Home / SAS / Faculty Guide

Faculty Guide

 SAS MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Office for Student Accessibility Services (SAS) at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) is to support students with disabilities in their pursuit of equity and excellence in education. The SAS works with FAU faculty and staff to ensure that reasonable accommodations are provided to allow this population of students an equal opportunity to learn in the classroom setting and to have access to all areas of FAU campuses. The SAS fosters student self-advocacy and the development of compensatory skills that support independent learning.

REGULATIONS

Florida Atlantic University is dedicated to complying with State and Federal regulations involving the rights of students who have disabilities. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 provides that no otherwise qualified individual in the United States shall, solely by reason of her and his disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 states that a person with a disability is:

  •  Someone with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, including (but not limited to) caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working or
  • Someone who has a record of such an impairment or
  • Someone who is regarded as having such an impairment

 

FAU grants academic accommodations in order to ensure that students   with   disabilities have an

equal opportunity to attain the same quality of education as other students.

 

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS

  • Accommodations are authorized by SAS only after a thorough examination of the student’s documentation and intake interview with the student.
  • Accommodations are determined based on an interactive process between the student and SAS counselor.
  • Accommodations are, by necessity, highly individualized and are only granted to students on an “as needed” basis.
  • The student is not required to utilize an accommodation authorized by the SAS. However, the student is responsible for keeping SAS staff advised of any major changes involving an accommodation.
  •  A professor and student may agree to enhance an accommodation authorized by the SAS as long as it is mutually acceptable by both parties.
  •  The professor should consult with the SAS staff with any particular concerns regarding a student’s accommodations.

 

TESTING ACCOMMODATION PROCEDURES

To schedule a test or exam at SAS please go to the following link: https://clockwork.fau.edu/ClockWork/custom/misc/home.aspx . This link can also be found on the SAS webpage. Once you are on the website, click the tab that reads, “Schedule a test, mid-term or quiz”. The website will prompt you to log in. Complete all sections required only if your professor has approved SAS to proctor your exam at SAS. Submit the information online at least one week prior to each exam.

All exams will be taken in one of the SAS testing rooms (with the exception of midterms and finals, which may be scheduled at an alternate location) at the date and time scheduled for the class. If your exam needs to be taken at a different time or on a different day because of class conflict, disability-related circumstances or conflict with SAS office hours, make sure to ask your professor if the changed date or time is acceptable prior to scheduling the exam/quiz. Your professor may have some special instructions and conditions that must be followed if you are approved to take the exam before the class start time. You will not be allowed to discuss or share and information about the exam with anyone.

Be on time! Testing will begin promptly at the time indicated online. Students who arrive up to 20 minutes late will still be permitted to take their exam, but will have that time deducted from the amount of time allowed for the exam. Students who arrive more than 20 minutes late for a scheduled exam are considered a no-show. Students who are no show will be advised of their responsibility to go to the classroom to take the exam or speak to the professor about rescheduling the exam. SAS will need your professor’s verbal or written permission to administer the exam after the scheduled time.

Plan ahead! If you know that you can use notes, calculator, spell checker, dictionary etc.; bring them with you. Scrap paper, pen/pencil, scantron, blue book, if approved by professor, will be provided by SAS. You will not be allowed to leave the testing room once the exam has started. The only food or beverage allowed in the testing room is bottled water, unless this is an approved accommodation. Cell phones, are not permitted in testing rooms.

 

STUDENT’S RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

  • In order to complete the SAS registration process, it is the responsibility of the student with a disability to self-report functional limitations of the disability as well as effective prior accommodations and to provide the SAS with appropriate written documentation from a licensed professional in the field concerning the specific diagnosis and expected academic limitations, and attend an intake interview with an SAS counselor. If the SAS determines that the self-report or presented documentation is outdated, incomplete, or vague, it is the responsibility of the student to provide additional documentation that appropriately demonstrates the current existence of a disability.
  • It is the student’s responsibility to request via the online portal each semester
  • Academic Accommodation Agreement (AAA) letters for each course
  • Follow up within 48 hours after submitting accommodation requests and reach out to faculty to remind them to view and approve the accommodations
  • Book all of their exams with accommodations at least one week in advance
  • Request notetaking for each course a notetaker is needed
  • If you are having difficulties reaching your professor, please contact your SAS Consultant.
  •  It is the student’s responsibility to utilize authorized accommodations responsibly and keep in close contact with the SAS personnel. The student is not required to utilize an accommodation authorized by the SAS; however, the student is responsible for keeping the SAS personnel advised of any major changes involving an accommodation.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Students who have a disability are not required to register with the SAS, but are encouraged to do so in order to receive academic accommodations at FAU. Due to the confidential nature of a student’s disability, specific information cannot be released by the SAS to faculty members unless authorized to do so by the student.

The professor may be presented a notetaker announcement to read aloud which requests a volunteer notetaker for a student with a disability. The SAS requests the professor read the announcement verbatim and without mentioning the student’s name. The student(s) volunteering should be provided the contact information for the SAS on the campus where the class is held in order to get more information. The volunteer should not be introduced to the student.

FACULTY RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

  • The student request and send Academic Accommodation Agreement letters each semester attesting to her/his approved accommodations. You will receive an email notification from accommodations @fau.edu with a link to the SAS online portal for you to view and acknowledge the accommodations.
  • Faculty can access the portal either through the link in the email or go directly to the SAS webpage and access the portal. To access the portal, you will need to log in to the faculty/staff link with your FAUNet ID and password.
  • The letter needs to be viewed and acknowledged for record keeping as well as State and Federal data collection purposes. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the accommodations listed, please contact the students SAS Consultant listed at the top of the accommodation letter.
  • On the AAA letter, professors will see both in-class and exam if the student will be taking their exams with accommodations at SAS you will receive an email notification from accommodation@fau.edu  informing you of the date and time of the exam.
  • It is the professor’s responsibility to review and confirm. Students should be taking their exam at the same time and date as the exam in class unless there is a testing conflict (SAS is not open or the student has back to back classes) or a disability related circumstances. A tutorial to view accommodation letters and testing bookings is available for professors http://www.fau.edu/sas/portal/index.php
  •  We ask that professors submit the exams/quizzes to SAS with 24 to 48 hours of the exam date and times so that SAS can has sufficient time to prepare for proctoring of exams. This is especially important if SAS needs to make the exam accessible for the student (braille, screen reader, etc.).
  •  Professors can submit exams via the SAS online portal, SASTEST@fau.edu (email), fax or drop off a hard copy to the SAS office for which the course is held. Completed exams can be scanned and emailed directly back to the professors FAU email address or it can be picked up from the SAS office.
  •  Professors do not have to provide accommodations until they receive the Academic Accommodation Agreement (AAA) letter from the student.
  •  When volunteer notetaking has been approved by the SAS, the professor is asked to assist the student in obtaining a volunteer notetaker by reading aloud the provided notetaker announcement, posting the announcement on Canvas, via email and/or soliciting a student from the class. The professor should contact the SAS if a notetaker has not volunteered.
  •  The SAS endorses maintaining academic integrity in the provision of accommodations without fundamentally altering the essential nature of course or degree requirements.
  •  Faculty are strongly encouraged to include a statement regarding students with disabilities on their syllabus. For example:
    • “In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act 2008 (ADAAA), students who require reasonable accommodations due to a disability to properly execute coursework must register with the Student Accessibility Services (SAS)—in Boca Raton, SU 133 (561-297-3880); in Davie, LA 131 (954-236-1222); or in Jupiter, SR 111 (561-799-8585) —and follow all SAS procedures.”

 

 Last Modified 5/24/18