Disability Access Office

Students Requiring Disability-Related Accommodations

Disability Access Office   
Website: https://dao.fas.harvard.edu/   

Harvard University is committed to providing students who have disabilities with equal access to all affiliated programs and activities through inclusive design and the provision of reasonable accommodations.  

The Disability Access Office (DAO), which serves Harvard College, Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) as well as the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) students, collaborates with faculty and students to make this possible.  

Disability-related information, including diagnoses and supporting documentation, is protected under FERPA and should only be shared with university officials who have a legitimate educational need to know.

Ongoing communication and collaboration on the part of faculty, teaching staff, DAO, administrators, and students themselves is essential. Students initiate accommodation requests through the AIM portal, which is accessed through a link on the DAO website. Students may be approved for new or updated accommodations through DAO at any time during the semester. Faculty should not create deadlines for accommodation disclosure, such as only during the first two weeks of classes, and should consult with the DAO if there are concerns about implementation. Once students are determined eligible for accommodations, they will be guided each semester to select which approved accommodations they need for each class. This will then be communicated through the Accommodation Action Plan emailed by DAO giving an overview of their approved accommodations and actions required by faculty for implementation. Students who make accommodation requests outside of this process should be referred directly to DAO. To ensure consistent implementation of university procedures, faculty should refer students requesting disability-related accommodations directly to DAO rather than implementing accommodations outside the established process. Members of the faculty best understand the essential components of their courses, and accommodations are not designed to alter or eliminate any essential requirements of a course.  

The FAS Testing Center Pilot is available to all FAS faculty who would like assistance with proctoring accommodated midterm or hourly term-time examinations. Faculty should follow the instructions on the FAS Registrar’s Office website and complete an Alternative Testing Agreement form at the start of each semester to opt-in for use of the Testing Center. Alternatively, faculty may choose to proctor their own term-time exams with all indicated accommodations for each student. This may include providing a separate room and additional proctors for extended testing time, breaks, student access to food/drinks, and other specified accommodations.  

Accommodated exams are expected to occur on the same day as in-class exams. All final examinations for students with DAO-approved exam accommodations are administered during the final exam period by the Exams Office, and appropriate accommodations will be made in conjunction with DAO (see entry below).  

Course heads should routinely note in the course syllabus and announce at the first class meeting that students approved for accommodations should contact the teaching staff to discuss elements of the course that may be inaccessible and develop a plan together on how their accommodations will be implemented, based on the Accommodation Action Plan from DAO.  

Faculty who incorporate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles for all students know that effective strategies for instruction frequently obviate the need for accommodations. Some suggestions are:  

• Provide course materials in accessible formats, including documents/PDFs that are screen-readable. The Assistive Technology Center (ATC) is available to help with preparation of accessible materials if they are provided to them in advance. Increased reliance on and availability of digital text benefits all students. Other formats may include braille or enlarged print, which the ATC can provide.
• Ensure students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing have available seating space in the front of the room and that the room has appropriate lighting. If movies or slide presentations occur, an alternative lighting source will be required for students who need to see interpreters. Some students may use personal assistive listening devices and amplification systems that require teaching staff to use a wireless (non-amplifying) microphone. If microphones are available in the classroom, they should always be used. Faculty should make advance arrangements to provide open-captioned films and audio material and can receive assistance with captioning by contacting the DAO.
• Ensure that lectures, sections, review sessions, etc. are held in physically accessible spaces when required. The Registrar's Office, Classrooms Office (classrooms@fas.harvard.edu) can assist when relocation of a course is necessary.  

When students make course changes after the registration deadline and before the fifth Monday of the term, it is understood that delays in the preparation of reformatted materials may result, affecting both students and instructional staff.