Information for Faculty and Staff

This section provides information for faculty and staff at the State University of New York at Farmingdale to assist students with disabilities in maximizing learning. Faculty and staff are encouraged to contact the DSC with any questions or concerns they may have.

Syllabus Statement	Testing Accommodations	College Attendance Policy
Confidentiality	Alternate Site Testing Procedures	Faculty FAQ

The Disability Services Center has provided faculty with vital resources to increase awareness and to assist in classroom instruction for students with disabilities. The links also provide instructors with many suggestions on instructional methods inside the classroom, distance learning, and Universal Design.

Links to Assist Faculty:

Some of the most common disabilities our students have are the following: Learning Disabilities, Mobility Impairments, Health Impairments, Mental Illness, Hearing Impairments, Blindness, Low Vision, Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Asperger’s/spectrum disorders.

A student’s disability may or may not affect their participation in your class. Instructional methods encompass the expectations you should have of students with disabilities. This section will assist you in gaining a greater understanding of how different disabilities impact a student’s learning, and what you can do to provide them with the greatest opportunity for success. The below links provide explanations and teaching tips for making your classroom activities parallel the needs of students with disabilities. These sections include large lectures, group work & discussions, test taking, fieldwork, science labs, computer labs, adaptive technology, web pages, distance learning courses, artwork, writing assignments, international travel programs, and work-based learning.

The Disability Services Center would like to enrich your teaching practices.  Here, we have provided you with suggestions for teaching Web-enhanced, Hybrid and Online Courses that can help you to better reach all of your students, particularly, students with disabilities.  We present you with examples of instructing Distance Learning classes, providing resources for Accessibility, and a short video about Making Distance Learning Accessible to Everyone.

Universal Design takes into consideration the needs of the “average” and the “unique” learner.  The main goal is to design an educational experience that is accessible by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. By developing a course that is accessible, the need for adaptations at a later time can be minimized or eliminated.

Some tips for developing Universal Design in the classroom can be found at the DO-IT website.