We offer many accommodations for students who provide supporting documentation of a disability. Accommodations are determined individually and are based on a student’s disability. Accommodations are meant to provide equal opportunity to individuals with disabilities. Below, you will find a description for each accommodation.
How are Instructors Notified of Accommodations?
Students who have met with Student Disability Services, provided adequate documentation, and been given appropriate accommodations are able to log into their MyMichiganTech account to request that their instructors are notified. Students may choose to notify all of their instructors, or only notify instructors of the classes in which they wish to use the accommodations.
Once instructors have received this email, it becomes their responsibility to follow the link or to log into Banweb and note the required accommodation; students are responsible for reminding instructors five days before an exam if they intend to use testing accommodations.
Questions regarding accommodations should be directed to Student Disability Services: sds@mtu.edu.
Student may need a person (instructor, proctor) to read specific words or sentences out loud during a test in order for the student to process what the word is/sounds like. This is related to a language processing disorder, not English as a Second Language issues.
Student will require assistance during labs for safety purposes due to a mobility disability. Disability Services will work with the instructor of record for a class to identify how this need will be met.
The student will use a basic (no memory or higher function) calculator, when they are not being tested on their ability to do basic mathematics.
Students will require time to self-administer a blood test prior to an exam. If the student’s blood sugar numbers are too low/high, then the student will need to reschedule the exam. The instructor should defer to the student’s judgment, but can note the number the student is reporting, and if there are concerns, contact Student Disability Services. (Normal is generally between 70 - 99 but students may be used to operating in slightly higher ranges than this.)
This notice is provided so that instructors realize a student may need to miss class without warning. If the absence is related to the student’s disability, then the Student Disability Services office will notify the instructor, usually within 24 hours of the absence. The student is responsible for following up with the instructor and making up missed work. If the instructor feels that the student is missing too much class content then they are encouraged to contact Student Disability Services.
The instructor will need to wear a microphone so that a service provider who is captaining the lecture can hear what is being said.
Student will be permitted to use a computer (laptop or tablet) for taking notes during class time.
Student has a language processing disorder; even when using a spell checker they may mistake same sounding words for one another. If the student does not have time to use a proofreader, then more allowance should be made for such mistakes.
Students with this accommodation have specific, particular needs which are best communicated directly to the instructor by Student Disability Services.
The student will record the audio portion of lectures. Students who wish to video record a lecture will require special permission from the instructor and will coordinate through Disability Services.
The student requires that test questions be read to them. Rather than having a person sit in the room and read the exam, Student Disability Services can loan a digital recorder to the instructor which either they or someone familiar with the jargon and symbols particular to their field can read the exam into.
Students will be permitted to have food and drink available to them on an as-needed basis, including during class time, a laboratory session, or test/exam.
The student will require all materials handed out in class, including tests, to be in enlarged print, sometimes to a specific font size. The student or Student Disability Services will inform the instructor of the requirements; instructors and students are encouraged to communicate directly about the most effective font size for the individual student.
Exams should be scheduled to begin no later than 5pm. Instructors may be able to alter the time when the entire class tests, or they may wish to have the student take the exam separately from the rest of the class. The Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning can proctor the exam, if they are given five business days’ notice.
Students with this accommodation will require a longer time to accomplish in-class reading assignments.
Student will require 1.5 or 2 times the expected completion time. Instructors are encouraged to design tests and quizzes in such a way that extended time is built into their course. For example, if an instructor designs a test to be completed within 30 minutes and allows the entire class a total of 50 minutes to complete the exam, that extra time is already built into the test. When tests are designed with extended time built in, and this is both written in the syllabus and announced in class, no further accommodation will usually be necessary. The Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning can proctor exams that do require extended time, if they are given five business days’ notice.
Student will use a digital FM system and provide the instructor with a special microphone to use during class time; it is the student’s responsibility to bring the microphone to class.
The student will provide the instructor with a microphone to use during class time.
Student will be permitted to wear noise canceling or white-noise generating earbuds or headphones during testing. If the student is taking their exam in the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning, then the Center will provide headphones, unless the student has purchased personal equipment for this function.
Due to a disability the student may need to leave the classroom, lab, or test setting without notice.
Student will need to negotiate with an instructor the use of memory aids during tests. These are not the same as having the answers written down. Rather, they would be written prompts such as a mnemonic device, or a series of shapes, which allow the student to access language that they otherwise cannot access. Often the student will need to write down a sample of what they wish to use, and the instructor will need to review the prompt and decide if it is appropriate. Student Disability Services is available to negotiate prompts with students and instructors, but cannot make these decisions without the presence and input from the instructor.
Student will negotiate with the instructor when their disability is impacting their ability to complete classwork, or when their disability creates a complication in a certain type of assignment. For example, the student may have a seizure that would interfere with completion of a project, or occur just before an exam. In these situations, the student must promptly notify the Student Disability Servives office. The instructor will then receive notice from the Student Disability Services office that the student is experiencing a medically related issue and will need to negotiate a new deadline with the instructor, as soon as they are able. The student is then responsible for reaching out to the instructor and negotiating a new deadline or time for an exam.
Student is not able to fill in the bubbles on a Scantron sheet and will need to write out responses or circle responses on the exam.
The student will require someone in the class to take notes for him/her. The instructor will announce in class that a note-taker is needed and Disability Services will provide a duplicate notebook. It will be up to the accommodated student if they wish to obtain the notes directly from the note taker, or if the instructor will collect the notes and then pass them on after class.
The student requires a non-distracting testing environment. The Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning can proctor students if they are given five business days’ notice. Scheduling procedures for the testing center.
The instructor may be contacted by Disability Services and/or IT due to special requirements that a student has related to the classroom environment.
Student will require special seating; often near the front of the classroom or near the doorway. The student is encouraged to make their specific request known to the instructor and will often require no assistance, unless the room is unusually crowded.