Frequently Asked Questions
If a student has a “Consideration of” accommodation, how should I approach it?
Please refer to our policy on “Consideration of” Accommodations. Click here to read the policy.
If a student has a "Consideration of" accommodation, how can grading for participation or late assignments be affected?
Instructors can still hold students to the expectations of the course. A 'Consideration of' accommodation does not mean that students are exempt from completing assignments or participating in class as expected, and reductions in grades could be appropriate depending on the situation. Faculty and student should factor this into their discussion.
Whatever agreement the student and faculty come to should be the new metric for determining their grades. For example, if an instructor has an established course policy for all students that the score on a paper will be reduced by 5% every day that the paper is late, then students with a Consideration of Flexible Deadlines accommodation should not have their grade reduced for lateness if they turn it in by a new agreed upon date. However, if the student fails to meet that new deadline, then the instructor could choose to begin to reduce the grade for every day thereafter.
What if a student delivers an accommodation letter with a "Consideration of" accommodation AFTER they have already missed an assignment deadline or the established maximum number of classes?
All accommodations established through Student Accessibility Services are not retroactive. This means that if a student has missed the maximum number of classes per Rockhurst's policy, and then provides their accommodation letter, the instructor is not required to allow them to miss additional courses.
That being said, some students are not able to set up disability accommodations until later in the semester for a large number of reasons. Instructors should use discretion when determining how these accommodations could be applied going forward.
What if a student with a "Consideration of" accommodation misses a quiz, test, or another type of assessment?
Instructors must think about the flexibility that is appropriate in their class, and for the different elements of their course. Flexibility may be appropriate across the board (lecture material is easily caught up on, and tests can be rescheduled a day or two later), or maybe differentiated (the student may be able to miss a lecture with minimal impact, but tests need to be taken on the test day to maintain appropriate class progress and to receive timely feedback of performance). Instructors need to consider the resources available to them when considering whether or not rescheduled tests are feasible. The Learning Center requires 48 business hours' notice ahead of proctoring an exam for a DRC student; departmental resources may need advanced notice as well.
What if I'm unsure how to determine how a "Consideration of" accommodation could be applied to a specific situation?
Contact Student Accessibility Services at 816-501-4037 or drc@rockhurst.edu.