FORTHCOMING UPDATES TO THE DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION PROCESS

Starting this Fall 2024, The WVU Office of Accessibility Services is updating its accommodation process. This new process will help ensure that students have formally requested accommodations in their classes. Students will also receive a link to a new guidance document along with their official accommodation authorization letter in order to help them facilitate conversation with faculty.

This new process is designed to be quicker and simpler for both students and faculty.

WHAT HAS CHANGED? 

In the past, faculty were asked to wait to sign the letters until after they had met with students to discuss implementing accommodation. Starting Fall 2024, under the new process, faculty will simply be asked to sign off on these letters, attesting that they have received the letter, have reviewed the letter for accuracy, and understand their responsibilities as a student. If you notice any errors or omissions in the letter, or if you have questions about your accommodations, please contact your Accessibility Specialist at OAS (identified in the letter).

Please remember that some accommodations require a detailed discussion prior to implementation. For example, there may be instances where students and faculty must work out logistics (such as a time or location) before an accommodation can be implemented. As part of the interactive process, students are responsible for reaching out to initiate a discussion with faculty when warranted. If you do not reach out, your instructor may not be able to implement some accommodations. These discussions can happen in person, via phone, via Zoom, or through email. Students should maintain a written record of the discussion, should questions arise later. An additional guidance document will be provided along with your accommodation letter.

Letters will still be delivered to students and faculty via their MIX email, and they will also be available for viewing at any time in the newly streamlined Accommodation Letters section of their portal within the OAS SAMM System. (This is the same system students have always used to sign their letters.) 

WHY ARE THESE CHANGES BEING IMPLEMENTED?

The ADA requires that faculty and staff not introduce unnecessary barriers to student accommodation. This new process was requested both by faculty and by students in the latest stakeholder survey as a common sense means of simplifying accommodation implementation and removing unnecessary barriers.

This process also helps to confirm that students have reviewed their accommodation selections and have been informed of their responsibilities as students.

SO, WHAT’S THE PROCESS FROM TOP TO BOTTOM? 

1. Register with OAS (New Students Only): Students seeking accommodation for the first time may register with OAS by completing an online application and submitting up-to-date, appropriate, and objective accommodation, followed by an intake appointment with an OAS Accessibility Specialist. 
2. Submit Semester Renewals: Returning students will renew their authorized accommodations every semester by completing a Semester Renewal online, selecting their courses and accommodations within SAMM. This authorizes the student’s Accessibility Specialist to release the official accommodation authorization emails to instructors. 
1. Go to SAMM and click "Student." 
2. Enter your WVU username and password. (This is your MIX username and password.) 
3. Sign any electronic forms required before continuing the steps below. 
4. Click on “Accommodation” in the left-hand navigation. 
5. Click on “Semester Request” in the left-hand navigation. 
6. Click “Add New.”  (Do not select the semester without completing this step.) 
7. Select the current semester from the drop-down box. 
8. Select “Submit For All Accommodations” if you want to use all accommodations in all classes OR select “Customize My Accommodations” which will allow you to choose which accommodations you want to use and in which classes you would like to use the accommodations. Select “Submit” when complete. 
9. We will then approve the request and send an email to you and your instructor with a link to log into SAMM and view your accommodation letter. Requests are approved during normal work hours of 8:15-4:45 Monday-Friday, unless there is a holiday. 
3. Discuss Implementation, as Necessary: As previously mentioned, some accommodations still require a detailed discussion prior to implementation. It is the student's responsibility to reach out and initiate these discussions with faculty when warranted. These discussions can happen in person, via phone, via Zoom, or through email. 
4. Signing Your Letter: after discussing your accommodations with your instructor, as necessary, you should log into SAMM to electronically sign your Notification of Authorized Accommodations letter. By signing this letter, you attest that you have received the letter and have spoken with your faculty.
   

If students have questions about an accommodation, or if they feel that they need additional accommodations to those listed in their Notification of Authorized Accommodation letter, they should reach out immediately to make an appointment with their Accessibility Specialist.

WILL I STILL MEET WITH FACULTY TO DISCUSS IMPLEMENTATION? 

In some circumstances, faculty will be able to simply implement accommodations using the new guidance provided in our updated accommodation descriptions without having to meet with the student or with minimal interaction.  

However, there may still be circumstances that would complicate implementation or require additional discussion. In those cases, students are responsible for reaching out to faculty to initiate these conversations. Faculty should make themselves available to students who wish to discuss how their accommodations will be implemented in the classroom. These discussions can occur via email, Zoom, phone, or in person.

Among these options, OAS recommends email, when possible, as this offers the benefit of privacy/confidentiality, and creates a written record of the discussion, should questions arise later. If faculty and student meet face to face, via phone, or via Zoom, then students are encouraged to take notes and follow up via email afterward to create a written record of what was agreed upon. 

ARE THERE ANY TYPES OF ACCOMMODATION THAT STILL REQUIRE A MEETING? 

Depending on the logistics of your class and its complexity, and/or depending on the individual nature of a student’s disability, a student could request to meet to discuss any of their accommodations at any time. This is not disability specific.

Again, students should not wait for these discussions to sign their letters. You are simply attesting that you have received the letter, have reviewed it for accuracy, and understand your responsibilities as a student. 

However, there are a few accommodation types that will always require lengthier discussion prior to implementation:  

• Disability Affecting Attendance. This requires a separate form to be completed by both faculty and student.  
• Accommodations that involve the recording of lectures. This requires a separate form to be completed by both faculty and student.  
• Testing Accommodations. If these accommodations are implemented outside of the normally scheduled testing time, then faculty and student will need to discuss the logistics (alternate time, location, etc.).

These accommodation types will be clearly indicated in the Accommodation Authorization Letter. 

HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO SIGN THE LETTER?

Students may legally request accommodations at any time; however, accommodations only apply to the course moving forward and are not applied retroactively to work that has already been completed. Students are asked to sign their accommodation letter within 7 days of receipt.