Accommodations

You are an ESSENTIAL part of providing access both in and out of the classroom. We need your active engagement as we partner to provide equally effective access to learning materials for ALL students.

Most instructors will have at least one student in every class who uses accommodations. We'll use the information and pages linked below to teach you about the accommodation categories, explain what you should do, tell you when to do it, then explain each accommodation and how to meet that accommodation in Canvas (if applicable). And each section has the contact information for the pertinent accessibility specialists to assist you if you get stuck. We're in this together and want to do everything possible to smooth your path as you work to benefit our students!


Important Resources

  • Accessibility for Faculty. In-depth information on Course Policy Flexibility; Alternative Media; Classroom Access; Communication Access; Testing Services.
  • Accommodations You May See. Current list of student accommodations (in process and subject to change).
  • Student Accessibility Support. Contact sas@kent.edu for questions regarding accommodations and student accessibility support.
  • Canvas Support. Review our Canvas Support Guide for questions regarding Canvas and Educational Technology tools.

Accommodations & Canvas

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Use: Announcements should be in both written and oral formats.
Faculty Role: Provide written copies of announcements to this student. Where possible, assist all students by providing announcements in Canvas as well as out loud in class.
Canvas How-To: Adding an Announcement

ASL (American Sign Language) INTERPRETER
Use: ASL interpreters will be assigned to your classroom. Interpreters may position themselves at the front of the classroom in direct sight of the SAS student. SAS may also add the interpreters to your Canvas classroom to better understand vocabulary and course content.
Faculty Role: Ensure that interpreters have the space needed to provide ASL interpreting. Upon request, provide course materials to interpreters to assist with preparation. Communicate with the SAS student rather than to the interpreters.

ASSIGNED GROUPS
Use: Selecting or identifying group members for group activities may be challenging for this student. Wherever possible, please assign groups for all group work activities in your course.
Faculty Role: Where possible, assign this student to a group or assist them in identifying a team or group for projects.
Canvas How-To: Automatically Assigning Students to Groups

CLOSED-CAPTIONING
Use: This student requires closed-captioning videos.
Faculty Role: If, at the start of a semester, you have video/s that are not captioned, SAS will contact you to gather your materials and provide you with the captioned videos. However, using SAS to caption your videos is not a long-term solution, and it is highly important that you spend time mastering this skill and deploying it regularly. Your end goal is accurately captioned videos in all of your courses. We recommend that you learn how to caption videos using Kaltura Reach, then begin remediating a few videos each month until the entire course has accessible materials. Apply captioning practices to EVERY NEW video you create.
Kaltura Reach: Overview and Training Workshops

COPIES OF POWERPOINT SLIDES
Use: Provide electronic or hard copies of all course materials, including PowerPoint slides, before each class session.
Faculty Role: Provide the student with copies of slides or other materials shown during class. Where possible, share these with the student electronically prior to the class. If you already post PowerPoint for the entire class, consider providing them to SAS students prior to class.
Canvas How-To: Using the Rich Content Editor to Upload A File and Adding Content Directly to a Module

EXTENDED TIME FOR IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTS (1.5x)
Use: 1.5x regular time for all graded in-class assignments.
Faculty Role: Provide additional time to complete timed in-class assignments.
Canvas How-To: Extend an Assignment Due Date for One+ Student/s, Giving Extra Quiz Time to Certain Students, Add Extra Time on All Assessments At Once For Certain Students

REAL-TIME TRANSCRIBING
Use: A real-time transcriber will be assigned to your classroom. Transcribers may position themselves at the front of the classroom in direct sight of the SAS student. SAS may also add the transcribers to your Canvas classroom to better understand vocabulary and course content. SAS may also utilize remote transcribing services. Students will set up the necessary equipment.
Faculty Role: Ensure that transcribers have the space needed to provide real-time transcribing. Upon request, provide course materials to transcribers to assist with preparation. Repeat questions from other students in a large classroom.

RECORD CLASS LECTURE
Use: This student may audio record class lectures. The student is responsible for obtaining the recording equipment. Please note, recordings will only be used for academic purposes related to this class, and the student has been advised that the recording(s) should not be shared with others. Please contact the SAS office at your respective campus with any questions or concerns.
Faculty Role: If your class is discussing sensitive topics that will not be included in an assessment, speak with the student in advance about recording concerns.
How-To: If you are interested in recording an in-person or synchronous class lecture, Microsoft Teams can record and save screen-based presentations for attendees to review later.