The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) notes that "reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures shall be required, unless an entity can demonstrate that making such modifications in policies, practices, or procedures, including academic requirements in postsecondary education, would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations involved."
UC Berkeley's Process for Determining a Fundamental Alteration of a Course defines a fundamental alteration as "any change to a course curriculum or course of study that is so significant that it alters the required objectives or content of the curriculum in the approved course outline of the course. A course goal or objective is defined as the learning outcome of the course; or the knowledge that the instructor expects the students in the course to acquire, and demonstrate mastery of, in course assessments."
For example:
- If a student is taking a language course that requires manually producing the written language with its characters as an instructional goal of the course, a request to use a word processor and type the words could result in a fundamental alteration.
- If a student in a PE course misses multiple essential foundational skills classes and there is no way to make up for the missed skill practice, additional disability-related absences could result in a fundamental alteration.
- If a student is taking a study strategies course that teaches and requires students to apply processes for independent note taking, a request to utilize a peer note taker could result in a fundamental alteration.
- If a student is taking a laboratory course that requires dissection and evaluation of specimen samples, a request to participate remotely could result in a fundamental alteration.
If you are concerned that an accommodation request is not reasonable or could result in a fundamental alteration of your course goals or standards, please contact the DSP Disability Specialist who sent the accommodation letter right away. Do not discuss your concerns with the student.