Disability Access Services FAQs
We encourage any students who anticipate barriers in accessing or participating in classes, programs, or opportunities at NMSU to contact our office. We will work with the student to understand their access concerns and to determine if accommodations are appropriate. We work with students with permanent disabilities, but also temporary disabilities including illnesses and injuries.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, an individual with a disability is someone who experiences or lives with an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, or who is regarded as, or has a history of being regarded as, an individual with a disability. Major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working. Major Bodily Functions include, but are not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.
An accommodation is a change, alteration or modification to a policy, practice or procedure (or to the way things are customarily done), that provides an equal opportunity to an individual with a disability. Examples of accommodations include, but are not limited to, sign language interpreters, materials in alternative formats (such as braille, different font size or digital format), and assistive listening devices.
If a student has been approved to receive academic accommodations, they will request that a notice of accommodations be emailed to you and you will verify receipt. As a faculty member you will also be able to access the faculty online portal to our case management system Accessibility Information Management (AIM) where you can view all the student registered in your courses who receive approved accommodations. Please contact the DAS office if you have any questions.
Unless it is specified in the letter, accommodations are not applied retroactively. There may be certain circumstances where a retroactive accommodation are appropriate (for example, if a student who needs course materials or recordings in an accessible format, including materials from earlier in the semester).
