Faculty Guide

Faculty Guide to Managing Academic Accommodations and Requests: Academic Year 2025-2026

About this Guide

Faculty implement and facilitate academic accommodations determined
by the Disability Access Office (DAO) and are critical partners in the accommodation process. 

This guide covers how to:

• Manage academic accommodation requests for students in FAS courses
• Implement common academic accommodations approved by DAO

If you have any questions about the topics covered in this guide, please
contact us. 

• Email: dao@fas.harvard.edu
• Phone: (617) 496-8707
• Address: 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 450, Cambridge, MA 02138

The DAO is part of the FAS Office of Student Services, serving Harvard College, Harvard Griffin GSAS, and SEAS. 

Accommodation Syllabus Statement

We strongly encourage adding the following text to your syllabus. This will help  students with disabilities feel welcome in your course and know how to request accommodations. 

Harvard University values inclusive excellence and providing equal educational opportunities for all students. Our goal is to remove barriers for disabled students related to inaccessible elements of instruction or design in this course. If reasonable accommodations are necessary to provide access, please contact the Disability Access Office (DAO). Accommodations do not alter fundamental requirements of the course and are not retroactive. Students should request accommodations as early as possible, since they may take time to implement. Students should notify DAO at any time during the semester if adjustments to their communicated accommodation plan are needed.

Responding to Requests

Official Requests

You will receive official accommodation requests from DAO via email. 

After receiving approved accommodations from DAO, students must log in to the Accessible Information Management portal (AIM) and select eligible accommodations for each class. Once your student completes this process, you will receive an Accommodation Action Plan via email listing their accommodations.  

Timing: Most Accommodation Action Plans are sent before or during the first few weeks of classes, but you can receive them any time throughout the semester. In accordance with ADA and Section 504 law, you cannot set a cut-off date for accommodation implementation. Students can request new accommodations or changes to existing accommodations, and accommodations are not retroactive.  

ACTION ITEM: After receiving your Accommodation Action Plan, complete the steps needed to implement the accommodation. Review implementation responsibilities for common DAO accommodations.

Unofficial Requests

IMPORTANT: Do not provide unofficial accommodations. DAO should determine and communicate all approved accommodations.

Unofficial accommodations, although often well intentioned, risk compromising academic integrity and/or prevent students from connecting with necessary supports. For equity reasons, all accommodations should be determined and communicated to you by the DAO. 

TIP: Use the decision tree to redirect unofficial requests so that students can receive approved accommodations.

Decision Tree for Unofficial Requests

1. Is the student registered with DAO? If the request was not included in your Accommodation Action Plan, direct them to the appropriate office or person
   • If yes, direct the student to their DAO Accessibility Advisor
   • If no, proceed to step 2
2. Direct the student depending on their request and needs
   • Refer to DAO if the student:
     • Disclosed a significant mental or physical health condition or
     • Used accommodations in the past or
     • Identifies disability as reason they struggle to complete assignments/assessments
   • If none of the above, proceed to step 3
3. Refer to our partners
   • Refer to HUHS if the student has a short-term illness such as a cold or flu
   • Refer to the Resident Dean if the student’s concern is unrelated to a health condition (e.g. personal issue)
   • Refer to the Registrar if the student needs an exam accommodation for a religious reason

Implementing Common DAO Accommodations

Faculty Responsibilities

DAO recognizes that all courses have different learning objectives and formats. We rely on faculty to identify essential course requirements, and we will work with you and the student when navigating accommodations for your course. 

STEP 1: Review Accommodation Action Plan

• Review all information on each student’s Accommodation Action Plan. Note that all plans are unique and some require additional steps. 
• If your student’s approved accommodation does not seem aligned with your course requirement, contact DAO before connecting with the student. We can provide further clarification and, if needed, identify a mutually acceptable solution 

STEP 2: Meet privately with your student to discuss their accommodations in the context of your course. 

• During your conversation, ask how you can support your student’s learning and accommodation needs. Be mindful that students may not feel comfortable sharing health information and/or a diagnosis with you and they are not required to do so. 
• Examples of ways you can rephrase questions without asking for health information are included below.

Instead of saying…	Try the phrase…
How severe is your hearing loss?	What types of environments or class discussions may be inaccessible for you?
Do you have class participation accommodations because you are autistic?	How is class participation most accessible for you?
Why can’t you hand-write notes?	Let’s discuss how you will use technology in class for your note-taking accommodations.
You can tell me more about your disability after class.	Let’s discuss how we will implement your accommodations during office hours.

STEP 3: Begin implementing approved accommodations. 

• Your Accommodation Action Plan will specify which accommodations require a documented arrangement or coordination by you. 
• The Common DAO Accommodations section outlines what is needed to implement common accommodations. This is not an exhaustive list of all possible DAO-approved accommodations. More information about accommodations is available at dao.fas.harvard.edu/services-overview/academic. 

Common DAO Accommodations

• Audio Recording/Note-Taking
• Test-Taking
• Breaks During Class
• Alternative Formats
• Materials/Slides Provided in Advance
• Service Animals
• Deadline and Attendance Adjustment (DAA)
• Alternative Participation
• Use of a Cue Sheet/Memory Aid
• Temporary Injuries/Illness
• Communication Partner/Personal Care Assistant

Audio Recording/Note-Taking

Implementation responsibilities:

What faculty need to know:

• Students typically use DAO-approved note-taking apps that include audio recording and transcription. You may ask students to turn off recording apps/devices during sensitive class discussions if the content will not be assessed in the course, and if you also inform the class not to take written notes for that part of the class discussion. 
• DAO handles the recruitment of peer note-takers. 
• Students sign an educational-use agreement not to share, distribute, or post content that is recorded. 

Test-Taking

Implementation responsibilities:

What faculty need to know:

• If you do not use the FAS Testing Center Pilot, you will implement all testing accommodations for term-time exams in the classroom. 
• Final exams will continue to be managed by the Exams Office in the FAS Registrar’s Office and are not part of this pilot. 

Please visit The Registrar’s Office Testing Center webpage to learn more about the FAS Testing Center Pilot. 

Other testing information:

• Discuss with the student how short, in-class quizzes can be accommodated. You can give the student time before/after class to utilize accommodations.
• Do not offer to convert in-person tests to take-home tests unless the entire class has this option.
• Take home exams: If your exam is take-home that extends over numerous days, please consult with DAO. 
• If you are proctoring your own exams, please contact the Assistive Technology Center at least 5 days in advance to request internet disabled laptops, or you may allow students to use their own technology. The Testing Center will have internet-disabled laptops on site.

Breaks During Class

Implementation responsibilities:

What faculty need to know:

• Breaks should be non-disruptive and brief.  
• Students are responsible for any content missed when exiting the room.  
• Faculty may suggest seating areas in the classroom that create the least disruption.  
• DAO is available to consult with you and the student if break coordination becomes disruptive.  

American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreter or Speech to Text Captioning

Implementation responsibilities:

What faculty need to know:

• It is important for all speakers in the class to use a microphone when possible. You may need to repeat any questions asked before answering if classroom microphones are not available to be passed around. 
• The interpreter or captioner will relay everything spoken in class in signed or written form and treat information as confidential. 
• Speak directly to the student, not to their interpreter or captioner. There is no need to change your speaking volume. 

Alternative Formats

Implementation responsibilities:

What faculty need to know:

• Students may use their own laptop with technology that reads text aloud, converts to Braille, or enlarges the content.  
• Vocalize words as you write them on the board and describe images.  
• Additional information on working with students with visual impairment is available on the Faculty resource page.  
• Consult with the Assistive Technology Center (ATC) if there are concerns about timing, volume, or implementation of text conversion.  

Materials/Slides Provided in Advance

Implementation responsibilities:

What faculty need to know:

• Materials provided to students should be the same materials that all students have access to, such as Power Point slides. 
• Personal lecture notes and preparation materials that are not shared with students are not part of this accommodation. 

Service Animals

Implementation responsibilities:

What faculty need to know:

• Service animals are only dogs (or miniature horses) that are trained to perform specific tasks for a person with a disability and are not required to wear specific identification, a vest, or have certification.
• Service animals are trained to be non-disruptive and should not take away from the classroom experience. Please discuss any behavioral concerns with the DAO. 
• Students who identify allergies to animals should be referred to DAO. Faculty and staff should work with their Faculty Affairs or Human Resources representatives.  

Deadline and Attendance Adjustment (DAA)

Implementation responsibilities:

What faculty need to know:

• This accommodation is intended to be used infrequently and only when there is a disability-related health event that prevents the student from attending class or completing work by the deadline.   
•  
•  Consider additional flexibility: While courses that already include built-in flexibility benefit all students in managing unexpected life events, the DAA accommodation is designed to provide an extra measure of support—typically a limited number of additional absences or deadline extensions—for students whose disabilities may require it. Please consider what reasonable additional flexibility you can offer these students, beyond what is already available to the class as a whole. 
• Grading, attendance, and extension policies are subject to the academic judgment of the faculty. In some situations, additional absences or extensions will not be appropriate due to the essential requirements of the course. In these cases, please indicate this in your written plan.   

Alternate Participation

Implementation responsibilities:

What faculty need to know:

• Alternate participation may include substituting individual work for group work, recording presentations in advance, writing reflections instead of participating in class discussions, or giving feedback in writing instead of speaking.  
• This accommodation should not alter the essential requirements of the class.  

Use of a Cue Sheet/Memory Aid

Implementation responsibilities:

What faculty need to know:

• Cue sheets shouldn’t contain core information being assessed, e.g. if you grade a student’s ability to recall a formula rather than use it to answer a question, it is not appropriate to include it on the cue sheet.  
• Cue sheets may contain drawings, symbols, or phrases that help with recall, but not word-for-word answers to test questions.  
• All cue sheets must be reviewed and approved by faculty in advance, and students are required to submit their cue sheet at least five business days prior to the exam.

Temporary Injuries/Illness

Implementation responsibilities:

What faculty need to know:

• DAO communicates temporary accommodations to faculty through Accommodation Action Plans. Please only implement the approved accommodations outlined in these plans.  
• Students who have short-term, non-recurring illnesses such as the common cold or flu should be referred to HUHS and their Resident Dean.

Communication Partner/Personal Care Assistant

Implementation responsibilities:

What faculty need to know:

• Personal Care Assistants can help unpack backpacks, set up equipment, and attend to physical/medical needs during class.  
• Communication partners assist students who use alternative means of communication, such as letter boards, tablets, and apps. All communication is uniquely generated by the student they are assisting.  
• Both communication partners and personal care assistants are present only to perform these specific tasks, and they do not participate independently or give academic assistance to the student. 

Resources

Additional Disability Support at Harvard

Beyond DAO, there are many offices that provide resources for students, faculty, and staff with disabilities. 

Academic Resource Center 

The ARC works to empower students by providing resources and strategies to foster (among other things) more effective independent study. Students have the opportunity to meet with a full-time, Professional Academic coach to work on strategizing around academics, focusing on strengths and areas for development. The ARC hosts regular accountability groups, providing students with a time and place to hold themselves accountable, and Peer Tutoring. They also have a Learning Specialist on their staff who specializes in working with students who identify as having a mental health illness, learning disability, or neurodivergence.