Disability Accommodations for Instructors

The Disabled Students' Program (DSP) is the campus office responsible for authorizing disability-related academic accommodations for students, in cooperation with the students themselves and their instructors. Students who have been approved for DSP services may provide Letters of Accommodation (LOA's) addressed to their instructor which describe the student's needed accommodations.

If you receive an LOA and have questions or concerns on how to provide the accommodations listed, please contact the Disability Specialist who sent the letter.

• Visit DSP's Letters of Accommodation webpage for more information.
• New! Please also see the Procedures & Protocols for Provision of Academic Adjustments, including Fundamental Alterations.

In general, instructors are responsible for providing accommodations for students who receive 150% extended time and/or a reduced distraction environment. DSP reserves its proctoring services for more complex accommodations, such as 200% (or more) time, a room alone, a scribe, or use of a computer.

• The DSP Proctoring webpage has information about proctoring your own DSP students and proctoring with the DSP Proctoring Center.
• The 10-point Instructor Guide to DSP Accommodations by the DSP Faculty Liaisons provides guidance and resources for proctoring.

• The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) provides guidance on syllabus design, including how to address DSP accommodations in your syllabus.
• DSP also provides a recommended syllabus statement, which you may use or modify.

Technology and Accessibility

Fostering an equitable learning experience for all Berkeley students and instructors by supporting accessible academic technology tools is a high priority. We strongly recommend instructors use Research, Teaching, and Learning’s supported learning tools which offer the benefits of accessibility, privacy, and security. By using RTL-supported tools, instructors can focus on teaching and learning, knowing they are providing a safe and accessible environment for all students. While alternative tools are available, they may not meet these critical standards. Instructors considering unsupported tools should consult with IT or the privacy office first to ensure compliance and must assume responsibility for reviewing and vetting tools for accessibility, privacy, and security. The campus is unable to provide any assistance for unsupported tools.

Guidance for Digital Accessibility of Web Content

• Required Training: In 2022, the campus entered into a Consent Decree with the Department of Justice concerning the need to ensure that web content is accessible to persons with disabilities. As part of the agreement, the Digital Accessibility Program has created a short mandatory training on this topic. The training will be assigned to employees in the UC Learning Center again in spring 2026. You may also access the How to Comply with the Web Accessibility Procedures training now.
• Additional Resources: More resources and educational materials are available on the website dap.berkeley.edu.
  • The Learn section provides guidance on the creation and remediation of accessible websites, transcripts, captions, and digital documents (like word processing, ppt/slides, PDFS, and spreadsheets), as well as digital accessibility basics that apply to all web content.
  • The Testing section provides information on Siteimprove for websites and PDFs, manual testing templates and guides, and the WAVE Evaluation tool.
  • The News & Events section provides information on upcoming and past news and training/workshop sessions.
  • Please email improving-accessibility@berkeley.edu if you have any questions or would like to meet with a digital accessibility specialist.

UCOP Guidance and Training

The UC Office of the President (UCOP) has published guidance related to academic accommodations for students with disabilities. We recommend reviewing the guidance prior to the start of instruction. Instructors can also access a recommended training opportunity that is a 10–15 minute read and contains a six-step instructor checklist for preparing for an accessible semester. Instructors are encouraged to complete the deeper dive DSP online training “Disability, Accommodation, and Access in the UC Classroom” (visit the DSP Resources for Faculty webpage and click on the “DSP New Online Training” link).