Disability Management System
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Process for Review & Implementation of Accommodation Requests

Looking for information about how to submit a request for accommodations? Please go to REQUESTS.

Process for:

1. Undergraduate students who wish to be considered for reasonable accommodations must self-identify to the Student Disability Access Office by submitting:

  1. Please log into the Accommodate portal by clicking here: 
  2. Provide medical documenation from your provider (this provider needs to have an established relationship with you and cannot be a family member) that addresses your disability and the barriers you experience with regard to your disability. The documenation can address suggestions of accommodations that may mitigate the barriers you are experiencing. Documentation may be submitted in various ways:
    • online along with your request form;
    • emailed to sdao@duke.edu; or
    • faxed to (919) 668-3977

Confidentiality: The Student Disability Access Office is committed to protecting the confidentiality of student records in our possession. We retain student records in compliance with both state and federal law, in particular with the Family Education Right and Privacy Act (FERPA).

2.  The student’s request form and documentation is thoroughly reviewed by the SDAO staff. If additional documentation is necessary, SDAO will inform the student via email and it is the student’s responsibility to provide the requested information as soon as possible.

3.  SDAO will engage in an interactive process with the student, and the partners SDAO works with on campus, as appropriate. 

4.  Once the above process is completed, SDAO will contact the student via email to schedule a registration appointment with a accessibility coordinator

5. Approved accommodations are agreed upon through the interactive process and  are recorded on the Formal Accommodation Agreement, which is signed and dated by the student and SDAO staff.

6 Following the registration appointment, the Academic Dean is notified that the student has completed the registration process.

7  The student is responsible to request a semester renewal (of accommodations) every semester in order to have the Professor Accommodation Letter emailed to their faculty. Once the renewal is complete, the student should contact their faculty to discuss the implementation of their accommodations in each class. If you receive testing accommodations, it is your responsibility to check your syllabi and learn how your testing accommodations will be implemented. All students with testing accommodations can schedule their tests in the testing center on campus. 

8. The student is responsible for requesting a meeting with each professor to discuss the implementation of the approved accommodations.

9 .  If questions or concerns arise regarding the implementation of accommodations, the student is responsible for contacting their accessibility coordinator.

  1. If a student disagrees with eligibility and/or accommodation decisions made by the Student Disability Access Office, it is recommended that the student discuss their questions and concerns with their SDAO accessibility coordinator
  2. If the student is still unsatisfied with eligibility and/or accommodation decisions, the student will be directed to meet with the SDAO Director (Leigh Bhe)  and/or the DMS Executive Director (Christina Kline) to discuss their concerns.

1. Graduate and Professional students who wish  be considered for reasonable accommodations must self-identify to the Student Disability Access Office by 

  1. Please log into the Accommodate portal by clicking here: 
  2. Provide medical documenation from your provider (this provider needs to have an established relationship with you and cannot be a family member) that addresses your disability and the barriers you experience with regard to your disability. The documenation can address suggestions of accommodations that may mitigate the barriers you are experiencing. Documentation may be submitted in various ways:
    • online along with your request form;
    • emailed to sdao@duke.edu; or
    • faxed to (919) 668-3977

Confidentiality: The Student Disability Access Office is committed to protecting the confidentiality of student records in our possession. We retain student records in compliance with both state and federal law, in particular with the Family Education Right and Privacy Act (FERPA).

2.  The student’s request form and documentation is thoroughly reviewed by the SDAO staff. If additional documentation is necessary, SDAO will inform the student via email and it is the student’s responsibility to provide the requested information as soon as possible.

3.  SDAO will engage in an interactive process with the student, and the partners SDAO works with on campus, as appropriate. For Graduate and Professional Students, the accessibility coordinator will also work directly with the Disability Services Liaison (DSL) in the appropriate graduate and professional program. The DSL works directly with the student on the implementation of the particular accommodations within their program. 

4.  Once the above process is completed, SDAO will contact the student via email to schedule a registration appointment with a accessibility coordinator

5. Approved accommodations are agreed upon through the interactive process and are recorded on the Formal Accommodation Agreement, which is signed and dated by the student and SDAO staff.

6. The student should meet with the DSL and discuss the logistics of how the accommodations will be implemented in their program.

7. The student is responsible for requesting a meeting with each professor to discuss the implementation of the approved accommodations.

8.  If questions or concerns arise regarding the implementation of accommodations, the student is responsible for contacting their accessibility coordinator.

  1. If a student disagrees with eligibility and/or accommodation decisions made by the Student Disability Access Office, it is recommended that the student discuss their questions and concerns with their SDAO accessibility coordinator.
  2. If the student is still unsatisfied with eligibility and/or accommodation decisions, the student will be directed to meet with the SDAO Director (Leigh Bhe)  and/or the DMS Executive Director (Christina Kline) to discuss their concerns.

The Disability Management System (DMS) is the office on campus charged with the responsibility of working with qualified employees with disabilities in exploring possible coverage and associated necessary and appropriate accommodations for purposes of Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.  We have an interactive process in place for employees who request to be considered for necessary and appropriate accommodations that includes the employee, DMS, Employee Occupational Health & Wellness (EOHW) and the supervisor/HR Representative. Please note: this is a voluntary process.

  1. Submit a Reasonable Request form (which you can fill out online or fill out a hard copy, scan and email to dukedms@duke.edu or fax to (919) 668-3977. If you have issues accessing the form online, please reach out to DMS staff for options. 
  2. You (the employee) should expect to hear from EOHW within a week of corresponding with DMS. If you (the employee) have not heard back from EOHW after one week, please contact EOHW at 919-681-0518.
  3. After reviewing your documentation and possibly meeting with you as needed, EOHW will make the determination if your impairment meets the criteria of a disability under the ADA and if the accommodations requested are medically necessary for your condition based on the disabling health condition. 
  4. Our department (DMS) will receive a copy of the report from EOHW. 
  5. If your impairment meets the criteria of a disability, DMS will request from your supervisor an Essential Job Function Analysis form. All we state to the supervisor is that you are seeking reasonable accommodations and they must fill out the form to explain your essential job function. No personal health information is shared with your supervisor.
  6. Once we have received the completed Essential Job Function Analysis form, the DMS office will send a letter to your supervisor (we do not disclose your disability) and ask if the listed accommodations recommended by your Health Care Professional and reviewed by EOHW would be able to be implemented by your work unit. 
  7. If your department is able to implement your requested accommodations, you will be notified by a member of the DMS team via letter that your requested accommodations will be implemented. 
    • Contact your Supervisor to schedule a meeting to discuss how the accommodations will be implemented.
  8. If your department states no, they must give a detailed description of the business necessity to DMS that prevents them from implementing the accommodations. You will be notified by a member of the DMS team via letter that we were unable to identify any reasonable accommodations that would enable you to perform the essential components of your position.
    • Contact your Supervisor and Human Resource Representative to schedule a meeting to discuss your work status and/or leave options. 

After you meet with your Supervisor, contact DMS for a referral to Transition Services. Duke will work to reassign you to a vacant position that is equivalent in terms of pay, status, or other relevant factors (e.g., benefits, geographical location) if you are qualified for the position. If there is no vacant equivalent position, Duke will reassign you to a vacant lower level position for which you are qualified. Please note, there is a possibility that there may be no vacant positions for which you are qualified. You (the employee) will be placed on an ADA protected Personal Leave Of Absence while Duke works with you to explore reassignment.

Please note: if your requested accommodation is temporary (less than 6 months) possible accommodations may include, but are not limited to, the following: temporary reassignment to alternate work or another position in your department, FMLA, extension of job protection as an accommodation, a Personal Leave of Absence or short term disability. 
 

If you are a visitor to Duke requesting accommodations, please complete a request form at least 5 days in advance of your visit.