Office of Disability Services

Faculty Guide: Technical Standards

photo of a student working in a labEach college should be proactive in establishing a process for reviewing and creating technical standards for non-academic criteria for admission and continued participation in an educational program.

According to best practices outlined by the Association on Higher Education and Disability, "These standards should be specific and include abilities, behaviors and safety needed in a course of study. Standards should be anchored to the curriculum, supported in policy and practice and utilize objective performance criteria that can be reliably applied to all program applicants or participants. Finally, an individualized interactive process must be used to determine if reasonable accommodations would allow a student to meet the technical standards" (AHEAD Joint Comments).