What are disabilities and what accommodations may a student receive?
A disability could be temporary or permanent, physical or mental-emotional, and visible or invisible. Some examples of disabilities that would qualify students to receive reasonable academic accommodations include recent physical injuries such as a broken arm, vision or hearing impairments, attention deficit disorders and other learning disabilities, significant anxiety or depression.
Typical accommodations include extended testing time, a smaller proctored test environment, note takers, and use of a laptop or audio recording for note taking.
What should I do if I receive an academic accommodations notice letter from the Moses Center for Student Accessibility?
Any student with a diagnosed qualified disability should register with the NYU Moses Center for Student Accessibility for reasonable academic accommodations. After students register and are approved for classroom accommodations, faculty members will receive a notice letter via email. When you receive the email, please follow the instructions to log onto the faculty portal, view the student’s accommodation letter, and confirm receipt. You may also view a full list of accommodation letters for your courses through the portal. For more information about using the portal, please visit the Moses Center’s online tutorials.
Exam Accommodations, Extensions, and Absences
If a student requests exam accommodations for their upcoming exam, and you are unavailable to accommodate them, please advise your student to fill out the Exam Accommodations Request Form at least two business days prior to the exam. The Academic Accommodations Team will reach out to you to confirm exam details and arrange the exam accordingly. If the exam is taking place at the New York campus, please email Moses Center Testing Staff at csaexams@nyu.edu with several days' notice and an accommodations administrator will reach out to you to assist.
If a student’s academic accommodations include (1) recommended leniency with absences or (2) recommended leniency with assignment extensions, please discuss with your student to generate a reasonable agreement on an assignment extension and/or absences. The ARC Director, Tong Jin (tong.jin@nyu.edu) is available to help determine what is reasonable and appropriate.
What if a student requests an accommodation which I feel is not appropriate for my course?
If you have questions about a particular accommodation, please contact the ARC Director, Tong Jin, at tong.jin@nyu.edu, or the Moses Center at mosescsd@nyu.edu to discuss your concern.
What should I do if I suspect that a student may have a disability and might be eligible for accommodations through the Moses Center?
Disclosure of disability is a sensitive issue for many students. If the student discloses information to you which seems to indicate that a disability might be present, or if the student seems to be having difficulty with coursework or access to university facilities that are related to a more obvious disability, you can encourage the student to contact the ARC Director, Tong Jin, at tong.jin@nyu.edu. Please consider discussing with the student the behaviors you've observed impacting their performance (e.g., lack of focus, absences) but avoid making any assumptions of what could be causing those behaviors. The request for accommodations, though, must come from the student. You should include a disability disclosure statement on your syllabus. A sample syllabus statement is below.
Disability Disclosure Statement*
NYU is committed to providing equal educational opportunity and participation for students with disabilities. It is NYU Shanghai’s policy that no student with a qualified disability be excluded from participating in any NYU Shanghai program or activity, denied the benefits of any NYU Shanghai program or activity, or otherwise subjected to discrimination with regard to any NYU Shanghai program or activity. Any student who needs a reasonable accommodation based on a qualified disability is required to register with the Moses Center for Student Accessibility for assistance. Students can register online through the Moses Center and can contact NYU Shanghai's Academic Accommodations (shanghai.academicaccommodations@nyu.edu) with questions or for assistance. Students with approved academic accommodations should discuss with their professors to generate a reasonable agreement on an assignment extension and/or absences as early as possible.
Making Classroom Materials More Accessible
Faculty can also make their digital materials, such as handouts, websites, and powerpoints, more accessible for students. Please visit the guides for structuring documents for accessibility for tips about color contrast, headings, links, and more.