Faculty Responsibilities
Faculty play an important role in partnering with Disability and Access Services (DAS) to provide course access to students with disabilities.
MIT faculty and staff are our crucial partners in providing access for students served by DAS. With this in mind, DAS is committed to providing faculty and staff with resources regarding the accommodations request process, as well as teaching and learning materials in accessible formats.
Understanding Accommodations
A student requesting an accommodation should provide you with a DAS-issued letter listing their approved accommodations. We encourage students to offer a meeting with their instructors to discuss their accommodation needs.
If a student requesting an accommodation does not provide an accommodation letter, please refer them to DAS. If you have follow up questions or if you’ve received a request from a student and you are unsure whether it is reasonable in your class, please reach out to us for a discussion.
The established procedure for exam accommodations is for the faculty member to arrange exams within the department in order to monitor the quality and fairness of the test accommodations. Each academic department has an administrator who serves as a liaison to DAS and can provide support to faculty.
Not sure who your department liaison is? Reach out to DAS and we can connect you.
Students approved for a notetaker may request your help with finding one. In that case, please inform the class there is a student who needs copies of class notes as an approved accommodation. Students interested in serving as a paid notetaker should contact DAS.
Faculty members should protect the student’s right to privacy by not offering their name to the class.
Syllabus Statements
We recommend including a statement in your syllabus with information about MIT’s disability accommodation procedures. Students who may be unaware of DAS could benefit from this, and it will help other students with disabilities feel welcomed in your class.
Sample syllabus statement provided by the Institute:
“MIT is committed to the principle of equal access. Students who need disability accommodations are encouraged to speak with Disability and Access Services (DAS), prior to or early in the semester so that accommodation requests can be evaluated and addressed in a timely fashion. If you have a disability and are not planning to use accommodations, it is still recommended that you meet with DAS staff to familiarize yourself with their services and resources.
If you have already been approved for accommodations, course staff are ready to assist with implementation. Please inform Professor [fill in faculty name and email] AND [fill in the identified administrator/staff/TA name and email] who will oversee accommodation implementation for this course.”
Accessible Course Content
In order to reach the widest possible audience and ensure equal access for everyone involved in your course, it is essential that course materials be accessible to people with disabilities. We provide training and support for creating accessible class websites, documents, slides, and other types of content.
Faculty Resources
Digital Accessibility: Teaching Tools
Disability and Access Services (DAS) provide MIT staff, faculty and students with online resources to help ensure that students with disabilities can access course materials and participate in class.
Accessible Course Materials
In order to reach the widest possible audience and ensure equal access for everyone involved in a course, it is essential that materials be accessible to people with disabilities.
Contact Us
Connect with us to learn how DAS can help with your access needs.
Monday-Friday, 9 AM-5 PM