Accommodations Policies
DRS policies on documentation and accommodations
As a faculty member, you may receive an accommodations letter from a student at the beginning of the semester, but you may not know how that letter came about. It represents the final product of a well-defined and strictly observed procedure established by DRS to:
document the student’s disability;
evaluate the impacts that disability may have on his/her academic performance; and
devise meaningful and reasonable ways to give that student full access to a Temple education, considering the student’s functional limitations.
Registration and decision-making process
To receive accommodations and services, students must first register with Disability Resources and Services.
Step 1
The student must provide DRS with a completed Pre-registration Form and recent disability documentation. They can do so via our website by clicking on “New Students Pre-Register Here.”
Step 2
The student will participate in an intake meeting with their assigned DRS Coordinator. The coordinator will assess the documentation and engage the student in an interactive process. If the documentation of the disability is adequate and up-to-date, the intake coordinator and the student will discuss accommodations the student has received in the past, strategies that have helped the student succeed, and accommodations that might be effective in the Temple context.
Step 3
Based on all the available information, the coordinator will decide what accommodations, if any, would be appropriate and then drafts the letter of accommodations to reflect that decision.
Documentation of disability defined
Documentation is an evaluation, assessment, or detailed letter from a doctor or other qualified professional from the appropriate field of concern and not a family member of the student. This documentation will establish eligibility for services and will support requests for specific accommodations.
DRS uses an individualized process to establish reasonable accommodations on the basis of a meeting with the student and a review of all supporting information provided.
Documentation that a student submits to DRS when requesting accommodations should be current and relevant to higher education and answer the following questions:
What is the disability or condition for which the student is seeking services?
How does the disability impact the student in a higher education environment?
What evaluations, tests or assessments were used to diagnose the disability and/or demonstrate its impact?
What accommodations have been recommended or used in the past?
Some examples of documentation that may support a student’s request for accommodations include:
Psycho-educational evaluations;
Medical evaluations;
Speech or hearing evaluations;
IEPs or 504 plans; or
Other professional evaluations that are specific to the disability.
The accommodations letter is the basis for implementing accommodations in a given course. Students must go through an electronic process to request that their letter of accommodation be sent out each semester. They do this through the MyDRS portal. Once the coordinator receives their request, they process and send the letters to the faculty members.
A professor need not retroactively provide academic accommodations in a situation where a student did not provide the accommodations letter earlier.
If a student’s needs change, DRS may modify the accommodations letter after consultation with the student. A new letter would then be sent out.
If you have any questions about an accommodation or are concerned that an accommodation would provide a fundamental alteration to the learning goals, please reach out to the student’s coordinator. The goal of accommodations is to provide equal access while maintain the integrity of a course’s objectives and a program’s curriculum.