Faculty Training Materials

Partnering to Advance Accessibility

At San Francisco State University, the Disability Programs and Resource Center (DPRC) recognizes that collaboration with faculty is essential to creating an accessible, equitable, and inclusive learning environment for all students.

DPRC partners with faculty and staff to ensure that students with disabilities have equitable access to academic programs, courses, and campus activities through the implementation of approved accommodations. These efforts support the University's commitment to accessibility and align with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The DPRC is committed to fostering a campus culture where accessibility is a shared responsibility. Through consultation, professional development, and ongoing collaboration, we support faculty in implementing accommodations, addressing accessibility barriers, and incorporating universal design principles into teaching and learning.

Written Instructions 

Go to the DPRC’s website and select “Faculty/Staff Resources” from the navigation menu and choose “myDPRC Faculty Portal”. 

Alternatively, you can select “myDPRC Faculty Portal”, a listed item in the “Faculty/Staff Resources” dropdown menu. 

Sign-in using your SFSU credentials. 

Please review the reminder regarding FERPA and student confidentiality and click the "Continue to View Student Accommodations" button. 

This will be your Faculty Portal homepage where you can view a summary list of students in your classes who have requested reasonable accommodations. Students who have not yet requested their accommodations through myDPRC will not show up until they do so. To read an individual Faculty Notification, select "View" next to the student name on the accompanying line. 

Search Students’ Eligibilities 

If you have several students, you can always search for a specific accommodation by selecting Search Students’ Eligibilities. 

Expand the Advanced Search Panel. Select a specific accommodation and then select “Search”. 

Doing so will pull up a list of students and their emails. 

Selecting one of these will provide more information regarding students who have requested these accommodations. 

Alternative formats 

Alternative formats displays a list of texts that the DPRC is converting to an alternative format for the student. Alternative formats, like Braille, text selectable PDFs and/or structured Word documents. 

Deaf and Hard of Hearing 

Under Deaf and Hard of Hearing, you will see the names of real-time captioners and Sign Language interpreters assigned to work in your class. You can also submit Video Captioning Requests on this page. 

Alternative Testing 

This section will allow you to manage the Exam Accommodations process. Please see instructions below.

How to submit the Testing Agreement

  1. Log in to your Faculty Portal and navigate to the “Alternative Testing” link on the left.
  2. Click Courses without Alternative Testing Agreement
  3. Click the button labeled “Specify’ next to the class that you wish to work on.
  4. If your class does not have exams or you would to provide the accommodations yourself, under “Exam Management Method” select the class and the appropriate “Type” to designate as such. Select Confirm to Proceed, then click Submit Your Selection at the bottom of the page. Your students will be notified accordingly.
  5. Please note, if you choose to provide the exam accommodations yourself, we ask that you contact the Exam Accommodations Coordinator to consult on how to ensure all accommodations can be provided for your students.
  6. If you would like the DPRC to administer exam accommodations for your courses, select “DPRC Will Proctor Exams.” Select Confirm to Proceed, then click Submit Your Selection at the bottom of the page.
  7. Review the policies outlined at the top and then scroll down to begin entering testing information.
  8. This agreement will automatically be used for every student in that particular course who requests exams through myDPRC.
  9. Continue to fill out the requested information, including any materials allowed on each exam. If textbooks and/or notes are allowed, please use the text box to specify what books are permitted and how many pages of notes. Please specify if this applies to every exam administered or if certain materials are allowed only on certain exam dates.
  10. Where it says, “Please list all exam dates,” enter each currently scheduled exam date for the class. Please note, the Testing Agreement cannot be changed once submitted, so if the dates of the exams may change throughout the semester, please note as such.
  11. Once complete, select the “Submit And Continue to Specify Exam Dates“ button.

Specifying Exam Dates

You can enter all exam dates for your course in a calendar format. When students enter their exam requests, they will have the option to choose from your list of exam dates or to enter their own dates. 
Note: Students requesting to take an exam at an alternate date or time must provide written approval from you (the instructor).

After the Testing Agreement is submitted 

The DPRC will consult your Testing Agreement each time a student in this course schedules an exam. You will receive notification for each approved exam schedule. You may also review all currently scheduled exams in the Alternative Testing section of your myDPRC Faculty Portal. 

The DPRC will contact you to request the exam itself about a week before the exam. You may upload the exam through myDPRC by following the instructions below 

Exam upload instructions

  1. Log in to your Faculty Portal and navigate to the “Alternative Testing” link on the left.
  2. Select the checkbox for each student and exam date you are uploading the exam materials for
  3. After selecting the student(s) and exam date(s), you can proceed to upload their exam file
    • Under Upcoming Exam File Upload
      1. Title your file (ex, Midterm Exam 1, Quiz 2, Final Exam)
      2. Avoid labeling your file with exam instructions or messages intended for our office
    • Click 'Select File'. This will not alter the file name you entered
    • Click 'Upload File'
    • If you have multiple files to upload, repeat this step for each additional exam file.
  4. If a particular exam warrants a change from the instructions provided in the Alternative Testing Agreement, you can specify what is different by adding exam instructions.
  5. Select the checkbox for each student and exam date you are specifying exam instructions for.
  6. Scroll down to Step 2: Select Specify Exam Instructions
  7. Enter the new exam instructions and click Submit

Flexibility with Attendance and Deadlines

Student requires flexible attendance and deadlines; this accommodation is effective upon completing the Faculty and Student Agreement Form for each course to create a contingency plan.

  • In order to consider this accommodation implemented, the DPRC requires that you and the student arrange a meeting to discuss and develop this contingency plan for making up exams or assignment deadlines in the event of an exacerbation of symptoms.  
  • You and the student must also agree on how many additional absences will be allowed without penalty. You must make at least one attempt to set a meeting with the student. 

Modifying attendance requirements and/or extending assignment deadlines are mandated reasonable accommodations when they do not alter the essential features of the curriculum.  

  • You and the student must agree on a reasonable plan for how the student will make up missed content and assignments without penalty.  
  • DPRC is available to consult with you about how to best implement this accommodation based on your course objectives.  
  • If at any time you think accommodations for flexibility with attendance and/or deadlines may fundamentally alter the nature of your curriculum, please consult with the DPRC by email at dprc@sfsu.edu. 

The student will complete the Faculty and Student Agreement form in myDPRC with input from the instructor. A copy of the questions are listed below. You may download a PDF version as well. Once complete, an email of this agreement is sent to the student, the instructor, and the DPRC. If any edits are needed after the form is completed, the DPRC will update the form.  

Questions asked in the Faculty and Student Agreement Form 

1. Standard number of absences allowed in the above referenced course: 

2. How many additional absences will be allowed without penalty? 

3. Method by which student will notify instructor when an exacerbation of symptoms occurs: (select one) 

  • E-mail  
  • Phone  
  • Both (Provide instructor's email and phone number)  

4. Indicate a time frame in which student will notify instructor when flexibility is needed (select one) 

  • As soon as it happens (if possible) 
  • Within 2 days of return to school 
  • Other (Specify) 

5. Faculty/student agreement regarding how to establish new due dates/deadlines: 

6. In the event the missed class session falls on an exam date, how long will the student have to reschedule the exam with the DPRC Testing Program? (Note: it is the student’s responsibility to contact the DPRC Testing Program to schedule this testing appointment) 

DPRC staff are available to consult with you on the general structure of your course as well as on specific assignments. You can also find some tips and things to consider when considering how to implement flex in your course.  

  • One thing to remember is that you are teaching to your Student Learning Objectives, which means you are often not bound to one pathway to achieving those SLOs.  
  • For example, consider whether group work is fundamental to the SLO or if it just the path you have chosen to arrive at the SLO. If it is the path, not the outcome, it’s a place where you can be flexible and creative with students who need to use flex.  
  • Keep in mind that Flexibility as an accommodation applies to your course beyond what you have in your syllabus and is applicable to classes where instructors already have some flexibility built into their syllabus. 

Attendance: 

  • If your class does a warmup writing activity, consider sending the prompt to the student the night before class. 
  • Is there another section the student might attend if necessary (e.g. another class doing the same lab activity at a later time or date)? 
  • Is your course highly interactive or mostly lecture based? 
  • What exceptions do you tend to make under the university’s Excused Absence Policy and how do you make sure those students are able to make up the work? (e.g. student athletes, students in performing arts or otherwise representing the university in sanctioned events). 

Deadlines: 

  • Consider your typical grading cadence. Do you grade assignments the same day they are turned in? If not, is it reasonable to allow an extension up to the date you plan to grade an assignment if needed? 
  • Does the course have a specific, set scaffolding structure? For example, do you need to post answers prior to teaching new content? If so, is it reasonable to extend a deadline up to the date when answers are posted? If not, what is a reasonable extension in your course? 

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