[nabs-l] Disability office policies

Thu Apr 28 05:54:26 UTC 2016

Agreed.
This actually kind of brings up a whole other issue that I have thought about in the past few months.  
I have come to the realization that college faculty have no training what so ever in dealing with students with disabilities.  I am wonderig if anyone or any group has ever made a collective effort to inform or educate faculty on basic topics such as, how to speak to students with disabilities, how to teach students with disabilities, how to address suspected disabilities, how/when or when not to interact with DRS on behalf of a student, or other similar issues.  It occurs to me that it would serve the entire University well if the DRS office had some kind of seminar to inform faculty on some basic things that every faculty should know.  And if the DRS for some unknown reason doesn't do this (which they don't), how can we help with this job of educating faculty of the basics?  Or who can?  Has anyone thought about this before, or done this?
Thoughts?

Anna E Givens

> On Apr 27, 2016, at 11:05 PM, Ashley Bramlett via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Anna,
> 
> I think every college is different about policies.
> Generally, professors should speak to you regarding issues in their class. They should only contact the disability office for accomodations matters.
> Even then, they really should speak to students first.
> 
> I've also had instances where professors went to the dss before going to me about concerns, usually disability related though.
> Not anything like your situation.
> I'd tell the coordinator that you missed class and why and assure her you are okay.
> 
> I think you should just talk to the professor and let her know to speak to you about  concerns she has.
> Maybe she thinks dss controls more than they do or something.
> I think if you speak up and let her know you are open to communication, she will not go to dss like that again.
> Its frustrating, but sometimes  professors seem to think
> that dss knows accomodations more than us.
> 
> Ashley
> 
> -----Original Message----- From: Anna via nabs-l
> Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2016 11:51 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Cc: annajee82 at gmail.com
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Disability office policies
> 
> I agree that it is a good policy to notify professors when you must be absence.  I do it just to show that I am dedicated to the class, and not just skipping it.  I notified her once and the second time I did not.  It would have been good if I did, but I think I forgot...
> Having said that, it makes no difference whether I notified her or not. Attendance is part of the grade but that was made aware to all of us in the beginning.  My presence or absence, or grades, are nobody's business but mine.  What I want to know is not so much why she did that, but is that ok? I have had situations in the past where things are sent to my coordinator to be sent to me, or told to her to be told to me.  And I didn't like it, and I mentioned it.  It wasn't ever a huge deal before.  But going and telling her I've missed class, is over the top ridiculous to me.  In my view, it's disrespectful,inappropriate,unnecessary and I would assume against University policy.
> Why would a University even allow a professor to go to someone at DRS with that information?  I realize it could, in some cases, have something to do with accomodations, but in this case it has nothing at all to do with it. So anyway, what I really want to know is whether or not this is even allowed? I want to ask my DRS for a copy of their policies and such but I don't want to cause issues, I just realize that I want/need to be more educated about these things.
> So I'm just kinda wondering if anyone knows about general policy.
> 
> Anna E Givens
> 
> 
>> On Apr 27, 2016, at 7:38 PM, Valerie Gibson via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello,
>> 
>> I cannot speak for your professor, but this is the only way it makes sense to me…keep in mind, i said makes sense, i did not say I agree.
>> 
>> She probably spoke with your coordinator because she’s uncomfortable with your blindness, and she probably feels more comfortable talking to someone who’s sighted but who understands your disability.  It’s like your coordinator is the middle man in this or she’s using the coordinator as a sort of buffer against her own discomfort about your disability.  If this is the case, it is here ignorance, but I don’t think your prof is meaning to be difficult or to go behind your back. She’s probably just dealing with having a blind student in her class the only way she knows how. She could have been concerned, but didn’t know how to approach you.  Common sense would say to talk to the student directly, but if she’s that uncomfortable with your disability, common sense could have gone out the window.
>> 
>> I’d advise talking to her, but not to take it too personal, unless, during the conversation, she does say something to give offense.
>> 
>> I’m pretty low key when it comes to this sort of thing though.  If I know someone means well and what they’re doing is not putting me in danger, I find it difficult just to get upset and angry at them, even if what they are doing is completely ridiculous IMO.
>> 
>> After you talk with her, if she does it again, then i think you have grounds to get a bit snippy.
>> 
>> Hope this helps.
>>> On Apr 27, 2016, at 7:28 PM, Elizabeth Mohnke via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hello Anna,
>>> 
>>> I believe in some cases allowing a student with a disability to miss more
>>> than the allotted hours of class can be included as part of the
>>> accommodations a student can receive from a college as a reasonable
>>> accommodation. Perhaps your college has such a policy, and this is why your
>>> professor contacted the disabilities office. However, this does not seem to
>>> be an accommodation that a blind student would typically need, so I am not
>>> quite sure why your professor chose to contact the disabilities office and
>>> not you.
>>> 
>>> I attend a community college where class sizes are small, and where
>>> attending class is generally counted as part of our final grade. Therefore,
>>> if I have missed two class periods in a row, I will generally contact my
>>> professors to let them know what is going on. Sometimes sending a quick note
>>> to let your professor know that you have been sick with a bad cold and will
>>> be back in class the next class period can go a long way with professors who
>>> really care about their students. However, I am not quite sure how
>>> appropriate or necessary this would be for a larger university with larger
>>> class sizes. This is just something I find works well with smaller classes
>>> where you have more of a relationship with the professor.
>>> 
>>> Whether or not you choose to say something to your professor about how you
>>> feel as though her communication with the disabilities office was
>>> inappropriate is up to you. However, I would probably feel the same way if a
>>> professor contacted the disabilities office without notifying me about it as
>>> well.
>>> 
>>> Warm regards,
>>> Elizabeth
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Anna via nabs-l
>>> Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2016 5:59 PM
>>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> Cc: annajee82 at gmail.com
>>> Subject: [nabs-l] Disability office policies
>>> 
>>> Hey I have a question about something that happened at school.
>>> I missed a couple classes and my professor apparently emailed the
>>> coordinator lady at the disability office.  I don't know what her email said
>>> other than that i had missed some classes.  So my coordinator emailed me and
>>> asked me if everything was ok cuz my professor said i had missed some
>>> classes.
>>> My question is, is it any business of my DRS coordinator that i missed
>>> classes?
>>> What is the policy on bypassing the student and going to the DRS coordinator
>>> to say I've missed classes?  Why would my professor do that?  She never
>>> spoke to me about it.  If she is concerned, why is she not talking to me
>>> about it, and what right does she have to talk to the DRS coordinator about
>>> it.  It has nothing to do with my disability or accomodations or anything?
>>> Does someone have a better understanding of the role of DRS?  My
>>> understanding was that the role of DRS is to accomodate me as related to my
>>> blindness and to help me (if i ask for help) in working things out with
>>> professors in relation to accommodations. Nothing else.
>>> Someone please clarify.
>>> 
>>> Anna E Givens
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
>> 
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