Frequently Asked Questions

If the student is being served by SSD, you will receive a letter of accommodation that specifically describes the accommodations to which a student is entitled to ensure their equal access to your course. If a student requests accommodations on the basis of disability and you have not yet received an accommodation letter, then you should ask the student provide a letter to you. If a student has not yet registered for services with SSD, please encourage the student to apply for services, and please avoid providing informal disability accommodations. 

 

An Accommodation Letter is a letter from a Disability Advisor in SSD, which lists the specific academic accommodations for an individual student.  A student who has an Accommodation Letter, dated within the current semester, is currently registered with SSD and has provided the office the adequate documentation of his or her disability.

 

The Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office is the campus office designated to work with all CSUB students to put in place the appropriate accommodations at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. SSD provides a wide array of support services and accommodations to remove barriers for full participation at CSUB.

 

A reasonable accommodation is an adjustment designed to mitigate the impact of a student’s disability without compromising the integrity of an academic course or program.  
Reasonable accommodations may include:
  • assistive technology
  • auxiliary aids such as sign language interpreters
  • test-taking accommodations to complete exams
  • alternate media
Providing reasonable accommodations allows students with disabilities to have equal access to education and services at the University.  Students with disabilities are required to meet the same academic and technical standards as their non-disabled peers, using reasonable accommodations.

 

You may ask the student to provide you with an Accommodation Letter from SSD verifying that he or she has a disability. If a student is registered with SSD and submits documentation deemed sufficient by SSD to support the accommodation, they will receive a letter outlining the entitled accommodations. These accommodations will be provided as long as they do not fundamentally alter an essential aspect of your course. For every student registered with SSD, the office has a file with documentation of the disability. For reasons of confidentiality, the nature and specifics of the disability are not disclosed to faculty.

SSD encourages but cannot require registered students to provide faculty with their Accommodation Letter at the beginning of each semester. A student can register with the SSD or present his or her Accommodation  Letter to you at any time during the semester.  Accommodations, however, are not retroactive.

Yes, the student is required to provide you with a Accommodation Letter dated in the current semester for each course. You cannot assume that once a student is eligible the first time, he or she is eligible the next time. Also, a student's accommodation needs may vary from semester to semester or from course to course.

If a student asks for an accommodation but does not provide an Accommodation Letter from SSD verifying eligibility for academic adjustments, it is strongly recommended that you contact SSD or direct the student to contact SSD.  Similarly, if a student asks you for an accommodation, and that specific accommodation is not listed in the letter from SSD, you are not obligated to provide it.  To reiterate, you are urged not to seek to arrange by yourself accommodations for the student; refer him or her instead to SSD.  If you are ever uncertain about your obligations, please call at 661-654-3360 or e-mail us at ssd@csub.edu.

There are instances when a SSD student will need to use various technologies during your class. These will be outlined in the Accommodation Letter. This may include, but is not limited to, a laptop to take notes, a tape recorder to audio record class lectures, and other types of technology as needed.

If a laptop is an approved accommodation, a policy modification for the student with a disability is reasonable. In order not to publicly identify the student with a disability the instructor is encouraged to state on the syllabus something like the following:  "Exceptions for the use of a laptop may be granted for compelling reasons at the discretion of the instructor."

No. Not if the accommodation would fundamentally alter the course objects. However, you are strongly encouraged to identify and determine how much attendance is considered an essential part of your courses. SSD may make recommendations to faculty about unique circumstances where attendance considerations would be beneficial. Attendance considerations for students from SSD always carry a "standard of reasonableness" with them. It is always good practice to clearly state on your course syllabus your attendance requirements.

Talk privately with the student to discuss your observations. The student may reveal he or she has a disability. If this is the case and the student is registered with SSD, suggest that he or she talk to their assigned Disability Advisor.

If he or she is not aware of any particular difficulties, he or she may still be referred to SSD for consultation.  It is not unusual for high ability students to be identified with a learning disability at the college level.  Often the compensatory strategies used at the secondary level are no longer adequate in a demanding university setting. Suggest that the student contact SSD at ssd@csub.edu for more information.