Faculty FAQs

Faculty Frequently Asked Questions

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Our Faculty FAQ is currently under construction and will be updated by the end of the day on Friday, August 22, 2025.

If you have any questions at this time, please email dsp@berkeley.edu

Faculty

Frequently Asked DSP Questions from Faculty

Introduction

There are more than 5,500 students with disabilities at UC Berkeley today including undergraduates and graduate students. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, students with disabilities have a right to full access to all of UC Berkeley’s academic environments. 

The Disabled Students’ Program is the campus department that has the responsibility of determining which accommodations, services, and adjustments each student needs to address barriers that exist based on the impact of a student's disability in the academic environment at UC Berkeley.  We do this by reviewing medical, psychological, and educational documentation and interviewing the student regarding their current and past educational experiences.

If a requested accommodation alters an objective or standard of your course, then it may not be a reasonable accommodation. 

For Example:

  • If a student with a vision disability is taking a language course that requires manually producing the written language with its characters, a request to use a word processor and type the words would most likely not be a reasonable accommodation. 
  • If a student in a PE course missed essential foundational skills classes and there is no way to make up for the missed skill practice, additional absences may not be reasonable.

If you are concerned that an accommodation request is not reasonable in your course, please contact the DSP specialist who sent the accommodation letter right away.  Please do not discuss your concerns with the student.

We hope that the information below answers many of your questions about DSP and accommodating students with disabilities.  If you have additional questions, feel free to contact the Disability Specialist assigned to the student whose accommodation is of concern to you (contact information is at the end of each student's Letter of Accommodation) or email dsp@berkeley.edu to have your email routed to the appropriate DSP unit. A list of DSP Supervisors and Managers is available on the DSP Staff Page.

Questions About DSP

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1. I have a timely question. What is the quickest way to connect with DSP staff?

Begin by consulting the student’s Letter of Accommodation (LOA).

DSP is comprised of multiple units, each with its own Supervisor and staff. If you have a question about a specific accommodation, you may find that the LOA provides an email address to directly contact the unit that processes that accommodation. In addition, each LOA concludes with the name and email of the student’s assigned Disability Specialist, who may also be of assistance.

If you have questions or concerns about the logistics of implementing students' proctoring,...

2. I have been teaching at Berkeley for some time, and the number of students with disabilities in my classes seems to increase every semester. Are more students with disabilities attending Berkeley?

In 2008, the Americans with Disabilities Act was amended, broadening the definition of disability to include more persons with non-apparent disabilities (for example, chronic health conditions and psychological disabilities). In addition, IDEA, the law that governs K-12 services for students with disabilities, has provided greater opportunity for students with disabilities to excel academically, graduate high school, and successfully matriculate to higher education.

Universities nationwide are continuing to experience growth in the numbers of...

3. What is AIM?

AIM stands for Accessible Information Management, and it is the platform that DSP utilizes to store student records and to facilitate the provision of accommodations. While AIM is integrated with the campus’s SIS and CalCentral systems, the platform both allows for student medical information to be retained separately from student academic records, and it also allows for facilitating the accommodation process. Every semester, students need to request their Letters of Accommodation and approved services via AIM, and instructors need to review students’ Letters of Accommodation and submit...

4. How do I access student information in AIM?

An illustrated guide for accessing student information in AIM is available that includes directions for creating a list of students with accommodations in your course and for downloading Letters of Accommodation.

5. I would like the GSI for my course to review student Letters of Accommodation and to let me know which students have approved accommodations. Can the GSI have access to AIM?

The instructor of record for a course can authorize proxy access for GSIs in AIM.

When logged into the AIM Faculty Portal, you will find on the furthest right-hand corner of the page an “Add Instructor” link. Clicking this button will allow you to request to add a GSI to those with instructor access to your course.

After you submit a request to have a GSI added as a proxy for your course, the person you selected will receive an email that will require them to CalNet authenticate in order for your request to be processed. You can...

Questions about General Accommodations Policies and Procedures

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A student has asked me to provide disability accommodations, but they have not yet had accommodations approved by DSP. What should I do?

Instructors are not required to provide any disability accommodations in the absence of a Letter of Accommodation (LOA) from DSP. Faculty should refer students to DSP rather than provide informal accommodations. Informal accommodations may not meet a student’s disability-related access needs.

If a student is not yet active in DSP and has an immediate concern, instructors can provide the same consideration for extenuating circumstances that they would provide for students without disabilities. For instance, if a student breaks their hand the...

A student in my class is struggling academically, and I think they may have a disability and need accommodation, but I’m not sure. What is the most appropriate way for me to make sure that a student knows about DSP and applying for accommodations?

Students may struggle with coursework for many reasons, including needing but not receiving appropriate disability accommodations, but also including balancing employment and school, balancing parenthood and school, having concerns about access to basic needs like housing and food, and navigating personal emergencies.

If you have concerns about a student’s personal or academic well-being, it can be helpful to submit a Care Report to the Center for Support and Intervention, so that a Case...

A student with a disability is enrolled in my class. What adjustments or other accommodations must I make?

If the student is being served by DSP, you will receive a Letter of Accommodation (LOA) that specifically describes the accommodations to which a student is entitled to ensure their equal access to your course. If a student requests accommodations on the basis of disability and you have not yet received an LOA, then you should ask the student to log in to their DSP account via the DSP website to request that a Letter of Accommodation from DSP is sent to you. Once you have been sent the electronic copy of the LOA, you are then required to provide the accommodations described...

Are students required to speak with faculty to initiate accommodations?

We do encourage students to have a conversation with their instructors about their accommodations. These conversations can be helpful for both parties. DSP Disability Specialists can also help facilitate these conversations and assist faculty with setting up an agreement with students about accommodations (for example, Disability Specialists can help instructors and students confirm the parameters for acceptable numbers of absences or timelines for assignment extensions). However, we cannot require students to have a conversation about their accommodations with their...

Are there ways for students to receive approval of or support for academic accommodations other than through DSP?

Yes. Students may request accommodations through other processes and offices, including the Title IX office (OPHD), Path to Care, and the Center for Support and Intervention. For questions about formal accommodation requests you receive for reasons other than disability, please reach out to the referring office with questions. More information is available at the ...

Can I send a single email to all of my students with DSP accommodations (for instance, outlining procedures for participating in an exam that I am proctoring myself)?

Yes, you can, but you must protect each student’s privacy. Be sure to address the message to yourself and to place students’ emails on the “BCC” line, and do not name students in the content of the email message.

How far in advance must students with disabilities inform an instructor about needed accommodations?

Students who work with DSP are strongly urged to request and send Letters of Accommodation as soon as they register for a course or become eligible for accommodations. However, the University must make an effort to accommodate students, regardless of the timing of the notice of a student's need for accommodations. DSP may be able to assist with late requests. Please contact the Disability Specialist who sent the student’s Letter of Accommodation if you need assistance.

How is the decision made that a student needs accommodations? How does a student become eligible for DSP services?

Not every student with a disability attending UC Berkeley is utilizing DSP services. The decision to connect with DSP is an individual choice for students with disabilities. If a disabled student believes that they will require accommodations to have equal access to participate in their academic program at UC Berkeley, they need to take the formal step of applying for accommodations.

Students first apply online to create an account with DSP that will allow DSP to keep their disability records separate from their academic and other campus...

I have questions about the Letter of Accommodation that I received for a student in my class. Who should I contact?

Each Letter of Accommodation lists the name and email address of the Disability Specialist assigned to work with the student for whom the letter was issued. The assigned Disability Specialist is your best first point of contact in addressing questions and concerns you may have about an individual student’s Letter of Accommodation.

If I receive a late Letter of Accommodation, do I need to accommodate for past weeks in the semester?

Accommodations are not retroactive, so you are not responsible for provision of accommodations prior to the date that the Letter of Accommodation is issued. You do have the discretion to retroactively accommodate a student if you would like to. For instance, if a student becomes active in DSP in the middle of the semester and their Letter of Accommodation requires flexibility with assignment deadlines, you have the discretion to accept their late work from earlier in the semester. However, you are not required to do so. If you have any concerns about the...

The location of my classroom was changed to accommodate a student with a disability. How could a change of classroom location serve as a disability accommodation?

Sometimes a student with disabilities may need to have a classroom location changed in order to have full access to your course. Most frequently, this is because an assigned classroom was not fully accessible for a student who is using a wheelchair for mobility, because the building is in a campus location that the student has significant difficulty physically travelling to and from because of the impact of their disability, or because the classroom lacks the technology needed for real-time captioning. If you have any concerns about the change, please contact ...

What are accommodations?

An accommodation is an adjustment to a practice or policy that removes a barrier that exists based on the impact of an individual’s disability in the context of the practice or policy. Academic accommodations allow for disabled students to have equal access to participate in their academic programs at UC Berkeley. While in elementary and secondary school settings it is permissible for accommodations to change the goals and standards of the curriculum, in the postsecondary setting, instructors are not required to fundamentally alter their course goals or standards in order...

What if i disagree with an accommodation that is listed in a student’s Letter of Accommodation?

Contact the Disability Specialist listed at the end of the Letter of Accommodation to address any logistical or other concerns you may have. Many concerns can be addressed and resolved directly and informally through timely communication between faculty and DSP.

While students have the right to receive disability accommodations that remove or mitigate barriers to their equal access to participate in their academic programs, instructors are not required to fundamentally alter their course goals or standards in order to accommodate disabled...

Why do we receive late Letters of Accommodation? Can you set a deadline for students to apply for accommodations each semester?

DSP does not have a deadline by which students can apply for services. Students can be diagnosed with or acquire disabilities at any time, and the process of obtaining disability documentation can also take time. Sometimes students who already have a disability identity will wait to seek services until they have first tried participating at Berkeley without formal accommodations. Students may also find that the impact of their disability has changed during the semester and that they need additional support in accessing their program of study due to this change...

Why doesn’t my student’s Letter of Accommodation state what their disability is? How can I verify that their accommodation request in my class is related to their disability?

Students with disabilities have a right to privacy regarding their medical diagnoses and medical documentation. For this reason, we ask faculty not to request medical documentation from students with disabilities. If you feel that it is necessary to verify that a student’s request is disability-related, you can contact the student’s assigned Disability Specialist, whose name and contact information is provided at the end of the student’s Letter of Accommodation. The Disability Specialist can review the student’s documentation on file and confirm whether there...

Questions about Implementing Specific Accommodations

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A student’s Letter of Accommodation states that they need to use a laptop during class, and I do not allow personal technology, including laptops, in my classroom.

Some students use assistive technology on a laptop or tablet to assist them with note taking, while others require screen-reading technology on their laptops or tablets to engage with course materials, including their textbooks, during class. If a disabled student has an accommodation for the use of a laptop or tablet in class for disability-related reasons, the instructor should allow the student to use their technology

When students are using a laptop or tablet as an approved disability accommodation, they should not be required...

Questions about Inclusive Instructional Practices

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As I’m planning my class, is there anything I can do to make my class more accessible so students require fewer accommodations to participate in my class?

Under Construction

Proctoring FAQs

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Can DSP Proctoring proctor exams at night?

Due to staffing considerations, we are unable to proctor evening exams. All regular-semester exams must end by 4:30 pm, Monday-Friday. All final exams must end no later than 6 pm. Please call our office at (510) 643-4691 or email proctoring@berkeley.edu to discuss your needs.

Can DSP Proctoring proctor exams during RRR week?

University policy prohibits administering any final assessments during RRR week. For further clarification, please consult the Committee on Courses of Instruction (COCI) Handbook, section 2.1.12 Reading, Review, and Recitation (RRR) Week Guidelines

Can DSP Proctoring proctor online exams?

We are unable to proctor online exams at this time. For assistance with online exams, please contact Digital Learning Services or email: bcourseshelp@berkeley.edu

Can I provide DSP exam accommodations myself?

Yes, so long as each student is provided with their individual accommodations. If you have any questions about specific accommodations for any student, please contact the student’s Disability Specialist for assistance.

Can I refuse a disability-related request for a make-up exam and instead drop the exam and add the points to a future exam? (sometimes known as clobber policies)

Faculty may offer this as an option to students. However, if the student has a documented disability-related need for a make-up exam as verified by the Disability Specialist, then the student has a right to take a make-up exam. The exam may be an alternate exam of the same format and difficulty as the original exam. The faculty member may also choose to administer the same exam and have the student sign an academic honesty agreement.

Can I relocate students during an exam?

Generally, no. This can be very disruptive to students who need exam accommodations. The exception would be if the chosen space was no longer appropriate because of unanticipated background noise or disruptions.

Can students in DSP take their exam at a different day and/or time than the class?

Students can only schedule their exams on the dates entered by the instructor in the Testing Agreement. However, the system will allow students to schedule their exams at any time between the hours of 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM for regular-semester exams. If you want your students to schedule their exams at a specific time it is your responsibility to notify your students to schedule their exams at the time determined by you.

For final exams, students are restricted to...

Do I need to fill out a new request for each individual exam?

Faculty need to submit a testing agreement for each class for which they are requesting exams. Once the testing agreement is submitted, students will be responsible for requesting and scheduling their own exams through their DSP Student Portal.

How can I communicate changes or errors in the exam to my students while they are taking their exam with DSP Proctoring?

To communicate any changes to your exam while the exam is taking place, please call the DSP Proctoring Center at (510) 643-4691. We will notify your students of the changes. Please keep in mind that your students may be located in different buildings, and reaching all of your students may take time.

How do I request proctoring services for exams?

To request proctoring services for your class, log in to your DSP Faculty Portal and click on the Proctoring module on the left side of the page. Click on the Testing Agreement and answer all questions in that form. Once you have submitted the testing agreement, students will be responsible for scheduling their own exams. Space is limited and we may not be able to seat all your students. We will give priority to students with complex accommodations...

If a student is late to their exam, do they receive their full amount of time?

If a student is late for their exam, they will not be granted any additional time. If they are more than 30 minutes late, they will not be allowed to start their exam unless we get approval from the instructor. We will call the contact number submitted on the proctoring request form for approval.

If a student misses their exam, can they reschedule with DSP Proctoring?

If an instructor would like us to reschedule a student’s exam, please email our office at proctoring@berkeley.edu. We will be happy to reschedule the exam at the instructor’s request. Please do not have students contact us directly to reschedule an exam. Exams can only be scheduled with faculty approval.

What measures are taken to promote academic integrity?

DSP Proctoring takes academic integrity very seriously. All of our proctors are well trained and are constantly monitoring exams in our testing locations. Students must show a photo ID when they arrive and agree to all conditions before an exam begins. Cell phones and smart watches must be turned off in front of the proctor and stowed away for the duration of the exam. Students are asked to sign in/out when using the bathroom, and proctors are continually walking the floor to deter any potential for cheating. Any suspicious activity is logged and reported to the instructor...

When can I pick up completed exams from the DSP Proctoring office?

Exams must be picked up in person in our office beginning at 8:30 am the day after the exam. Pick-up hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.

When should I drop off exams to the DSP Proctoring office?

Exams must be delivered to us in one of the following ways:

1.) Email the exam in an attachment to proctoring@berkeley.edu no later than 4:30 PM 2 BUSINESS DAYS prior to the date of the exam. Please include the Department and course number in the subject line.

2.) Upload exams through your Faculty Portal no later than 4:30 PM 2 BUSINESS DAYS prior to the date of the exam.

3.)Hand-delivered in person at the Proctoring Center no later than 4:30 pm one business day before the...

Why do students receive exam accommodations?

Exam accommodations are a more common accommodation because they accommodate students with many different types of disabilities. Some examples include: students with learning disabilities or physical disabilities who use assistive technologies may need additional time to read exam questions and produce responses; students with learning disabilities that impact processing speeds may need more time to process information; students with attention deficits may need both additional time and a reduced distraction environment.

Will DSP Proctoring notify me of my DSP student's proctoring details?

When a student's exam is approved you will receive an email thread notifying you of your students' scheduled exams, including all relevant details. You will receive a separate email for each student in one email thread.