Welcome to the Disability Resource Center (DRC). The DRC’s role at UF is to ensure access for students with disabilities as outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The DRC created a resource for faculty about increasing the accessibility in the online learning environment. These principles can easily be applied to support learners with various needs. For more information about increasing the accessibility of your course, please email accommodations@ufsa.ufl.edu.
If faculty need assistance in creating access or providing accommodations or have concerns that they interfere with the essential requirements of the course, they should contact the DRC to collaborate about how to best serve the student. In no circumstances should faculty deny an accommodation without communicating with the DRC about the situation.
DRC staff members encourage instructors to contact us for consultation and presentations on disability related topics. For questions regarding a specific student’s accommodations, please contact the Accessibility Specialists listed on the student’s accommodation letter.
In previous semesters, DRC students requested their accommodation letter via a webform. Our staff would then manually create accommodation letters and email students a PDF attachment of their letter. After which students would forward the letter to their instructors. After a year of consulting with students, instructors, and our DRC staff, we are excited to evolve to a better process. The sample accommodation letter provides an example of what you can expect to receive in your inbox moving forward. We hope that this process will enhance the access of students with disabilities as well as provide more support for instructors.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions or concerns DRC@ufsa.ufl.edu or 352-392-8565.
The University of Florida is committed to providing equal educational access to students with disabilities. As you are developing and/or updating your syllabi, please take a moment to review the university’s Policy on Course Syllabi which specifies including the following recommended statement related to accommodations for students with disabilities:
“Students with disabilities who experience learning barriers and would like to request academic accommodations should connect with the Disability Resource Center by visiting our Get Started page. It is important for students to share their accommodation letter with their instructor and discuss their access needs, as early as possible in the semester.”
Please take the time to review this syllabus statement with the class and to specify preferred ways that you would like students to communicate with you about their accessibility needs.
Governmental mandates, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) all support the protection of privacy.
If emailed: The student needs to detail which specific accommodations on their letter they are requesting in your course. If they simply send you the letter, please follow up and ask them to describe their specific accommodation needs in your course. You may also ask the student to meet with you in person or over the phone to discuss their accommodations further.
In person: If the student submits their accommodation letter in person, please take a few minutes to discuss which specific accommodations the student is requesting in your course.
Faculty members are asked to work to provide the accommodations that are listed on the accommodation letter; they should refer students who request other accommodations to the DRC.
If you are concerned that the accommodation may constitute a fundamental alteration to the course, then that accommodation may not be considered reasonable and appropriate in that course. Faculty should immediately contact the DRC. DRC will respond promptly with support, suggestions, or reasonable alternative accommodations.