Accommodations
The university's Disability Resource Center (DRC) is part of the Office of Access and Equity.
Mission:
The mission of the Disability Resource Center (DRC) is to empower the UIC community with the knowledge, resources, and skills necessary to ensure full access and engagement for students with disabilities in all aspects of college life.
Vision:
The DRC’s ultimate vision is a barrier-free campus where diverse experiences are embraced, and accessibility is embedded in the design of campus academics, culture, and environment.
What Are Reasonable Accommodations?
The DRC works with students to determine reasonable accommodations.
Sometimes the design of a physical space, digital space, assignment, test, or other element of the UIC experience will create barriers for students with disabilities that prevent them from getting equal access. Since equal access to the college is a guarantee under the law, these students have the right to reasonable accommodations, which remove barriers to their access. Accommodations do not provide an advantage or a "leg up" to students -- they are designed to even the playing field.
- Students receiving testing (or other) accommodations will have a Letter of Accommodation (LOA) provided by the DRC.
- Each student has the responsibility to share their LOA with the instructor of the course. LOAs are written for all classes a student may take, and students may find that they do not need certain accommodations in your course or many times may not realize that they need their accommodations until some time has passed.
- Accommodations are not retroactive, and so would be in effect from the time a student shares their LOA moving forward. Of course, they also need to give you and the DRC time to prepare and organize materials, so if they share exam accommodations the day before an exam we/you might not have time to arrange for those accommodations.
Office of Student Affairs' Role
If a student needs testing accommodations, Deb Agard can assist instructors with implementing the appropriate accommodations. Please note that the DRC does not provide the Office of Student Affairs with a list of students who have received LOAs from the DRC. We are only informed if students self-disclose or if instructors notify us that they need assistance with appropriate accommodations.
The Office of Student Affairs can also collaborate with instructors and the DRC regarding the nature of the reasonable accommodations.
Additional materials for faculty about the DRC and accommodations