Center for Students with Disabilities
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  1. Center for Students with Disabilities
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Faculty/Staff Resources

Resources

Faculty/Staff

COVID-19

(Please also see the Warhawks Return page)

Students who request or have a facemask exemption as an accommodation will go through the same process they would for any other disability-related accommodation (https://www.uww.edu/csd/apply-now). If appropriate, CSD will suggest an alternative mask that works better for their situation, like a face shield. CSD supports the goal of protecting all of our Warhawk Community.

CSD will email faculty in advance of any unusual accommodation and necessary information, as we do for students who use interpreting or captioning services. Accommodation notifications will continue to be emailed via the Accommodation Request Portal (ARP).

Faculty can use their ARP access to view students who have requested accommodations.Using your UWW credentials, you will be able to see:

  • Student accommodation notifications
  • Testing contracts and requests (including the links to upload your tests!)
  • Notetaker info and uploaded notes

See the Faculty Resources page for more information.

Note: Students will not show up in ARP if they have not formally requested an accommodation for the semester.

The Center for Students with Disabilities makes every effort to communicate that CSD is a resource to students and faculty and the starting point for students to receive academic accommodations. We also appreciate the campus community efforts to create an inclusive, accessible environment for all. One way faculty can support that effort is to create a classroom environment that encourages inclusion and provide a statement of intent to accommodate at the beginning of class along with a syllabus statement.  Please see CSD’s Faculty Resource page for sample syllabus statements.

We recommend making a general statement such as: “Please be aware that some individuals may have disabilities that prevent them from wearing a mask and that these individuals may be working with the University as part of the reasonable accommodation process.”

  • Students approved for the accommodation will have the option to obtain a badge designating their exemption

CSD will engage in an interactive process with students, faculty and advisors to assist in the best way to accommodate a student with a disability to ensure their full participation in class. This will done on a case-by-case basis. As stated in the Warhawk return site:

“Faculty and instructional staff are expected to accommodate students who may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19 or have other conditions that make them unable to attend face-to-face classes. Additionally, we are encouraging all faculty and staff to create flexible attendance and excuse policies that encourage sick students to stay home and that do not require a documentation of illness.”

Students approved for the accommodation will have the option to obtain a badge designating their exemption.

No. CSD provides accommodations based on the student’s disability status under the ADA. If a student is concerned about their family or work exposure, they should work with faculty on reasonable alternatives. If a conflict arises, they should follow the university process for resolving conflict.

CSD is available to consult with faculty, staff and students. It is particularly important that we continue to communicate about academic concerns and problem solve barriers and access issues together.

CSD will maintain our regular office hours of 8:00-4:30. Staff will be in the office on an as-needed basis. We will not accept in-person drop-in appointments and will continue to encourage virtual appointments whenever possible. Please direct students to call in advance to schedule a meeting.

  • Courses: Developing an accessible online course can be challenging for the most skilled professional.
  • Testing:
    • If students require in person testing accommodations, for extended time, a distraction-reduced environment, paper based exams, and/or the use of certain assistive technology; students submit a test request in ARP with at least 5 business days notice.

Faculty Trainings Page

We are pleased to share our new page for the faculty Canvas resource, as well as announcements of upcoming faculty trainings offered by the Center for Students with Disabilities.

ARP Faculty Access (Faculty Portal)
Using your UWW log in credentials, you will be able to see:

  • Student accommodation notifications
  • Testing contracts and requests (including the links to upload your tests!)
  • Notetaker info and uploaded notes

Instructions for using this feature may be found HERE. For questions, please contact the Center for Students with Disabilities.Click the link below to access the Faculty Portal (please note: if you have no students requesting accommodations in your classes, you will not have anything to see).You will still receive emails as before, but will have continued access to the same information through the Faculty Portal. Faculty Sign On to ARP

Sample Syllabus Statements

Below are two sample statements regarding accommodations to include in your course syllabus.  Please feel free to contact us with any questions regarding what information should be included in your syllabus.

  • The Center for Students with Disabilities: University of Wisconsin Whitewater strives to make all learning experiences as accessible as possible. If you anticipate or experience academic barriers based on your disability (including mental health, chronic or temporary medical conditions), please let The Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) know immediately at 262-472-4711.  CSD will privately discuss the options you have. You are welcome to register with The Center for Students with Disabilities by going to  CSD and filling out the application for services. Once you have your accommodations approved by CSD, please arrange to meet with the instructor as soon as possible to discuss the implementation of your accommodations.
  • The University of Wisconsin Whitewater requires that students with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. Qualified students with disabilities who will require accommodations in this class are encouraged to make their requests to me at the beginning of the semester either during office hours or by appointment.  Note: Prior to receiving accommodations, verification of eligibility from the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) is required. Disability information is confidential. You can find the application for services at www.edu/csd/ or in CSD Office, 2002 Andersen Library.

Resources

Resources to help you create a classroom environment that maximizes the learning of all students, regardless of disability, can be found on your campus, online, in publications, and through professional organizations. We have listed some such resources below:

  • Specific Disability/Academic Activity Resources - Resources related to teaching students with specific disabilities, or in specific academic activities.
  • Knowledge Base - Search the Knowledge Base for question and answers, case studies, and promising practices regarding the education and employment of students with disabilities.

Working with a Student who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Deafblind

Will you have a Sign Language interpreter in your classroom this semester? Information on the role of the interpreter in your classroom and general information regarding the interpreting process. Included is important information on removing instructional barriers for all students including students with disabilities.

Find out more

Technology Resources

For instructors creating PowerPoint presentations. This article will assist in creating a presentation as accessible as possible:  http://webaim.org/techniques/powerpoint/#create

Access 4 All (available at http://etc.usf.edu/techease/4all/ ) is a website where students (and faculty) can learn more about the assistive technology they have available to them as part of their operating systems.

Captioning resources: https://it.wisc.edu/guides/accessible-content-tech/create-accessible-video-and-audio-content/

Designing accessible websites:https://it.wisc.edu/guides/accessible-content-tech/

Universal Design IDeA

The IDeA Center is dedicated to making environments and products more usable, safer and healthier in response to the needs of an increasingly diverse population. The IDeA Center's activities are based on the philosophy of Inclusive Design, often called "Universal Design" or "Design for All." It is a way of thinking that can be applied in any design activity, business practice, program or service involving interaction of people with the physical, social or virtual worlds.The IDeA Center has divided its content into two separate websites: the IDeA Center (current site) and Universal Design E-World (UD E-World) . The IDeA Center site provides a brief overview of what we do, while UD E-World serves as a participatory environment with web based tools to support the "community of practice" in universal design. All of our ongoing research, development projects and publications can be found on UD E-World.