Frequently Asked Questions - Faculty

Will DSP Proctoring notify me of my student's DSP 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.

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 and receiving accommodations?

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...

Where can I find data about the students DSP serves and the services that DSP provides?

DSP's Annual Report and Data Dashboard provides a high-level view of DSP's service units from the past five years. It includes a full academic year (Fall, Spring, and Summer) and demonstrates unique, non-duplicative counts illustrating the scale and scope of DSP's work.

Is there a way that we could arrange to have DSP visit our departmental meetings, GSI training seminars, or committee meetings?

Yes! Members of the DSP team are happy to visit with departments, courses, and committees to share information about our work, answer questions about academic access at UC Berkeley, and to pursue opportunities to collaborate to serve our shared students and work together toward a more accessible and inclusive campus. You can email your request for a visit and/or presentation from DSP to dsp@berkeley.edu, and your request will be directed to an appropriate team member to follow up with you.

What does "fundamental alteration" mean?

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...

Who is responsible for ensuring accessibility standards are met in online courses? What resources and training are available for faculty?

Faculty are responsible for making their own websites accessible and providing accommodations for students with disabilities in an online course. There are many campus resources to assist faculty with this.

Resources for building accessible websites can be found here: https://webaccess.berkeley.edu/home

Resources for online instruction: ...

There’s been a lot of discussion about online access recently. Can you explain the difference between the accessibility standard for websites and accommodations for online classes?

UC Berkeley is required to ensure that anything posted in public forums (for example, University websites or YouTube Channels) is fully accessible to persons with disabilities and can be accessed using assistive technology ( i.e. screen readers) and also includes video captions. Any information that is posted in your official university capacity that is visible to any member of the public must meet this accessibility standard.

Online courses or websites that are only accessible to registered students must provide accommodations as described in...

How does DSP decide how much extended time students should have when taking timed exams?

All accommodations are approved to address barriers that students experience based on the impact of their disability in the context of a particular academic space, task, or requirement.

In order to determine the appropriate amount of extended exam time a student may be approved for, a Disability Specialist will review the student’s medical documentation to understand how the student’s disability may impact them in a typical timed exam setting. In addition, Disability Specialists interview students about their own experiences when taking exams...

Remote Participation: I received an email from a DSP Disability Specialist stating that a student in my class is approved for remote participation, but I don’t see this accommodation listed on any students’ accommodation letters. What should I do?

Each semester, DSP approves a very small number of students for the accommodation of remote participation. In Fall 2025, 22 of the over 5,500 students that DSP serves were approved for the accommodation of remote participation.

Because this accommodation has a higher likelihood than most other accommodations of creating a fundamental alteration concern, and because instructors often require guidance and/or assistance in implementing this accommodation, every time that a student requests to utilize the accommodation, the student’s assigned...

How does DSP decide that remote participation is an appropriate accommodation?

When a student requests the accommodation of remote participation, the Disability Specialist reviews the student’s medical information and self-report of their disability impacts to determine whether or not it is appropriate for the student to attend one or more of their classes remotely.

If the student’s medical documentation and experience do not indicate that the student cannot attend a course in person due to the impact of their disability, the Disability Specialist may request additional medical documentation and may also contact (with the student’s...