Frequently asked questions by faculty and staff
Below are answers to commonly asked questions by faculty and staff.
Accommodations
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Civil rights laws require reasonable accommodations of non-essential elements of academic programs in order to ensure access. The accommodations only change in the learning environment that permit students with disabilities to have equal educational opportunities.
Students with disabilities must meet or exceed academic standards with or without reasonable accommodations. Under no circumstances should any accommodation result in a fundamental alteration to the course.
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We encourage students to request accommodations for the class early in the semester. Students are also advised to provide their accommodation letter and make an appointment with the instructor in advance. However, be aware that this is not always the case; some students may not request accommodations timely. Instructors do not need to honor retroactive accommodation requests.
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Please contact the student's consultant for clarification. The name of the consultant can be found in the accommodation letter the student provides.
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First, we recommend you ask your students if they are approved with flexibility accommodations by ODE.
Instructors establish course attendance, participation expectations, and assignment policies. ODE approves the flexibility accommodation when a student’s disability severely affects their course attendance or assignments on occasion. This accommodation is designed to build in a slight amount of flexibility, not intended to allow students to miss an unlimited number of courses or assignments.
ODE has established the general parameters that apply in most cases for flexibility accommodations.
For general parameters, procedures, responsibilities, and expectations, please visit Flexibility with attendance & deadlines.
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Students eligible for the note-taking accommodation are encouraged to ask a classmate to share their notes. If they are unable to find a volunteer, they may request your assistance in making an announcement to the class.
A suggested announcement:
"A student in this class is looking for a volunteer note-taker. The note-taker will receive a stipend of $50 in UMoney per semester from ODE. If you are interested, please see me after class for more details."
Then, please kindly connect a volunteer note-taker with the students who asked for assistance.
ODE greatly appreciates your support in helping the students find a note-taker.
Classrooms
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If this is an immediate emergency, call 911.
If this is not an immediate emergency, call the Facilities Services Work Order at 406-243-6091 to report the problem. After hours and on weekends, call the UM Police Department at 406-243-6131.
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Elevator breakdowns constitute temporary access barriers for students with mobility limitations. Students may miss critical course information, be unable to take scheduled exams or pop quizzes, or be unable to give required presentations. This is a no-fault situation in many respects, but the University still assumes the responsibility of equal access. In such circumstances, the student should contact the instructor as soon as possible and request assistance in obtaining course notes or rescheduling an exam or presentation. The student's attendance record should not be adversely affected.
Service animals
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ADA recognizes a service animal as a dog trained to work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. Only service animals are allowed in public places such as classrooms. Generally, service animals are allowed anywhere the handlers are permitted on campus (exceptions may exist for health and safety).
Assistance animals, called emotional support animals (ESA), differ from service animals and are only permitted in housing.
If you are unsure whether the animal is a service animal, you can ask the handler the following two permitted inquiries: 1) is the dog required because of a disability? and 2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
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No. Students' accommodation letter does not state using a service animal. The handlers of a service animal are not required for approval, request, documentation, or proof of training. It is also prohibited to ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.
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Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access and refusing individuals using service animals. A possible solution may include asking the dog handler to use different locations within the classroom or take a different section of the course.
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The handler must keep their service animal under control at all times. You can ask the handler to remove the service animal from your classroom if: 1) the service animal is out of control, 2) the handler does not take effective action to control the animal, or 3) the presence of the dog poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others.
Please refer the student handler to the Office for Disability Equity for further guidance. Contact us directly if you require support.
Questions about accommodations
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Civil rights laws for people with disabilities are founded on the assumption: the same treatment does not always fairly measure. The laws protect students with disabilities from being subjected to the arbitrary measure of what is best for others, except in cases of the safety of others. The law assumes that modifying non-essential tasks should give students with disabilities an equal or fair chance to demonstrate their ability by minimizing their functional limitations to the greatest extent possible.
Examples:
With writing or typing limitations, the student may be an excellent writer even though they cannot print or type the letters and words. Thus, the physical act of writing is a non-essential task. The student's mastery of language and course material must not, under the law, be judged by their ability to manipulate a pencil or to use a keyboard. Providing a scribe to record the student's essay responses permits the student to show whether they can write effectively.
No unfair advantage over non-disabled peers is gained by using a scribe. In using this auxiliary aid, the student must clearly communicate the words and structure of their answer to the scribe, including punctuation and spelling. Even with extended time on an essay exam to compensate for the additional time of dictating to the scribe, the student can only hope for equal access.
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If you are uncertain about an accommodation request, you can challenge the student's request in some ways. First, ask the student to provide their accommodation letter from ODE to ensure we recommend the accommodation. Please contact the student's consultant if the letter does not mention the requested accommodation.
If an accommodation request may cause fundamental alteration, undue hardship, administrative burden, personal services, or threat to self or others, the request is considered unreasonable and may be denied. See When accommodations are not provided.
Students may request accommodations that are not discussed with ODE. If a request seems unreasonable, contact the student's consultant for guidance. We will work with instructors to suggest other alternatives to the student.
If you decide to deny the student's request as unreasonable, consult your department colleagues because denials of accommodation requests should be made at least at the departmental level and not by an individual instructor. Furthermore, clearly inform the student of your reasons for denying the request. If you have already consulted ODE, refer the student to their consultant for further clarification.
Behavioral Concerns
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It is impossible to accommodate disruptive behavior on the part of a student with a disability. Students with disabilities must adhere to the Student Conduct Code like any other student. If disruptive behavior occurs, the instructor should give the student a fair warning and report an incident. Contact the Office for Community Standards or the CARES Team for reports, questions, concerns, or guidance.
Events & Presentation
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Our Planning accessible events will provide essential guidance. Prepare your presentations with techniques such as using a microphone, accessible documents, and captioned videos.
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Contact Brandy Reinhardt at brandy.reinhardt@mso.umt.edu. For more information, go to Interpreting/captioning services for campus events.
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We are a resource for faculty members, staff, departments, and schools. We are available for consultations on accessibility in the curriculum and teaching and interacting with students with disabilities. We can meet individually or present to a class, departmental meeting, or a larger group. To request a consultation, contact us at ode@umontana.edu or 406-243-2243.
English language learners
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ODE does not provide testing accommodations for non-disability-related reasons. It is up to the instructors' discretion to grant extended test time or other test accommodations to English language learners. Additionally, instructors are responsible for the administration of any exams they wish to extend or accommodate for English language learners.