College is a shared learning environment, and accessibility works best when everyone understands their role. This page breaks down what you can expect from the Office of Accessible Education — and what’s expected of you — so accommodations work smoothly in your classes and campus life. Knowing your rights and responsibilities helps you advocate for yourself and stay on track academically.
Faculty Responsibilities
- Notify students that accommodations are available. This is achieved by:
- Announcing during the initial class session that accommodations are available for eligible students with disabilities through the OAE;
- Include a statement in the course syllabus:
- Access and Accommodations
- Stanford is committed to providing equal educational opportunities for disabled students. Disabled students are a valued and essential part of the Stanford community. We welcome you to our class.
- If you experience disability, please register with the Office of Accessible Education (OAE). Professional staff will evaluate your needs, support appropriate and reasonable accommodations, and prepare an Academic Accommodation Letter for faculty. To get started, or to re-initiate services, please visit oae.stanford.edu.
- If you already have an Academic Accommodation Letter, we invite you to share your letter with us. Academic Accommodation Letters should be shared at the earliest possible opportunity so we may partner with you and OAE to identify any barriers to access and inclusion that might be encountered in your experience of this course.
- Access and Accommodations
- Do not seek to arrange accommodations by yourself with the student.
- Maintain student confidentiality and treat all disability-related information as confidential.
- Although faculty do not have the right to ask about the nature of the disability, if students choose to disclose their disability, this information should be treated confidentially.
- Refrain from identifying the student with a disability in class or openly discussing accommodations or disability issues in front of others.
- Meet privately with a student when presented with and reviewing the Accommodation Letter.
- Consult with the OAE staff if the academic accommodation(s) recommended appear to violate the goals or requirements of the course. Recommended accommodations are open for negotiation.
- Provide accommodations only to students who are registered with the OAE and who have submitted an Accommodation Letter.
- Provide the OAE with syllabi, textbooks, course readers, etc., in advance of the quarter (5 weeks prior to the start of the quarter is recommended). Converting print materials to alternate media for students who use this accommodation is both labor and time-intensive. For texts, please provide: Title, Author(s), ISBN, Edition .
- As required by law, students with disabilities must have access to course materials in a timely fashion - that is, at the same time as do their non-disabled peers.
Faculty Rights
- Request verification of a student’s eligibility for requested accommodations in the form of an Accommodation Letter prepared by professional staff at the OAE and delivered by the student, either in person or through e-mail.
- If a student does not request accommodations and provide an Accommodation Letter from the OAE, faculty are not obligated to provide accommodations.
- The OAE is the only office designated to review disability documentation and determine eligibility for appropriate accommodations. Faculty should not solicit or review a student’s documentation, or seek to arrange accommodations directly with the student.
- Expect the student to initiate accommodations requests in a timely manner.
- Expect the student to provide prompt notification of changes to approved accommodations.
- Collaborate with the student and professional staff regarding recommended accommodations.
- Uphold academic standards and the integrity of courses and academic programs.
- Uphold conduct and technical standards of a course or program of study.
- Deny an accommodation request if it compromises the essential requirements of a course or program.
Student Rights & Responsibilities
Stanford University has an institutional commitment to providing equal educational opportunities for qualified students with disabilities in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and 2008, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. To provide equality of access for students with disabilities, accommodations (including auxiliary aids and services) will be provided to the extent necessary to comply with state and federal laws. For each student, these accommodations will specifically address those functional limitations of the disability which adversely affect equal education opportunity. Stanford has established the Office of Accessible Education (OAE) to assist qualified students with disabilities in securing such appropriate accommodations.
Accommodations include those modifications to the course, program, or educational requirements as are necessary and appropriate so that such requirements do not discriminate or have the effect of discriminating on the basis of disability. Academic requirements that are deemed essential to the course or to the program of instruction being pursued by the student or which relate directly to licensing requirements will not be regarded as discriminatory within the meaning of this section. Potential modifications that may be considered include (but are not limited to) changes in the length of time permitted for completion of degree requirements, extended time on an examination or paper, and other appropriate accommodations which do not fundamentally alter the essential nature of a course or academic program.
Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for consideration for accommodations if they have a documented disability and the OAE has met with the student and determined that functional limitations of the disability require such accommodation.
Each student bears the responsibility of initiating a disability-related request for accommodations with the OAE prior to the time such an accommodation is needed. In addition, and more specifically, it is the responsibility of the student to:
- As early as possible, register with the OAE and submit documentation of disability as a prerequisite to receiving accommodations.
- Notify the OAE immediately when an accommodation is not being provided correctly.
- Notify the OAE immediately when discontinuing an accommodation (e.g., notetaking) or dropping a course for which alternate format materials are required.
- Provide timely notification to faculty of approved accommodations by submitting the OAE Accommodation Letter.
- Provide for personal disability-related needs or services such as “personal care attendants,” transportation off campus, housekeeping, golf cart rental, wheelchair repair, etc.
- Meet the same standards—academic, technical, performance, and behavior—expected of all Stanford students.
Expectations & Responsibilities
OAE is here to support your access and success at Stanford. Learn about shared expectations, communication, and responsibilities so you can get the accommodations you need with confidence.