6 Retroactive Accommodation Process
What is a Retroactive Accommodation?
A retroactive accommodation is one that is applied in the present time that affects an event or activity that has already taken place.
For example) a student is requesting to write a test or to submit an assignment after the deadline or course completion.
Students with disabilities may require retroactive accommodations when they are not aware that their condition impacted their academic performance. For instance, a student with an undiagnosed mental health matter can have the opportunity to complete such course evaluations. In addition, should a student miss said course evaluations due to an acute mental health matter, the student can complete any course evaluations within the timeframe of the absence.
Every retroactive accommodation request by a student must follow a set of procedures. These procedures are not meant to add additional barriers on the student – it is designed to give the Advisor full knowledge of the student’s situation and request.
Steps to Follow For A Retroactive Accommodation
When a student inquires about obtaining a retroactive accommodation, the Accessibility Office emails the student two forms to complete:
- Form A: is to detail which course evaluations were missed, on which dates and if there was any prior communication with the faculty.
- Form B: asks the student to explain in detail how their disability-related symptoms impacted their ability to meet academic performance expectations.
Every retroactive accommodation request is investigated, and case conferenced with all accessibility advisors and the director of The Glenn Crombie Centre. Should the case conference determine that there are sufficient grounds for a retroactive accommodation and the student has submitted additional medical documentation supporting a retroactive accommodation, then the advisor would email Form A to the Chair of the department and the Chair will notify the faculty involved and arrangements with the faculty and the student will be made to complete the missed evaluations. The accessibility office is the sole holder of all medical documentation produced by the student.
Often there is some confusion regarding compassionate requests and disability related retroactive accommodations. For instance, compassionate requests could be a death in the family, an illness such as cold or flu, childcare issues, or any other “life happening” situations which is not related to a disability. Compassionate requests should be discussed in private with the student and faculty member, or in some cases, with the Chair or Dean.
Importance of Date Accuracy in Retroactive Accommodations
Whereas a disability related retroactive accommodation is due to the student’s disability. For instance, if a student was hospitalized due to their mental health issues and they missed a few assignments or tests, then the student would be permitted to complete only those assessments which were due during their absence or hospitalization. The student would then follow the procedures mentioned earlier.
The importance of noting dates of assignments and exams/tests in e-grades is extremely important for advisors to reference. This information is crucial when the advisors are determining if a retroactive accommodation is viable. For instance, if a student was absent due to a disability related matter and supported by medical documentation, the dates posted in e-grades will give the advisors a timeline of which evaluations will be allowed to be completed in relation to the time the student was away from school. Should the dates of the assessments not correspond with the time the student stated that they were away from school, then the student would not be permitted to submit those assessments.