Faculty who receive a Letter of Accommodation (LOA) from Accessibility Services (AS) are responsible to provide the listed accommodations in a timely manner. Other responsibilities include: 

• Log into the Clockwork faculty portal to review the Letter of Accommodation for students in your courses.
• Contact Accessibility Services if assistance is needed on how to implement an accommodation.
• Notify Accessibility Services as soon as possible if you believe an accommodation will fundamentally alter the course requirements.
• If a student is requesting accommodations, but you have not received a current accommodation letter, refer that student to AS.
• Ensure that instructional materials are accessible. Assistance is available through the Accessible Technology Center and the EIT coordinator located in DX 202.
• Keep accommodation information confidential. Faculty may not ask students about the nature of their disability, request documentation from the student, or share information with the class.

Faculty will be notified via email when students enrolled in their course have approved accommodations. Please log into the Clockwork faculty portal to view accommodation letters.

Disabilities and the impact of disabilities are not always predictable; therefore, accommodations may be approved at any time during the semester. Accommodations approved after the start of the semester are effective starting the day the accommodation letter is issued and are not retroactive.

Faculty are not required to modify essential course requirements for the sake of the student. If a faculty member believes that an approved accommodation would alter the essential elements of the course, they should contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible so that a review of the educational requirements of the course can be completed and alternate accommodations considered.

Utah Valley University strives to create an environment of access and inclusion for all students. Many students with disabilities are already working with Accessibility Services. However, many students first disclose their disability or academic concerns to a faculty/staff member before establishing services with Accessibility Services. In the event that a student shares their disability, health, or pregnancy-related concerns, please refer them to our office.

Examples of disabilities that may qualify a student for accommodations (this list is not exhaustive):

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Blind and Low Vision
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Physical Disabilities
• Learning Disabilities
• Psychiatric Disabilities (depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar, etc.)
• Chronic Medical Conditions (diabetes, migraines, long COVID, etc.)
• Pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions
• Other temporary conditions (concussion, broken arm, etc.)

Once a student is approved for accommodations, the instructor will receive an email notifying them to check the Clockwork faculty portal. If you have questions or concerns, please contact our office at 801-863-8747.

When a direct referral to Accessibility Services is appropriate:

• If a student directly discloses a disability or health condition to you
  • Example: a student shares with you that they have depression and are taking medication and would like some help with their courses
• A student discloses receiving past accommodations or services either as a transfer student or through an IEP in high school
  • Example: a student shares that they previously had extra time on an exam in another course or school and want to use that accommodation in your class

When an indirect referral to Accessibility Services is appropriate:

If a student is struggling in your class, don’t automatically assume that it means the student has a disability. There are many different factors that can cause a student to experience academic difficulty. If you notice that a student is struggling in your class, or the student comes to you for help but chooses not to disclose specific disability information, an indirect referral can be made by sharing information about various campus resources available, including Accessibility Services:

• Faculty office hours
• Tutoring labs (Academic Tutoring Lab and Math Lab)
• Writing Center
• Accessibility Services
• SCUP (fee-based private tutoring)
• Student Health Services

This allows the student to make the determination as to which resources may best meet their needs given their current situation. A full list of UVU resources can be found through the Office of Teaching and Learning.

Only the student can decide to disclose their disability or to pursue information about services available from Accessibility Services. It is not appropriate to directly ask a student if they have a disability based on an assumption, ask what their diagnosis is, or to share information about a student’s disability with other members of the class. It is essential that all information obtained about a student’s disability, either through a student’s self-disclosure to you or via a Letter of Accommodation issued by Accessibility Services, be kept confidential. All information that a student shares with a faculty member is to be used specifically for arranging reasonable accommodations for the course of study, and those conversations should be held in private.

Providing accessible instructional materials for your classes is for the benefit of all of your students, as accessibility removes the barriers students may face from obtaining the information you provide as a professor. Making your instructional materials accessible allows assistive technology—such as screen-reading software—to read aloud the content for users who cannot see the content. Screen-reading software is commonly used by people with visual impairments and sometimes those with learning disabilities.

Addressing accessibility in documents you are using as instructional material can be accomplished with features and tools in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat Professional.

Though the actual implementation may differ between software applications, a number of concepts are similar, and it is therefore important to understand the technical foundation of accessibility.

Accessibility for Instructional Materials: General Guidelines for Documents