[nabs-l] Meeting with Professors in Advance

[Lizzy]

Hi Vejas,
Great question! As you can see, opinions vary on this topic and I 
honestly use different methods depending on the class.
	If the course is not required for my major or is offered by 
multiple professors, I actually start meeting with them 
before registering.  It makes life easier because if I don't 
mesh with a professor, or feel that they aren't very 
accommodating, I can register for a different class.  So 
that's definitely something to keep in mind for the future.  
Another thing that I've done in the past is sat in on 
classes that the professor is currently teaching to get a 
feel for any advice that they might find useful for teaching 
a blind student.  I had never taken Econ before, and wasn't 
sure how many graphs were necessary, how descriptive he was 
when using powerpoint or drawing diagrams.  I really 
couldn't say what would have been useful for me without 
seeing the professor teach first.  So I attended one of his 
classes and we met after that so that I could give him some 
personal feedback and he could ask questions that he wasn't 
sure about when teaching or describing.  I've taken other 
classes where I didn't meet with the professor at all and 
things worked out totally fine (just communicating via 
email).  I've done this with Spanish, Chinese, and 
Anthropology courses).  I will note though, that I only felt 
comfortable doing so after having some experience with those 
areas of study.  A general rule of thumb is to meet with the 
professor the semester before you take their class-November 
for spring classes and early April for the Fall-it gives 
Disabilities Services enough time to prep the work and you 
enough time to switch classes if possible or necessary).  
However, if you are unable to do this for some reason, it's 
not the end of the world.  Also, not all professors are good 
about checking their email over breaks so you definitely 
want to introduce yourself when they are on campus 
(mid-August or early January).
HTH,
Lizzy