Faculty FAQs

Q: As I am adapting my course materials for virtual instruction, what should I be considering with regard to disability access? How do I best support my students?

We acknowledge the significant effort required to quickly adapt your courses to online instruction. We want to collaborate with you to ensure that access for students with disabilities is maintained through this transition. Some students may encounter disability-related barriers with online instruction or assessment (e.g. students who use assistive technology, students with medical limitations on-screen usage). DSS staff are available for consultation regarding best practices and accessibility. (205-934-4205, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

If you have students in your course who are utilizing closed-captions or ASL Interpreters, please notify Valerie DuBose to discuss implementing accommodations for your remote instruction method. DSS may request permission from instructors for access to their Canvas courses so that interpreters or CART providers are able to remotely log in to the class meeting.

Below are some tips to keep in mind as you are creating virtual course content (adapted from DO-IT):

• Use clear, consistent layouts and organization schemes for presenting content, and make instructions and expectations clear for activities, projects, and assigned reading.
• Offer outlines, scaffolding tools, and adequate opportunities for practice to help students learn.
• When selecting new materials, try to find videos that are already captioned, and articles that are available in a text-searchable format (meaning you can highlight and search the text within the document).
• Images can be made accessible to blind and low-vision students by providing captions or inserting alt text into the image. Use large, bold fonts on uncluttered pages with plain backgrounds and color combinations that are high contrast.
• Provide flexibility and understanding as this experience may cause disruption to the student’s home life and available resources – which may negatively impact a student’s disability symptoms.

Q: How will exam accommodations work? Will DSS proctor online exams?  

Extended time on exams as an accommodation generally only applies to traditional, time-limited exams. If you decide to offer alternative means of assessment (e.g. essays, non-timed exams, project work), then a student’s extended time may no longer be applicable.

DSS will not be proctoring exams while the University’s remote instruction remains in place.  All exams should be administered online or through other remote assessment methods by faculty. Instructors are responsible for setting up extended time through the remote assessment method. The guide on how to add extended time on exams/quizzes through Canvas is: How to give students extra time on a timed quiz. The guide on how to schedule a different quiz window of availability for one or more students is: How to schedule a different quiz window for one or more students

For exams administered on ProctorU, please contact ProctorU regarding students’ testing accommodations.

Please communicate with your students to discuss their exam accommodations in your courses. DSS is available to instructors and students to consult.

Q: How does the accommodation “reasonable number of disability-related absences” apply to online courses?

A: The absence accommodation may apply to online courses even when there is no official attendance component to the course.  Most students will already have the online version of this accommodation listed on their faculty notification as “reasonable online deadline flexibility due to disability-related need.”  This accommodation is approved for students who experience sudden disability flare-ups, and therefore may require some flexibility when a flare-up occurs on or around the day an assignment or exam is due.  In many cases, an extension of 24-48 hours is reasonable to make up for the time the student was unable to work due to disability.

Q:  Does peer notetaking apply to online courses?

A: Yes. Students may need a peer notetaker for live lectures, videos, podcasts, etc.  If there is already an assigned notetaker for your course, that student may continue as the notetaker for the rest of the semester.  DSS recommends that instructors reach out to students who have the peer notetaking accommodation if you have questions about whether the accommodation is needed for the online course format.

Q:  Do instructors need to caption videos for online courses?

A: If a student in your class has an accommodation for captioned videos, you must ensure all mandatory and optional course videos have been professionally captioned.  Please visit Request Captions for Videos to submit your videos to DSS.  Jalan Cunningham is also available at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to assist instructors who have questions about captioning.

Q:  What are best practices for transitioning to remote instruction?

A:  DSS recommends reaching out to students in your class who are registered with DSS to ensure their accommodation needs are still being met through the new course format.  DSS also encourages flexibility for all staff, faculty, and students as we navigate through this transition.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to DSS if you have any questions or concerns about working with DSS students or providing accommodations.