Faculty Resources

Accessibility & Disability Services (ADS) recognizes disability as an aspect of diversity and collaborates with the university community to create a culture of inclusion. We are committed to building partnerships with faculty to ensure equal access is provided to students with disabilities without altering the essential elements of coursework. 

Accommodate Portal for faculty

Towson Accommodate portal is an online system used to set up and manage accommodations for students with disabilities at Towson University. The Accommodate faculty portal provides you with one location do the following:

  • Manage your students’ Testing Center requests.
  • View approved accommodations for students enrolled in your classes.

Only students who are registered with ADS for accommodations and who have requested their notification letters will appear in the faculty portal.

Visit Towson Accommodate and sign in by using your Towson NetID.

Accommodate Instructions

For faculty unfamiliar with Accommodate, please see the following instruction guides:

The Accommodation Process

Determining and implementing accommodations is meant to be an interactive process between the student, faculty and ADS office. Students are expected to discuss the impact of their disability and accommodations with their faculty as they relate to the specific course requirements. Students may choose not to use all of their accommodations in every course. However, the student should discuss with faculty the ones they will be using in the course.

Please note:

  • Disability-related information is confidential and the student  should not be identified as having a disability in front of others.
  • Students should provide their letter of accommodation to faculty in a timely  manner, allowing adequate time to implement accommodations. 
  • Students can register with ADS at any time during the semester; however, accommodations are not retroactive. Faculty are not required to provide accommodations until the student provides their letter of accommodation.
  • Faculty should not provide accommodations on the basis of a student's disability that are not specified in their letter of accommodation without consulting ADS.

Five Things Faculty Should Know for Finals

  1. Exams and approvals should be uploaded to Accommodate as soon as possible, but no later than 24-48 hours prior to the student’s testing appointment.
  2. If you need to alter the exam after the initial upload in Accommodate, please email so we can make sure that we provide the updated exam.
  3. If you are administering an online exam, please have the exam set to open during the scheduled testing time, have the exam time adjusted to reflect the student’s accommodated time, and provide a password to the ADS Testing Center in advance (if needed).
  4. Provide the best phone number to reach you during the appointment time in case any concerns/questions arise during the student’s scheduled appointment.
  5. If you elect to have your completed exams delivered, please note that exams will not be delivered if the academic department is closed or if a staff member of that department is not present to sign off during the delivery. An attempt to deliver the exam will be made the next day.

Recommended Syllabus Statement

Accessibility and Disability Services recommends that all professors include a statement in their course syllabus and ensure that students are aware of the statement when they review the syllabus. This approach indicates the willingness of the professor to assist students with disabilities who may require reasonable accommodations.  

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Towson University is committed to providing equal opportunity and access for students with disabilities by removing barriers to participation and providing reasonable accommodations. If you have an Accommodation Memo from Accessibility and Disability Services (ADS), it is important that you share it with me as soon as possible so we can discuss your accommodations as they relate to this course. If you are not registered with ADS and would like more information, please contact the office at 410-704-2638 or tuads@towson.edu or visit the website at https://www.towson.edu/accessibility-disability-services/.

Accessible Teaching and Learning for Students with Disabilities

Digital Accessibility

Barriers to accessibility and accommodation needs in an online learning environment may be different from in-person instruction.  Here are some suggested guidelines and resources.

You can facilitate accessibility by creating digital materials that will benefit students with a wide variety of learning needs. This can reduce the need for reactive accommodation and improve access for all students. To help make your courses more accessible and inclusive, see Technology and Information Accessibility.

Accessible Teaching and Learning for Students with Disabilities

Digital Accessibility

Barriers to accessibility and accommodation needs in an online learning environment may be different from in-person instruction.  Here are some suggested guidelines and resources.

You can facilitate accessibility by creating digital materials that will benefit students with a wide variety of learning needs. This can reduce the need for reactive accommodation and improve access for all students. To help make your courses more accessible and inclusive, see Technology and Information Accessibility.

Online Teaching FAQs

Know who is eligible to receive accommodations so early arrangements can be made. If you are unsure, it is appropriate to email the whole class, asking any student who is approved for accommodations to follow up with you. Honor current accommodations for students with disabilities, and encourage students to contact their ADS specialist if different accommodations are needed.

ADS will issue an updated accommodation memo if new accommodations are approved. ADS can email you digital copies of accommodation memos.

Each student works with an assigned ADS Specialist who is listed on the accommodation memo. The specialist will be able to answer questions about student accommodations. If you are unsure who the student’s specialist is, you can email .

In a recent survey of students registered with ADS, 65% said their disability symptoms impacted them more in an online environment as compared to the traditional classroom. The barriers cited most often included difficulty sustaining attention and staying organized in a online environment, reduced access to instructors to answer questions, taking longer to complete tasks/assignments, and greater difficulty understanding course information than in a face-to-face setting.

Recording class lectures promotes accessibility for students with disabilities and can enhance the educational experience for all students (e.g., students with different learning styles, non-native speakers of English and students struggling with the course material). A recorded lecture allows students to refer back to the recording while studying, fill in gaps in their notes, and revisit complex information to grasp challenging concepts.  Additionally, captioning recorded lectures ensures accessibility for students with disabilities and fosters greater engagement and focus for all students through both hearing and seeing the verbal information presented. Here is an additional resource from the DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) Center with more suggestions for teaching accessible online courses.

Students who are approved for testing accommodations should take their tests online as administered by the instructor. Timed online tests will require the instructor to adjust the student’s testing time in Blackboard prior to the test date.   

For hybrid courses that offer some in-person instruction, as well as the opportunity to take tests in the classroom, ADS students may take their tests in the Testing Center. Students should submit an Online Test Accommodation Request Form to schedule a test with the Testing Center at least five business days in advance of the test date. 

For further information, please call the Testing Services Center line at 410-704-2304 or contact Patrick Chachulski, Testing Coordinator, at .  

  • Students with disabilities often need additional time, and some may take longer to complete assignments when learning online. Being flexible with requests for a reasonable extension on an assignment can be helpful. 
  • Keep the structure of your Blackboard page simple and organized.
  • When changing course requirements, such as due dates, make them directly on the syllabus in Blackboard rather than only communicating changes by email.
  • Chat rooms can present challenges for some students, so offer an alternative or make them optional.
  • Being available to answer questions is particularly important for students with disabilities. Holding virtual office hours is very helpful, as is responding to questions in a timely way.