Accessibility and Course Accommodation Support for Students and Their Faculty

Dartmouth College adheres to the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to ensure that no otherwise qualified students with disabilities are excluded from or denied the benefits of a Dartmouth collegiate experience. Student Accessibility Services (SAS) is the primary office responsible for implementing academic, housing, dining, and other adjustments, services, and supports in alignment with these laws for undergraduate students with disabilities. (Graduate and professional students seeking disability-related accommodations and services should refer to https://home.dartmouth.edu/accessibility for designated contacts.) Undergraduates seeking religious housing accommodations and/or dining accommodations are supported outside of SAS.

SAS’ primary functions center on supporting undergraduate students with disabilities and their faculty and include:

• Engaging in an interactive process with students and academic partners to determine reasonable course accommodations that do not fundamentally alter essential course requirements.
• Supporting students and instructors with implementation of reasonable course accommodations by providing services such as accommodated exam administration in our Testing Center and text conversion into alternate formats.
• Ensuring equitable access through the provision of reasonable academic, housing, dining, and other accommodations to Dartmouth’s programs, services, and activities, and promoting an inclusive campus climate.
• Serving as a resource to campus partners and incorporating accessibility into the broader diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the College.

Eligibility for services is based on a student’s disability-related need, primarily evidenced by student history and any needed disability documentation. Undergraduate students who believe they may need disability-related adjustments and services are strongly encouraged to connect with SAS early in their academic career. To begin the process, students should visit SAS’ Apply for Services page. Students with injuries or other temporary conditions are typically not considered disabled but will likely find SAS’ online resources helpful.

Reasonable accommodations and services are determined on an individualized basis. These may include testing accommodations, notetaking assistance, alternate-format text, real-time captioning/Sign Language interpreting, elevator access in housing, assistive technology, meal plan adjustment, and/or others. Because many students’ accommodations require technology, no-technology policies in courses represent a barrier to access. Regarding one of the most common technology accommodations, the office of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences and SAS have determined that,

1. Students authorized by SAS to audio-record class sessions as a documented accommodation should be permitted to do so,
2. There are restrictions on the use of such recordings including the fair-use policy, and
3. Such recordings must be destroyed at the end of the course.

Faculty should contact Student.Accessibility.Services@Dartmouth.edu if they believe any recording exceptions are needed for a course or are concerned an accommodation may fundamentally alter their course. Faculty who wish to discuss their course technology use and policies or universal design to readily incorporate common accommodations into their courses should contact Learning.Design.Tech@Dartmouth.edu or DCAL@Dartmouth.edu.

Students and faculty have rights and responsibilities in the reasonable accommodation process. For instance, students need to request any approved accommodations in a timely manner and notify their instructors as early as possible. Likewise, although SAS and Residential Life make every effort to grant even late-requested accommodations, accommodations requested after published housing deadlines may not be available. Please see student rights and responsibilities, faculty rights and responsibilities, and Faculty FAQs for more information. Students, faculty, staff, and others are always invited to visit the SAS website, email SAS, or call 603-646-9900.

If a student believes that a necessary disability accommodation has been denied, that a related policy/procedure violation may have occurred, or that they have otherwise been subject to disability-related discrimination, the student should review Dartmouth’s informal resolution and formal appeal processes to learn more about their options.