Following Up With Your Instructors
A Guide To Communicating With Your Instructors
You must follow up with your instructor during the first week of classes, after the faculty notification letters have been delivered, through email or an in-person meeting, if available. Be sure to check your instructor’s syllabus for their preferred method of communication.
Communication with your instructors is an important part of your accommodations. It’s important that this conversation is done directly to your instructor in private. This is to protect your privacy and ensure that there are no distractions during your conversation.
You are not required to disclose your disability, and the instructor should not ask you to. It is completely up to you how much you want to share. This is, however, your opportunity to communicate your learning needs. It’s very helpful to provide information about your barriers in the classroom. Perhaps notetaking is particularly difficult? Do you need large-print or digital material? Do specific testing accommodations work better than others? Share your strengths along with your accommodations and the strategies that have been helpful to you in the past. Think of specific examples of when your barriers interfere with learning.
Starting this conversation is often the most difficult part of self-advocacy. You can start this conversation with “I am registered with the Center for Disability Services Office and would like to talk with you about my accommodations. You should have received my Faculty Notification Letter in your email with my eligible accommodations that I requested.”
If you have started this conversation through email, be sure to allow for a few days at the beginning of the quarter, since there may be many students messaging the instructor.
Your accommodations may be implemented differently, depending on how each course is structured. You and your instructor should be determining the expectations for accommodations during this meeting.
Here are some possible conversation topics:
- Do you have any questions for me about my accommodations?
- I wanted to make sure that I talked to you because I’m wondering how we will make sure I receive this accommodation in class.
- Do you anticipate anything we need to work through to make sure my accommodations go smoothly?
- What is your attendance policy?
- What resources do you think I should use to be successful in this class?
- I’m worried about part of this class, do you have any suggestions for me on how I should approach this?
- How will we handle specific barriers when they arise?
- What is the best way to communicate when I am facing a challenge and need help?
Students who are scheduling exams in CDS and need to schedule an exam other than class time due to back-to-back classes or classes that are outside of the CDS exam hours, Monday-Thursday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m and Friday by appointment, are encouraged to discuss with their instructors an agreed day/time for their exams. This will ensure that you will have your full allotted time for exams.
Remember, instructors are here to help you be successful! This is a great opportunity to work together to find solutions to any potential problems. If you need additional support, let the CDS Office know and we will work to support you.
After you meet with your instructors, be sure you’ve completed the additional steps to get your accommodations.