Faculty Handbook
Return to Table of Contents
VIII. P. FACULTY REQUESTS FOR WORK ACCOMMODATIONS
(Source: Approved by CAPP on April 7, 2020)
The college will provide reasonable accommodations to faculty members with disabilities to enable them to carry out the essential functions of their positions, provided the accommodations do not cause undue hardship to the college. All faculty members must accomplish the essential functions of their positions.
Accommodations will be evaluated and determined on an individualized basis through a collaborative process that generally includes a discussion with the faculty member, the chair of the department or other suitable alternative, the Dean of the Faculty, and Human Resources.
Though each request is unique, the process will include the following steps:
- To initiate a request for accommodation, the faculty member should contact the Human Resources office with documentation from a qualified medical and/or mental health professional. The documentation must identify the functions that cannot be performed, expected duration of the disability, and recommended accommodations. In some cases Human Resources may also require, at the College’s expense, that the employee obtain a second medical certification from a health care provider selected by the College. In the event that the first and second opinions differ, the College may require a third medical certification from a mutually agreed upon health care provider, again at the College’s expense. The third opinion will be binding on the employee and on the College.
- Human resources will set up a meeting or meetings with the faculty member, the department chair (or suitable alternative) and the Dean of the Faculty. Human Resources will share with the chair and the Dean of the Faculty the specifications of the request for accommodations. The goal of the meeting is to identify the essential and marginal functions of the position, to discuss how the college might provide a reasonable accommodation that takes into account the needs of the faculty member, their students, and the College as well as any accompanying hardships. Participants in the meeting may suggest accommodations that would assist the faculty member in performing the essential functions of their role. The discussion is generally not about the diagnosis, only about the limitations. To the extent necessary, the discussion shall include a long-term plan for dealing with changes in the faculty member’s limitations over time, the need for further evaluations, and a review of the effectiveness of the accommodation.
- In most cases, an agreement on a specific accommodation can be made during one collaborative meeting. If an agreement is not made in one meeting, further meetings may be held between the faculty member and Human Resources and between Human Resources and the department chair and the Dean of the Faculty. The Dean of the Faculty is responsible for making the final determination on what is a reasonable accommodation. A faculty member who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Dean of the Faculty may appeal to the Faculty Appeals and Review Committee.
- Human Resources will document the accommodation agreement and provide a copy of this to the faculty member, to the chair and to the Dean of the Faculty. A copy of the accommodation plan will be placed in the medical file in Human Resources. At the request of the faculty member, CAT may be notified of an accommodation by the Dean of the Faculty by placing a letter to that effect in the faculty member’s CAT file. Medical information would not normally be shared with CAT, but the fact that an accommodation was granted and the nature of the accommodation may be shared if the faculty member requests it.