of class? The student with a note taker who does not begin receiving notes until well into the semester? Or the student who records lectures? Could he or she not begin recording lectures until a couple weeks into class? Maybe AEO should consider having a box for students to check off if they feel the need to receive their accommodation letter at a sooner date.  Although, who wouldn’t want to check off that box?

2. Should AEO consider allotting the time necessary before the first day of classes to have accommodation letters returned to students by the first day of classes?

What would be the benefits of doing so? Well, as a start, meetings between professors and students about accommodation letters could be held right away, even during the first week of class.  Then, students would be able to begin receiving accommodations as early as needed.

Unfortunately, we are only students and we cannot hire the extra staff member or two we all know AEO needs.  Here, however, are some coping strategies for dealing with late accommodation letters.

1. Write to your professors. Let them know that your accommodation letter is coming and that you will be contacting them to arrange a meeting with them soon.  If there is an accommodation that you will need before you have received your letter, let them know. Ask if he or she would be willing to grant you this accommodation prior to receiving your letter.  Keep in mind that your professor may need confirmation from AEO.

2. After a reasonable amount of time has passed, consider writing a note to AEO explaining why it is important for you to get your accommodation letter as soon as possible.  If there is an assignment on your syllabus that may pose a problem if you do not have your accommodation letter, tell them.

Professors’ Familiarity with AEO

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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.

 

 

What Students Can Do to Help Professors Help Them

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Students, there are a number of things that you can do to help your professors best accommodate you.  Here are a couple of examples:

1. Emailing your accommodation letter to your professors before you go to meet with them.

This is something that AEO already instructs students to do, but I think it’s important to highlight the benefits of this.  If your professors are able to see your accommodation letter before you go to meet with them, they have the opportunity to think about what they can do to best accommodate you.  There may be something specific about a particular assignment or the way professors conduct their class that might pose a problem for you due to your disability.  A professor who has your accommodation letter ahead of time may think to share this with you during your meeting, opening up the opportunity for you to talk about this and problem-solve.

2. Communicating with professors

There are a number of little things professors can do to make our lives as students with disabilities a little bit easier.  For example, if a there is an in class presentation, a professor might allow a student with an anxiety disorder to go first and get it over with.  He or she might also allow students with this kind of disability to pick up homework earlier so that they do not have to worry as long about getting it back.  And what about group projects? What if you wanted to use your staggered deadline accommodation? How would you go about doing that without revealing your accommodation to your classmates? It would be helpful if professors thought about a way to prevent this problem before assigning these kinds of projects.  But, our professors are not mind readers.  What we as students must do is not be afraid to let our professors know that these little things can really ease the stress of students with disabilities.  Although not all professors may be open to these kinds of suggestions, it is important to try and to communicate with those who are willing to listen.

 

 

What to Do When a Professor Denies You an Accommodation

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Although most professors are accepting and understanding of accommodations, there are those few who may push students to do the work without accommodations.  One student with a chronic illness said, “There are professors that are more willing to work with you than others.  Most of mine have been really good, but I’ve had a couple who sort of said, ‘Well, I really want you to turn this paper in on time, so even though you’re really not feeling well, let’s see if you can make that happen anyway.’”  Hopefully, this does not happen to you.  But if it does, here’s what you can do:

1) You can consider reasoning with the professor, reminding him or her of your accommodation letter received at the beginning of the semester.  Sometimes this can be difficult because your professor is in a position of authority.  But you should always remember that your accommodations are your legal right.

2) If a professor is being pushy and you don’t want to push back, whether it be because you are worried about your grade in the class or what the professor will think of you, then it may be best to contact AEO.