Teaching
Course Substitutions to Accommodate Disabilities
Operating Procedures
Passed by Academic Council 1-10-94
Wright State University has adopted the following
procedure to respond to student requests for course substitutions to accommodate
a disability.
The sequence of decisions to be made is as follows--
- Is this course "essential to the program of instruction being pursued
by the student or to any directly related licensing requirement?" (Section
504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Federal Register, Vol 42, no 86, May 4, 1977)
- Does the individual's disability warrant a course substitution?
What course or courses provide a reasonable substitute requirement for the
course in question?
Questions 1 and 3 should be answered by the faculty members
who have responsibility for the requirement in question.
It is important to note, however, that Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires the university to "demonstrate" that
a requirement is "essential."
Whereas questions 1 and 3 focus directly
on academic issues, question 2 asks for a determination about the presence
and significance of a disability. Consequently,
the persons charged with making decisions regarding course substitutions
should be equipped to recognize and understand the consequences
of various disabilities.
Procedure
- The process is initiated when a student requests a substitution
be allowed for a required course, due to the presence
of a disability. Advisers, petitions
committees, and others who hear such requests should refer the student to
the Office of Disability Services.
- The Office of Disability Services advises the student regarding university
policy, collects documentation, notifies the academic unit requiring the
course in question, and forwards all pertinent material to the Academic Substitutions
and Accommodations Board.
- If the course in question is one that is required by a department or college,
the faculty of that department or college shall determine if the course is "essential" for
the student's program of study. If the course in question is a General Education
requirement, a General Education Oversight Group will determine if the course
is "essential" for the student's program of study. If it is determined
that the course is essential, the Academic Substitutions and Accommodations
Board will notify the student that no substitution can be made regardless of
the presence
of a disability.
In all other instances, the Academic Substitutions and Accommodations Board
reviews available materials and determines whether a course substitution
is necessary
to accommodate the student's disability. If a substitution is not allowed,
the board may sometimes recommend specific modifications to make the course
accessible
to the student.
- If the Academic Substitutions and Accommodations Board determines that
a substitution is needed, the college or department requiring the course
will
arrange for an
appropriate substitute course.
Board Membership
The Academic Substitutions and Accommodations Board consists of three faculty
members.
Two faculty members will have expertise in areas related
to disability and academic adjustments. One is to have expertise
related to diagnosis of
learning
disabilities,
to be appointed by the School of Professional Psychology. The other is
to have expertise related to strategies for accommodating
disabilities, to be
appointed
by the College of Education and Human Services. These two members of the
board will participate, with voting rights, in each course substitution
request heard
by the board. [Timing of appointments: these two board members will be
appointed annually no later than October 1 by the above-named
colleges.]
The third faculty member should have expertise
in the learning of the subject matter of the course in question;
thus, this faculty member will vary.
The procedure for choosing the third individual will be as follows:
- The Office of Disability Services will maintain a roster of departments
offering courses for which substitution requests are anticipated. (Here
and below, "department" refers
to an actual department or other academic unit offering the course in question.)
- The Office of Disability Services will ask each such department to designate
a faculty member with expertise in the learning of the department's discipline.
This designee need not be a member of the department in question. There
may be more than one designee from one department if appropriate. If no
faculty
member
with expertise in the learning of the department's discipline can be identified,
then the department will designate another member of the faculty, who will
be expected to become familiar with issues pertinent to the board's deliberations.
[Timing of appointments: during the summer session, the Office if Disability
Services will solicit designees from the departments on the roster in step
a; the departments will reply no later than October 1. These designees
are expected
to be available for service for a one-year term.]
- When the Office of Disability Services forwards a course substitution
request to the Academic Substitutions and Accommodations Board, the Office
of Disability
Services will select the third faculty member from the persons designated
in step b, according to the department which offers the course in question.
If
no faculty member has been designated from the department in question,
then the
Office of Disability Services will solicit a designee from that department
or, if necessary, from the department's college.
This third faculty member will participate in the course substitution request
at hand, with voting rights.
Board Procedures
Although the voting membership of the board consists of only three faculty
members, both the board and the student applicant are permitted to invite
additional persons
to bring information or expertise to the committee. In particular, the
student applicant is permitted to invite any members of the university
community
(faculty, staff, or students) who may have pertinent information to share
with the board.
In addition, for each case, the board chair will secure input both from
the department or program that requires the course in question and from
the department
that
offers it, as well as from any other persons from the university community
as deemed appropriate.
A representative from the Office of Disability Services
will convene the meetings, supply the board members with necessary
documents for each case,
provide additional
information as needed, and convey results to the student who requested
the substitution, to his or her academic adviser, and to others as
appropriate. Although permitted
to participate fully in deliberations, the representative from Disability
Services has no vote.
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