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.
NEW Disability Access Services Instructor area
DAS has implemented an Instructors portal to provide a single space for instructors to go to review ALL DAS-related accommodation notifications for students in courses currently being taught. This space provides the same information that an instructor would see on the DAS Notification Letter. The DAS Notification Letters will still be emailed, this is an additional way to access the information. Visit Disability Access Services Instructor Advisor for login link and more information.
Here is the process for accessing the DAS instructor area:
• Visit the DAS website homepage: https://ds.oregonstate.edu/
• Click DAS Instructor Online Services login on the right hand side of the page
• Sign in with your OSU Username and Password (DUO is required)
• Click the reminders regarding FERPA information
• Click on Continue to View Student Accommodations
This will bring you to an area that has all of the courses you are teaching this term, along with information identifying students that have requested accommodations in each course.
Canvas and Remote Teaching Material Accessibility
Courses created in Canvas as well as uploaded documents need to be accessible for students with disabilities. Multiple OSU offices have developed great resources on how to make materials accessible. All of these resources including an archived webinar are available in Canvas – Improving Accessibility in Your Course.
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 Randy Ocampo, Assistive Technology Manager in Disability Access Services at 7-4098 or Randy.Ocampo@oregonstate.edu.
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.
Kim D. Kirkland, Ed.D.
Executive Director, Equal Opportunity and Access
Susan Capalbo
Senior Vice Provost, Faculty Affairs
