Chapter 21 – Flexibility with Attendance and Coursework

Overview

Students with disabilities who experience periodic flareups of a chronic condition - such as gastrointestinal disorders, autoimmune diseases, and mental health disorders - may be approved for this accommodation.

The purpose of disability-related accommodations is to ensure access. This extends to providing reasonable flexibility within attendance, assignment, quiz, or exam policies to students with disabilities so they are not disproportionately penalized for exacerbations of their condition.

General Information

1. The Flexibility in Attendance and Coursework accommodation is not intended to be used every week, for every assignment, or every exam. This accommodation does not mean that the student is able to miss an unlimited number of classes or submit assignments late on a continual basis.

2. Students with flexibility accommodations are responsible for obtaining lecture notes for any missed classes. The student is also responsible for completing all coursework in a timely manner or per the Flexibility Agreement.

3. Attendance policies are set by faculty at the college or departmental level.

4. Discussion boards act as “in-class” participation time, particularly for online or hybrid classes. If the timely engagement and responses between peers is important to the course, a discussion board assignment or alternative may not be reasonable or applicable.

5. Group work generally does not fall under the Flexibility Agreement because a student's individual accommodation should not impact the progress of other students.

6. If the absences meet or exceed 50% of those agreed upon in the Flexibility with Attendance and Coursework Agreement, the SAR Center should be informed. This will allow the SAR Center to be of assistance in answering questions about accommodation from both the student and the faculty.

7. At no time is the student required to present the faculty with medical documentation verifying their disability-related absence.

8. Absences that are not related to the effects or impacts of a disability are not included in this accommodation (e.g., absences due to a common illness, COVID, car trouble, childcare, etc.) and should be addressed according to the attendance or absence policy stated in the syllabus.

9. Faculty are not obligated to reteach material missed due to not attending the class.

10. If the student is requesting this accommodation for a practicum, internship, field placement, etc., please refer to Chapter 25.

Student Responsibilities

1. Request accommodations each term in the SAR Student Portal.

2. Review the agreement and contact your SAR Center specialist if there are any concerns.

3. Students are responsible for reporting absences according to the Flexibility Agreement. The number of allowable absences depends on the interactive or participatory nature of a course, or is based on department, college or accrediting agency requirements.

4. Students are responsible for implementing their accommodation each time through the Flex Plan module.

5. An implementation request should be entered for each course. The date of absence and coursework missed should be detailed in the request.

Faculty Responsibility

• The accommodation for Attendance Flexibility should always be considered on an individual course basis, allowing for a diligent and critical analysis of how attendance is essential to the course learning objectives and pedagogical components. While an attendance policy may be already incorporated into the grading rubric and syllabus, and its value is inherent to student success and learning, this accommodation is intended to modify any stated attendance policies allowing some flexibility beyond that limit to account for the student’s disability-related need, without penalty.

• Read the eligibility email the SAR Center sends to the faculty which contains a link to the SAR Faculty Portal. Faculty should select this link to access their course information and to complete the Flexibility in Attendance and Coursework Agreement to provide information about attendance and coursework requirements, course design, and learning outcomes.

1. The agreement should identify the number of late assignments and the maximum number of days of extensions permitted before docking points or not accepting the assignment.

2. Faculty do not have to provide additional flexibility beyond what is in the agreement. If questions or concerns arise regarding the use of this accommodation, faculty are encouraged to communicate directly with the SAR Center specialist.

• Flexibility with attendance and deadline accommodations should be provided unless the accommodation significantly compromises the integrity of the course or is a fundamental alteration to the course. If the faculty believes additional absences beyond the stated policy or extended deadlines would result in an unreasonable accommodation, then faculty should consult with the SAR Center Specialist.

3. Faculty are not expected to provide retroactive accommodation even when a student receives this accommodation later in the term. Faculty are still responsible for this accommodation even if they delay in responding to the SAR Center. Do not wait!

• Faculty should submit the agreement through the SAR Faculty Portal within two weeks of the SAR Center notification email. If the agreement is not completed within this timeframe, a default plan determined by the SAR Center will go into effect.

4. At no time is the student required to present the faculty with medical documentation verifying their disability-related absence for this accommodation.

SAR Center Responsibilities

1. The SAR Center determines that Flexibility with Attendance and Coursework is a reasonable accommodation.

2. During a meeting with their SAR Center specialist, students are reminded that the accommodation is not intended to be used every week, for every assignment, or every exam. Students are still responsible for completing coursework in a timely manner.

• The SAR Center will send an email notification of this accommodation and the final completed agreement to the faculty and student. If either the faculty or student has questions, the student's SAR Center specialist should be contacted.

3. The SAR Center will review the completed agreement.

4. The finalized flexibility agreement will be considered active as of the day the student requested the accommodation for the course with the SAR Center, or the first day of the term (whichever is later).