August 2022 Meeting Minutes

Meeting Date
  • Accommodate 
    • Guest: Colleen Van Lent, CfDC Co-Chair
    • Slides from Colleen’s Presentation
    • Colleen’s Approach in her classroom
      • Include the boilerplate language from SSD form (form is now called VISA)
      • Also let students know that even if you don’t have paperwork you’re open to talking/accommodating
      • Check in with GSIs about students (especially in large classes) 
      • Walkthrough links to Accommodate Instructions and Portal Walkthrough on second week of class (after people have started regularly attending)
    • Student communication methods about accommodations
      • Paper (by hand) - not conducive to conversations, can be hard to keep track of
      • Paper (via email) - easier to track and follow up
      • Accommodate system - easiest to track, can still follow up with email, allows students to know that faculty have seen their request
    • Challenges
      • Trying to solicit accommodation requests tactfully 
        • Too matter of fact leads to non-verified requests
      • Requests that come in right before or after the exam
      • Understanding the proper response to vague requests in “flexibility”
        • Especially when it comes to homework
        • Technical topics require distribution of answers before starting the next step
        • Students who fall behind in coding often don’t catch up
      • Handling testing accommodation requests
        • In many departments, there’s no centralized support for room scheduling
          • Last minute requests became very difficult
    • How to Use Accommodate
      • You can see all students with accommodations under the “enrolled students” tab
      • You can request room scheduling , with lots of different days and times for both the class and the exam scheduling
    • Discussion and Questions
      • Testing Accommodations Center (TAC) team is talking to Council in September about both accommodate and the new physical spaces available for testing
        • TAC is looking at the language currently used to make it less impersonal and harsh
      • Giving students advance notice (verbally, in syllabus,  reminders before test day) so students are less likely to give last minute requests
      • Quirk in the Accommodate system - the class roster where you can see everyone only gives the “header” or first line of an accommodation, but doesn’t show some of the details for students with more accommodations or longer descriptions - don’t forget to click into the “Accommodation Letters” options to see full accommodations
        • TAC will demo this next month
      • Additional syllabus language suggestion from Jack Bernard: “If you think you need an accommodation for a disability, please let me and/or [UNIT CONTACT] know at your earliest convenience.  Some aspects of this course, the assignments, the in-class activities, and the way I teach may be modified to facilitate your participation and progress.  As soon as we are aware of your needs, we can work with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (if necessary) to help us determine appropriate accommodations.”
        • This language is approved by the faculty senate (SACUA)
      • Faculty needs to remember that nothing will be perfect for every student, do what you can, this is an ongoing process
      • Sometimes barriers to students are the way we talk about SSD and accommodations on campus, the way we talk can discourage engagement
      • TAC could present at new faculty orientation/trainings to normalize using the system
        • More information for TAC would be great to ensure this connection is made
        • Orientation used to include a session called “You have no IDEA”, which was designed to help student transition from an IDEA-based high school experience to an ADA-based college experience, but hasn’t happened recently
      • If you’re interested in SAAS presenting somewhere, fill out their Presentation Request Form
      • How does a student know how to get in touch/apply to get accommodations? And can a student personalize their accommodations?
        • Some students get connected through high school advisors/parents, but not everyone
        • Syllabus language can help with this
        • SSD Website has a “connect with us button”
        • Students are more and less likely to reach out to SSD
          • More likely because they have a better understanding of their needs and what is expected of them
          • Less likely because they expect that someone is going to reach out to them and offer a buffet of services
        • Would be great to add a sentence or section to the admissions letter
  • Announcements and matters arising
    • Disability Pride Event is coming up soon! 
    • Neubacher award nominations due August 15th 
      • Please share with your networks to get the word out
      • Nominate yourself or someone else
    • Alice Wong (who said our quote of the day) was trending on Twitter yesterday because of her recent and current medical situation.