#  Accessibility and Accommodations 

 



 ##  

  expand\_more  

 
  

 

The Bok Center works in partnership with other offices on campus dedicated to accessibility and student accommodations, including:

- [Disability Access Office (DAO)](https://dao.fas.harvard.edu/) (Harvard College/GSAS)
- [Assistive Technology Center ](https://ess.fas.harvard.edu/assistive-technology-center/assistive-technology-center/)(ATC) at Education Support Services (ESS)
- HUIT’s [Digital Accessibility Services](https://accessibility.huit.harvard.edu/) (DAS) supports the Harvard community by offering training, consultation, and resources on accessibility.

---

#### **Student Accommodations**

Academic accommodations are individually tailored by the DAO to afford students equal access to participate in academic programs, and to eliminate barriers caused by long-term disabilities or temporary impairments.

- [DAO-approved academic accommodations](https://dao.fas.harvard.edu/accommodations/academic/) can include reasonable adjustments of course policies, including extended assignment deadlines or excused attendance, alternative methods of in-class communication or note taking, or adjustments for seated exams.
- The DAO supports students enrolled in Harvard College and GSAS. For students enrolled in any of Harvard’s graduate schools, please locate the [University Disability Resources (UDR) website](https://accessibility.harvard.edu/student-coordinators) for that program.

*What Faculty need to know:*

- [DAO Syllabus Statement](https://dao.fas.harvard.edu/syllabus-statement/): please include the following statement in your syllabus:
    - *Harvard University values inclusive excellence and providing equal educational opportunities for all students. Our goal is to remove barriers for disabled students related to inaccessible elements of instruction or design in this course. If reasonable accommodations are necessary to provide access, please contact the Disability Access Office (DAO). Accommodations do not alter fundamental requirements of the course and are not retroactive. Students should request accommodations as early as possible, since they may take time to implement. Students should notify DAO at any time during the semester if adjustments to their communicated accommodation plan are needed.*
- All student accessibility accommodations must be approved by the DAO Office: neither course heads nor TFs, TAs, or CAs should grant accommodations at their own discretion. Students can request accommodations from the DAO at any point in the semester (though accommodations are not applied retroactively).
- If a student requires alternate format materials (such as large print text or speech to text), faculty will hear from the Assistive Technology Center.

---

#### **Universal Design**

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to designing learning environments that are accessible to as many students as possible. This can include:

- Design and format for syllabi, canvas pages, lectures, course materials, and course-related multimedia
- Best practices for live lectures and presentations
- Multimodal teaching strategies in the classroom

Using universal design principles reaches a wider audience, improves learning outcomes, and reduces the need for individualized modifications.

For more information on the UDL framework, visit: [UDL in Higher Ed](https://udloncampus.cast.org/page/udl_landing)

---

For a menu of approaches, see: [Digital Accessibility at Harvard](https://accessibility.huit.harvard.edu/get-started)