Memorandum
To:
Faculty
From:
Office of Disability Services (ODS)
Date:
August 2010
Re:
Students with Disabilities
________________________________________________________________
The following guide is provided to facilitate the accommodation process for students and to aid
faculty in communicating with students with disabilities. Please review these policies and contact
the ODS if you have any questions regarding our services.
Accommodations through the Office of Disability Services:
If a student is registered with the ODS and classroom accommodations are granted, faculty members will
receive what is called a “Faculty Contact Sheet” (FCS). Faculty Contact Sheets list all approved
accommodations granted through the ODS. Students are responsible for providing this letter to faculty
members when requesting accommodations. Accommodations should only be provided to a student who
is registered with the ODS.
Please contact the ODS if you have questions regarding making an alternate accommodation. If you
suspect a disability, you can discreetly approach the student with your observations and suggest the
student contact the ODS to schedule an appointment with a staff member.
Class Attendance:
While some students with disabilities may have clinical conditions which necessitate occasional
absences, the ODS does not establish a class attendance policy. When documentation supports flexibility
in attendance, the ODS approves such accommodations for certain students. However, the ODS defers
to individual class attendance policies. Class attendance policies, when applicable, should be clearly
stated in syllabi. These policies should be applied equitably and/or fairly to all students.
Grading Scale:
Students receiving accommodations should be graded on the same scale as any other student in the
class. Accommodations are intended to provide students with disabilities equal access to the Mason
learning environment as well as provide them the resources to demonstrate what they have learned.
Accommodations should neither alter a course’s essential elements nor affect its integrity. Accordingly,
students with disabilities should not be given a grade advantage over their peers by changing the amount
of material they must master. Likewise, students should not be penalized for having received appropriate
accommodations.
Exam Accommodations:
The ODS works with students and their professors to create an exam situation that emulates the course’s
test environment as closely as possible, and yet allows students to use the needed exam
accommodation(s) necessary to help level the playing field. Professors are critical partners in the
collaborative process to ensure that students receive appropriate accommodations for their exams.
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If faculty members are unable to provide exam accommodations on their own, a test proctoring center is
available. Students are responsible for providing faculty members with an ODS Test Form for each exam.
Test forms are located online at http://ods.gmu.edu/. The student should initiate this interactive process.
Once the test form is completed by both the faculty member and the student, the student is then
responsible for turning it in to the ODS one week in advance of the exam. Exam accommodations may
include, but are not limited to:
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Extra time, generally 50 percent extra time or possibly double time
Distraction-reduced space
A reader and/or a scribe
Use of a closed-circuit television that enlarges print
Audiotaped exams or exams converted to electronic formats
Computers
Assistive technology
Adjustable tables
Enlarged-print exams
Interpreters/Transliterators in the Classroom
If you have Deaf/Hard of Hearing students in your classroom, they may need interpreters, transliterators,
or CART (Computer Assisted Real-Time Captioning) services. The Coordinator for Deaf/Hard of Hearing
works directly with students to secure these services. If you have any questions or concerns about this
process, please contact the Coordinator for Deaf/Hard of Hearing at 993-3601 or ods@gmu.edu.
Tag Lines for Syllabi:
Faculty are strongly encouraged to include a statement about the ODS in their syllabi.
Example:
"If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me
and contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at 993-2474. All academic accommodations
must be arranged through the ODS."
Disagreements with Approved Accommodations:
If faculty disagree with an accommodation approved by the ODS (listed on the student’s Faculty Contact
Sheet), they should contact the ODS. Please do not put the burden on the student to defend the
accommodations.
Distance Education
If you are teaching a distance education course, it is important to meet accessibility standards without
sacrificing educational goals. This means you must do your best to ensure that all learners are able to
access all content required to master the course objectives, all learners are able to complete the
assessments, and that all learners are provided appropriate opportunities for interaction in achieving
mastery of instructional material. Our distance education (http://distance.gmu.edu) and assistive
technology (http://ati.gmu.edu) teams are available to help faculty design accessible distance education
courses.
Courtney L. Shewak
Assistant Director
Office of Disability Services
Sven Jones
Associate Director
Office of Disability Services
George Mason University
Student Union Building 1
Phone: 703-993-2474
Fax: 703-993-4306
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