Examples of Accommodations

These adjustments are designed to remove barriers while maintaining essential requirements of academic programs or job roles. They ensure individuals can fully participate without fundamentally altering standards.

Examples include:

  • For students: extended testing time, note-taking support, accessible course materials
  • For employees: modified work schedules, assistive technology, ergonomic workspaces
  • For all community members: accessible events, captioned media, interpreters, and barrier-free spaces

The goal is equal access, not advantage — providing access so that individuals can perform to their full potential.

Why Accommodations Are Important

Disability-related barriers — whether physical, digital, or social — can limit participation. Accommodations ensure comparable access to education, employment, and campus life.

Supporting Success and Participation

For students, accommodations enable academic success and persistence. For employees, they support job performance and retention. Across our institution, they ensure individuals can contribute meaningfully to teaching, research, and service.

Fostering Barrier-Free Campus Environments

Accessibility strengthens institutional culture by recognizing disability as a dimension of the campus experience. Removing barriers benefits not only individuals with disabilities, but the broader campus community.

Addressing Evolving Needs

Disabilities may be visible or invisible, temporary or permanent, and can emerge at any time. Accommodations provide flexible, individualized support that adapts to these realities.

Institutional Responsibilities

Institutions must:

  • Provide reasonable accommodations
  • Ensure accessible environments and communication
  • Maintain clear processes and accountability

Direct Accommodations

Providing reasonable accommodations means adjustments must address disability-related barriers, must enable equal participation or job performance, and cannot impose undue hardship or fundamentally alter essential requirements.

Auxiliary aids and services may be necessary, and failure to provide necessary aids may constitute discrimination under federal law. Examples of auxiliary aids include:

  • Interpreters and real-time captioning
  • Assistive technology and software
  • Speech-to-text or text-to-speech services
  • Notetaking services or shared notes

Communications

Accessibility is not only about providing accommodations—it also requires effective communication and structured processes.

To ensure clear policies and transparency, Texas A&M publishes non-discrimination and accessibility statements, clearly outlines accommodation request procedures, and provides grievance and complaint processes.

Communication is an interactive process in which both students and employees engage as individuals disclose their needs. Our institution evaluates and identifies appropriate accommodations, and then adjustments are implemented and reviewed as needed.

Care must be taken to ensure that all communications are:

  • Accessible (captioned, readable formats, assistive-compatible)
  • Timely and responsive
  • Available across all modalities (in-person, online, written, and verbal)

Communication barriers can themselves violate accessibility requirements.

Accountability

Some roles and responsibilities:

  • Faculty and supervisors must implement accommodations appropriately
  • HR and Disability Services coordinate processes
  • ADA Coordinator oversees compliance and investigates concerns

All accommodation-related information must be handled confidentially and shared only as necessary to implement accommodations.

Moving Beyond Compliance

While compliance with the law is required, effective institutions go further by:

  • Integrating universal design into teaching, technology, and workplaces
  • Designing systems that reduce the need for individual accommodations
  • Encouraging a culture where accessibility is a shared responsibility