Fall 2018 Disability Accommodations Memo

To: Oregon State University Faculty and Staff

From: Susan Capalbo, Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

September 18, 2018

We are writing to provide you information that all employees, especially teaching faculty, must know regarding OSU’s legal and policy responsibility to reasonably accommodate any qualified student who has a disability. Providing equal educational opportunity is an important and shared responsibility.

Please refer to OSU’s policies related to disability, and the Disability Access Services Faculty and Staff Guidelines for more in-depth information.

Online Training

Towards the goal of meeting our legal obligations and institutional aspirations, we offer a concise (30 minute) self-paced online training, designed to address many of the questions faculty have asked, as well as all of our responsibilities. The training can be completed at any time, though it should be completed as close to the beginning of the term as possible.

Register for and view the Disability Access Services Faculty Training.

ReadSpeaker TextAid – Canvas Accessibility

All OSU instructors are encouraged to enable TextAid in Canvas. TextAid allows students to listen to Canvas documents aloud. Students with reading disabilities can benefit greatly from this tool. The tool also improves your course accessibility, and once enabled, everyone can use it – so it’s a great feature all can benefit from.

Learn more about TextAid and how to enable this tool. If you have questions about ReadSpeaker, please contact Alex Axelsson, Assistive Technology Manager in Disability Access Services at 7-4098 or [email protected].

Service Animals (Dogs) in Classroom

A recent trend are questions about service animals in classrooms. Equal Opportunity and Access (EOA) maintains a policy about Service & Assistance Animals. Service animals must be allowed everywhere, with limited exceptions as decided in consultation with EOA. Owners are expected to control the animal. Questions about animals in classrooms should be directed to Disability Access Services or EOA.

OSU’s Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability policy states:

“...no qualified person shall, solely by reason of disability, be denied access to, participation in, or the benefits of, any program or activity provided by the University. Each qualified person shall receive the reasonable accommodations needed to ensure equal access to employment, educational opportunities, programs and activities in the most integrated setting feasible.”

Thank you for your attention to understanding our obligations.

Susan Capalbo                                                                     
Senior Vice Provost, Faculty Affairs

Kim D. Kirkland, Ed.D.
Executive Director, Equal Opportunity and Access