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Accommodations

Faculty and staff should refer to the academic accommodations section of the Handbook on Educational Access [pdf] for specific responsibilities.

The following general guidelines have been developed to better help you when working with students who have disabilities.

1. VCU students with disabilities shall have an opportunity to participate in all educational programs and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate.
2. Professors are encouraged to announce their willingness to meet with students with disabilities to implement suitable accommodations as early in the semester as possible. Professors are strongly encouraged to put a disability policy on the course syllabus. Refer to the handbook for example policy statements.
3. Professors sometimes suspect that a student has a disability. Usually it is inappropriate to ask the student if he/she has a disability, and it is unlawful to ask the student to identify his/her disability if he/she has not volunteered the information. It is quite appropriate, however, for professors to indicate that they have observed a consistent difficulty or problem, perhaps in class work, papers, etc. In that context, a professor might provide a list of VCU services for the student to access. Faculty should refer to the handbook for suggestions.
4. The need for academic accommodations may vary from student to student. Most need only minor changes. Accommodations may range from the presentation of lecture materials to exam modifications. The director of disability support services provides an academic accommodations letter for students who require modifications.