Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: This podcast is produced by members of the University of Alabama Parent Advisory Council and reflects the personal views, experiences, and opinions of the hosts and guests. These views are independent and do not represent, reflect, or speak on behalf of the University of Alabama, its administration, faculty, staff, or affiliated organizations. The content shared is for general informational and conversational purposes only. It is not intended to provide academic, medical, legal, financial, or institutional advice. While we aim to share thoughtful and helpful perspectives, we make no guarantees regarding accuracy, completeness, or timeliness. Listeners are encouraged to verify information independently and rely on official University of Alabama communications for policies, decisions, and guidance. Listening to this podcast is voluntary and any actions taken based on the content are done at your own discretion and risk.
Welcome to Parent Perspectives. Navigating the University of Alabama experience as a parent can be exciting, overwhelming, and full of questions. And you don't have to do it alone. Parent Perspectives is a podcast by parents, for parents and with parents, created to share real conversations, trusted insights, and firsthand experiences from those who've been there. Whether your student is Bama bound, settling into freshman year, or finding their stride on campus, this is your go to source for all things Bama student related. From academics in campus life, to traditions and the moments that matter most, we cover what parents want to know honestly and thoughtfully. Tune in and feel confident knowing you're part of a supportive Bama parent community.
[00:01:50] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Brian Johnson. I'm a member of the University of Alabama Parents Advisory Council.
I have a sophomore at University of Alabama. Right now. Today we're talking about accommodations and student support at the University of Alabama.
This is an important conversation for families who want to understand how the process works, what documentation may be needed, and how students can access support once they arrive on campus. Today's conversation will walk through the accommodations process, explain what families and students should expect, and highlight how students can take ownership of accessing the support they need. Brittany's here with us today to walk us through it all. Brittany, thank you so much for joining us.
[00:02:34] Speaker C: Hi. Thank you for having me.
[00:02:36] Speaker B: Could you share a little bit to start about what you do at the University of Alabama?
[00:02:40] Speaker C: Absolutely. I recently celebrated my eighth year in the Office of Disability Services as Assistant Director, where I oversee all things related to the accommodations process, including supervising our seven accommodation specialists who work directly with students.
[00:03:00] Speaker B: All right, wonderful. Let's start with the first step. Families usually want to understand how students begin the accommodations process.
[00:03:07] Speaker C: Yes.
So we have a brief application available through the ODS online portal, which is on our website.
Once students complete that application, they can upload their documentation as well.
Each student is paired with an accommodation specialist based on their college or major, and that specialist is going to review documentation within 5 business days of receipt and will follow up with the student through their UA email.
In some cases, a meeting may not be required, but any next steps, including whether we need additional documentation or whether we do need to meet with the student, will all be communicated by email.
[00:03:50] Speaker B: Excellent. So once families understand how to get started, the next question is usually whether the documents they already have will be enough. In fact, there are a lot of parents, you probably have encountered this. If they're student has had, say, a 504 plan in high school, they think that it automatically will just cover what they need for university life. Can you address that? Yes.
[00:04:13] Speaker C: So, yes, we work with a lot of students who have received accommodations through an IEP or 504 plan. And because we have so many students that come from out of state, we have seen a wide variety of those plans, and some of them contain the information that we need, while others do not. And so what we really encourage families. Families to do is to just carefully review our documentation requirements, which are available on our website, and share those with the student's evaluator or provider to make sure that everyone has an understanding of what documentation is considered sufficient.
[00:04:51] Speaker B: Okay, well, that. That feeds naturally into what the office is actually looking for when document documentation is submitted. So what type of documentation do you generally require?
[00:05:02] Speaker C: Yeah, so, you know, generally our documentation requirements will vary slightly based on type of disability, but generally we're looking for recent objective information that connects an impairment to an access barrier or information that demonstrates how a condition rises to the level of disabling in an academic setting. And so just to kind of provide some examples for cognitive conditions such as ADHD and learning disabilities, we're really looking for objective evidence of impairment that generally comes from intelligence and achievement testing or continuous performance testing to look at cognitive functions such as sustained attention, working memory, processing speed, or academic achievement. Right. So that we can see what areas are impaired.
For behavioral health or medical conditions, we need a letter from the provider that includes a clearly stated diagnosis, a detailed explanation of how the condition impacts the student academically.
And that would include the frequency, severity, and duration of any symptom flares the student experiences. And then for sensory impairments, that would generally include an audiological, ocular, or visual acuity assessment that demonstrates the degree of sensory loss that the student experiences.
And a lot of families, because they do already have some degree of documentation available, we encourage them to go ahead and upload what they have. We are happy to review that information, and then we can provide specific feedback on anything else that may be needed.
[00:06:50] Speaker B: Okay, thank you. So I currently also have a student who is in middle school who has a 504 plan, and that involves occasionally having meetings at school.
Once documentation is approved for students at the University of Alabama, families often want to know what support is actually going to look like in practice, what types of accommodations are available, and how does that work throughout the semester?
[00:07:15] Speaker C: Yeah, so again, accommodations do tend to vary, and they are individualized based on what the student's impairment or access barrier is.
But I can share some really common accommodations. So we find that many students experience barriers related to testing. And so it's pretty common for us to look at supporting extended testing time or a reduced distraction testing environment for students.
We also have a fair number of students who use assistive technology.
So they may be using, like, text to speech software or speech to text software.
And ultimately, it is always the instructor's responsibility to ensure that accommodations are provided. But because we also have many students registered with our office, we have a testing center that is widely utilized. It is actually the largest in the sec.
Fun fact.
And so it is used heavily as a proctoring location for students with approved accommodations, and it would include any assistive technology that the student needs to utilize as well.
To share another example, we have some students that have conditions that cause flares or episodes and that may cause the student to need some additional flexibility with maybe the attendance policy in their class or the ability to make up work that they have missed due to a symptom flare. So we also have a flexible attendance and deadlines accommodation that we can support in those cases. And really, our approach is to look at the documentation, talk to the student, and determine what are the the concerns, what are the access barriers, and then we try to put an accommodation in place that would directly address that barrier.
[00:09:09] Speaker B: Okay, well, once those accommodations are approved, students also need to know how to put them into action with their instructors. So how do students inform instructors of their accommodations?
[00:09:20] Speaker C: Yes. So for students who have received accommodations in high school, this part is pretty different.
So the responsibility for notifying instructors of accommodations shifts to the student at the college level.
So we have the ODS online portal that allows students to send an electronic accommodation letter, which is the official notice to their instructors that they require accommodations.
They will send that letter at the beginning of each semester and then follow up with their instructors to discuss how accommodations will be implemented.
The ODS online portal is also a way for students to manage all things related to their accommodations. So for example, if a student needs to schedule a test at our testing center, they would be able to do that through the portal as well.
[00:10:14] Speaker B: Okay.
Families also often wonder whether ODS provides broader academic support beyond accommodations. So does ODS offer tutoring, coaching, any other services?
[00:10:27] Speaker C: That is a good question. So we really focus on academic accommodations and access.
But we do partner closely with and refer many students to the Capstone center for Student Success, which does offer tutoring and academic coaching. And it is a fabulous resource.
We familiarize ourselves with the variety of resources available to students on campus because we recognize that adjusting to campus life is a big transition for any student. And so we're always happy to help connect students with the resources they're looking for and be sure that they get to where they need to go.
[00:11:06] Speaker B: Okay, thank you. There are also practical questions that come up once students are registered, including having to do with course planning. Can you talk about how priority registration works for students?
[00:11:17] Speaker C: Entering students do have to attend BAMA Bound in order to register for classes.
So that is a limitation where we are not able to provide priority registration on the front end because of that BAMA Bound requirement. However, for all subsequent semesters, students who are registered with our office will receive priority registration which provides approximately two weeks in advance of when the student would normally be able to register based on their time ticket.
Students still need to meet with an academic advisor to have their registration PIN cleared. We don't take the place of that, but we do communicate with the registrar to let them know that this student, you know, has an accommodation for priority registration and then the registrar will adjust the time ticket from there.
[00:12:12] Speaker B: Okay.
One final area families often ask about is how they can communicate with ODS if questions come up. So how can parents communicate with ODS about their students needs?
[00:12:23] Speaker C: So we always encourage students to communicate directly with us.
But if there is a parent or family member that needs to communicate with our office, students have the ability to complete a release form that is in the ODS online portal. And that would be a way for the student to give their parents access to communicate with us if needed. That release form can be completed after the application is submitted or at any point in time.
So if the student has completed their registration with our office and they would like to go back and add access to for us to be able to speak with a parent or family member, they can do that at any point.
[00:13:04] Speaker B: Okay, thank you. Well, we are about to finish. Can I kind of close with a scenario that I'm imagining you have dealt with.
So let's say my student has a disability, he's an entering freshman, and let's say he has adhd, but he decides he wants to handle this on his own, then he gets those first test grades back and he suddenly realizes he needs some help.
What does that conversation look like?
[00:13:30] Speaker C: Yeah, so that is a common scenario. And what I usually share with students and families is that, you know, if the student has been utilizing accommodations in high school and has found benefit from that, I would encourage them to go ahead and complete the registration process before they start their freshman semester. It is much better to have accommodations in place as opposed to taking exams and then realizing that you need accommodations.
Accommodations can't be retroactively applied. So that means we can't go back in time and retake a test with accommodations. Right.
And so I would tell students that they're going to be among 3,500 of their peers who are also registered with our office. So there really is no shame in this process. You know, accommodations are about leveling the playing field and removing barriers so that students can perform up to their potential.
So we absolutely want students to register with us, have those accommodations in place and that will absolutely contribute to their success at ua. Students and parents who have any questions about the registration process are encouraged to reach out to our office at any point.
You can also find us during your BAMA Bound orientation. So the morning of orientation we will be available at the Information Fair and freshmen who have a two day orientation can also find us at the parents Breakfast the morning day two of the orientation session.
[00:15:13] Speaker B: Well, thank you, that's excellent advice. To wrap this up as we end this conversation is a good reminder that the accommodations process is designed to support students while also helping them build independence and self advocacy.
Thank you for joining us for this episode of the UA Parent Perspective Podcast. We hope this conversation helped clarify how the accommodations process works, what families and students can expect, and how student support, how support is available throughout the college experience.
Most importantly, it highlights the role students play in taking ownership of their needs and using the resources available to them at ua.
[00:15:52] Speaker A: Thanks for tuning in today for the latest episode of Parent Perspectives brought to you by the University of Alabama Parent Advisory Council. Check out all our podcasts on Voices UA Edu. You can learn more about the Parent Advisory Council, Parent Perspectives and UA Parent and Family Programs on the UA Parent and Family Program's website at Parent Family SL UA Edu.
