Using the D&A Instructor Portal offers many benefits to instructors and students with accommodations. Below are a few key benefits to utilizing the Instructor Portal.
Instructors and students are notified at the same time when Accommodation Letters are ready.
The new notification systems sends an email to the instructor and student once an Accommodation Letter has been generated by D&A. Many students are nervous or intimidated about notifying their instructors about their accommodations and this email serves as the initial notification to instructors. Students still must discuss their accommodations with their instructors before the accommodations can be provided. If instructors receive an email notification but do not hear from the student we encourage the instructor to reach out to the student to ask to set up a time to meet. Many students are still learning self-advocacy skills and a prompt from the instructor can help students realize the importance of communicating with the instructor to coordinate their accommodations.
Instructors can view Accommodation Letters and associated handouts prior to meeting with the student.
Viewing Accommodation Letters online allows the instructor to better prepare to discuss accommodations with the student and to have time to think through how the listed accommodations will be provided. If instructors are not familiar with a listed accommodation, they can reference the D&A Website or contact the student’s Access Coordinator for more information. Even if an instructor views an Accommodation Letter and confirms receipt of the Accommodation Letter online they must still meet with the student to discuss the approved accommodations and how they will be provided.
Instructors can view Accommodation Letters online and don’t have to keep track of paper letters.
As the number of students with accommodations increases, it can be difficult to keep track of paper Accommodation Letters. The Instructor Portal allows you to view Accommodation Letters online as PDFs, which can be downloaded and viewed as many times as necessary throughout the semester.
Don’t want to use the D&A Instructor Web Portal?
The Instructor Web Portal is an optional tool instructors can choose to use. Instructors should communicate with students about whether or not they plan to use the Instructor Web Portal to coordinate accommodations. Instructors should let students know if they still need to deliver a hard copy of the Accommodation Letter (and any associated handouts) or if the instructor will be accessing this information via the Instructor Web Portal. Students and instructors still must discuss the Accommodation Letter and approved accommodations before accommodations can be provided.
We hope the D&A Instructor Portal will be a useful tool for instructors in managing their students’ accommodations!