Fall Academic Accommodations for Students
August 11, 2021
Dear Colleagues,
As we reflect on the past 16 months, we want to thank you once again for the extraordinary efforts that you have made to create engaging, challenging, impactful learning opportunities for Brandeis students.
As we begin to return to campus, we need to prepare for students being quarantined because of breakthrough infections. In addition, we anticipate that some of our international students will arrive as late as September 21st due to visa and travel issues. (The last day to add a class remains September 13.) Students who arrive late will need to work with their advisor and faculty about how to be an active student prior to their arrival on campus. Finally, there are the continuing needs of our 600 undergraduate and graduate students with documented disabilities. (Please know that it is illegal to ask about a student’s vaccine status or the nature of their documented disability.)
We ask that you help ensure that all students in your classes have the same learning opportunities by doing the following:
Class recordings: We strongly recommend recording all of your class lectures throughout the semester for when students are in quarantine or facing travel delays. By proactively recording classes, we will be prepared for the evolving public health situation both here and abroad.
Please know that 178 undergraduate and graduate students are approved for this accommodation due to a range of conditions that impact processing, memory, notetaking, and/or attendance. From an accommodations perspective, this is an approval for students to audio record classes themselves; in other cases, this covers full audio/visual class recordings through Zoom or Echo360.
Information about classroom and lecture technology resources, including privacy policies and storage plans, can be found here. Faculty can either post a link to the recordings on Latte or email a link of the lectures to students as needed. Zoom recordings will remain on Zoom’s cloud server for 1 year (12 months) from the date of the recording. Echo360 recordings will remain on the server for a minimum of 1.5 years (18 months). There is a matrix of how to include video and recording into Latte found here.
Limited extensions on assignments: 124 undergraduate and graduate students are approved for this accommodation. This accommodation is granted primarily to students who have a chronic health condition that does not allow them to plan ahead to complete work done by a specific deadline. Student Accessibility Support (SAS) works carefully with these students to ensure that the accommodation is necessary to reduce their barriers to learning and showing what they have learned, and does not further negatively impact their progress through courses.
Course materials accessible for screen readers: 25 undergraduate students and graduate students are approved for this accommodation. Screen readers are used by students who have visual disabilities, dyslexia, selected motor and cognitive disabilities. As a reminder, PDFs need to be made accessible for screen readers, and instructions to assist you can be found here. Additionally, you can request a Digital Assistant to help make pdf files accessible through the month of August by using the form found here.
Closed captioning for online classes/CART services for in person classes: 14 students are approved for this accommodation for hearing, auditory processing, and other disabilities.
Remote synchronous or asynchronous course attendance: 3 undergrads and 3 grad students are approved for this accommodation. Students may be approved when their medical conditions are such that they cannot safely return to campus in person. SAS works closely with faculty supporting these students, and has already contacted instructors of the impacted courses.
Alternative assignments in place of attendance and/or participation: This accommodation supports students who would be inequitably impacted by attendance or participation grading policies due to their medical conditions. This accommodation has been approved for 14 undergraduates. Faculty with students who have this accommodation hear from SAS with guidance on how to implement it.
Faculty should work with each school’s academic advising team regarding students in quarantine or facing travel delays. For students with documented disabilities, Student Accessibility Support is a resource for you as you implement these accommodations effectively. Please do not hesitate to reach out to access@brandeis.edu or Director Cara Streit at carastreit@brandeis.edu with any questions.
We thank you for your efforts to support all students in our community.
Sincerely,
Carol Fierke, Provost
Dorothy Hodgson, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences
Kathryn Graddy, Dean of the Brandeis International Business School
David Weil, Dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management
Wendy Cadge, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Resources:
Overview of Technology Resources for Faculty Teaching Remote and Hybrid Courses
Digital Accessibility Quick Guide
Student Accessibility Support