Guidance for Instructors | University at Albany

Instructors’ Responsibilities

UAlbany faculty and staff have both a legal and ethical duty to provide approved accommodations, ensuring students with disabilities have equal access to and full participation in all University programs, activities and services.

Instructors' responsibilities include:

Ensuring timely and proper implementation of accommodations
Maintaining strict confidentiality regarding students’ disability information
Considering alternative instructional or evaluation methods when standard tools are inaccessible, while ensuring the fundamental course outcomes remain intact
Maintaining the academic rigor and core content of the course while providing accessible and supportive learning experiences for all students
Determining appropriate equivalent substitutions for course components when barriers arise
Including a clear statement about disability accommodations in the course syllabus

Instructors may not:

Deny any approved accommodation
Share information about a student’s disability or accommodations with other students
Ask a student to disclose or identify their disability

Please refer to UAlbany’s Statement on Reasonable Accommodations for Students for additional information.

We encourage you to use the following resources to fulfill your responsibilities as a UAlbany instructor. If you have questions or concerns, please contact DAISS at [email protected] or 518-442-5501.

Recommended Syllabus Statement

We strongly urge instructors to include the following statement in their course syllabi:

Reasonable accommodations are available for students with documented physical, sensory, systemic, medical, cognitive, learning and/or mental health (psychiatric) disabilities.
If you believe you have a disability and require accommodations in this class, please register with Disability Access and Inclusion Student Services (DAISS).
You can contact DAISS at [email protected] or 518-442-5501, or by visiting albany.edu/dean-students/disability.
Once registered with DAISS, you will receive an accommodation letter that you can provide to your instructors to receive your approved accommodations.

Academic Accommodation Letters

To receive reasonable accommodations, students must first register with DAISS. Once registered, students will receive an accommodation letter.

It is the student’s responsibility to share their academic accommodation letter with their instructors, following the notification guidelines outlined in each instructor’s syllabus. Students may provide this letter via email (either in the body or as an attachment) or as a paper copy.

Please do not require that accommodation letters be sent directly from DAISS. We are happy to verify the authenticity of any accommodation letter you receive. For confirmation or questions, please contact us at [email protected] or 518-442-5501.

We also ask that you allow students flexibility in notifying you of their accommodations. Some students may register with DAISS later in the semester and, as a result, may not be able to provide their accommodation letter at the start of the term.

Instructors are legally obligated to provide academic accommodations once they have been notified of the need.

When a student presents an academic accommodation letter, please discuss the letter with the student to determine how the accommodations will be implemented and whether any adjustments are needed to align with the course’s academic standards.

The accommodations listed in the student’s letter reflect typical supports for the limitations associated with their disability. All modifications should be discussed collaboratively to ensure that reasonable accommodations are established, balancing course requirements with the student’s needs.

If you have any questions or concerns about accommodations, please contact DAISS at [email protected] or 518-442-5501.

Student Privacy

A student’s disability status is confidential and protected under FERPA, even after an accommodation letter has been provided. Therefore, instructors and staff are prohibited from disclosing a student’s disability status to classmates or other University employees.

When communicating with multiple students with disabilities, please use a method that protects their privacy, such as placing email addresses in the BCC (blind carbon copy) field to prevent students from seeing each other’s contact information.

While students must disclose that they have a disability to receive their approved accommodations, they are not required to share specific details or diagnoses. This sensitive information remains confidential and is shared only with DAISS.

Students may choose to share information about their disability if they feel comfortable doing so, but instructors and staff should not request or inquire about specific details or diagnoses related to their disability.

Flexibility in Attendance & Assignments

In certain cases, DAISS may approve accommodations to support flexibility in attendance and deadlines. If one of your students has such an accommodation, please review the Flexibility in Attendance & Assignments Policy for detailed guidance.

Workshops, Training & Presentations

The DAISS team is available to meet with departments during their team meetings to share information about the services we provide and to offer training on academic accommodations, procedures and processes.

To schedule a session, please contact DAISS at [email protected] or 518-442-5501.

Testing Accommodations

DAISS provides alternative testing services for students with approved accommodations — such as a less distracting environment, assistive devices, extended time and/or proctors — in the DAISS Testing Center.

As an instructor, you are responsible for determining whether you will provide testing accommodations or use DAISS’ alternative testing services, and then following the appropriate set of instructions below.

Provide Test Accommodations as an Instructor

If you choose to provide testing accommodations directly, it is essential to implement all the student’s approved accommodations. For guidance or questions about implementation, please contact DAISS at [email protected].

Please keep the following in mind:

The University’s standard for extended time is double the allotted exam time. We recommend adhering to this guideline and not providing more or less than double time.
Do not preemptively extend the exam time for all students to compensate for those with extended time accommodations. Students with this accommodation will still require their approved extended time, which could result in a very long exam window if time is extended for everyone.
If an exam is administered remotely or without proctored conditions, you may not require only students with testing accommodations to take the exam under proctored conditions.

Use the DAISS Testing Center

If you have a student with testing-related accommodations, and you have decided to use the DAISS Testing Center, please follow these instructions:

Step 1: Communicate testing expectations and schedules

At the start of the semester, you must tell any students with testing-related accommodations that you’ll be using the DAISS Testing Center for all exams. Please also include all exam dates, including final exams, in your course syllabus.

You are responsible for scheduling any pop quizzes. For all other types of exams, students must book a Testing Center seat in advance.

Please direct students to the DAISS Testing Center webpage for instructions on scheduling exams, as well as our hours, location, policies and procedures.

If a student arrives more than 10 minutes late to a scheduled exam, testing center staff will consult the instructions you provided when submitting the exam materials (see instructions below) to determine if the student may still take the exam. The exam end time will remain fixed, regardless of late arrival.

If you need to cancel or reschedule an exam, please contact DAISS at [email protected] or 518-442-5501.

Step 2: Submit the exam and other materials to DAISS in advance

You are responsible for providing DAISS with a copy of the exam and all necessary materials. Please submit the exam at least three to five business days before the scheduled test date.

All exams must be uploaded via Accommodate. To upload your exam, please follow these steps:

Log into Accommodate.
Select “Courses and Test Requests.”
At the top, click “Course Catalog” and choose the course for which you want to upload the exam.
Select the “Exams” tab.
Click “Add a New Exam.”
Complete the exam details, including:
- Exam duration: Specify the allotted time for the exam. Please also indicate whether students who arrive more than 10 minutes late should be allowed to take the exam and, if applicable, the maximum extent of lateness that is approved.
- Allowed materials: List any permitted items (such as a calculator, note cards or textbook).
- Contact Information: Please provide the full name, title and phone number of a designated contact person, in case the proctor has any questions during the exam.
Upload the exam file.
Select “Apply All to All Records.” This ensures that all registered students receive the exam without needing multiple uploads.
Click Submit.

Watch a video tutorial on how to upload exams to Accommodate.

Completed exams will be uploaded to Accommodate for you to retrieve once students have finished.

Note: If you choose not to submit an exam through Accommodate, you may be required to provide test accommodations yourself using the instructions above. This rule ensures that students receive consistent and equitable support while maintaining the integrity of the testing process.

Step 3: Provide written permission for alternative timing (if necessary)

Students are typically expected to take their exams at the same time as their class. However, exams may be arranged for an alternative day or time within the Testing Centers normal hours with your written permission if:

The class is scheduled outside of the Testing Center’s normal hours
The student cannot test during the scheduled time due to back-to-back classes
There is an emergency or other legitimate reason

If a student needs to arrange for an alternative testing date and/or time, they must communicate this to you, and you must provide written approval by emailing [email protected].

The authorized date and/or time must fall within the Testing Center’s normal hours. Additionally, students cannot be required to miss other academic commitments or waive their approved accommodations.

Step 4: Access completed exams

Please follow these steps to access exams completed in the DAISS Testing Center:

Log into Accommodate.
Select "Courses and Test Requests.”
Select “DAISS Testing Requests.”
Scroll to find the date of your exam. Your exam will be listed under Completed Exams.

This process ensures you can quickly access exams that have been completed and returned by the testing center.