Graduate Student Accommodations and Professional Standards Guideline

Graduate programs are responsible for providing an outline of the academic, programmatic, performance , professionalism, accreditation, compliance, safety, and non-classroom requirements (including hourly and shift requirements) to BMAC.  That outline should also include a list of course numbers that apply to lab, internship, practica, and clinical experiences and specify clear limits on how often a graduate student can be tardy or absent from class or from a lab, internship, teaching, or clinical assignment and still allow faculty and external mentors to assess whether the graduate student is meeting course and program objectives. This outline will provide the framework for identifying appropriate and reasonable accommodations for graduate students in that degree program. Of note, per the Office of Civil Rights, accommodations cannot be denied on the basis of individual faculty capacity and standard course practices. 

Faculty must refer graduate students to BMAC if they are approached about an accommodation for their courses to ensure that both the graduate students’ privacy is protected and BMAC is engaged in the interactive accommodations process.

Graduate programs must clearly communicate the academic requirements, programmatic expectations, performance standards, professionalism expectations, accreditation requirements, compliance mandates, safety requirements, and the type of non-classroom expectations (including hourly and shift requirements) to prospective and newly admitted graduate students. That information will help students assess whether the program and the accommodations available in their profession will meet their needs. Programs must ensure that these requirements are clearly communicated prior to applicants accepting their admission offer.

When a graduate student requests accommodations, BMAC must collaborate with departments and the student’s program BMAC-designee to reach an agreement about what accommodations are both reasonable for a particular student and in alignment with the legal, accreditation, and professional requirements of the discipline. In most cases, accommodations aligned to the general guidance that departments provide about requirements for coursework and for clinical experiences should suffice, but some students may need more individualized accommodations. BMAC will work with graduate programs and faculty to assess whether an accommodation constitutes a fundamental alteration. 

BMAC will communicate to students undertaking a practicum outside the university that they must submit a request that BMAC act on their behalf if they wish to receive help establishing accommodations with outside organizations. In such cases, BMAC will coordinate with the student’s department or program to provide a form outlining needed accommodations with the practicum site and discuss and adjust those accommodations with site representatives and program faculty as needed.

On-campus coursework in graduate programs is most similar to undergraduate experiences in terms of appropriate and available accommodations. Nevertheless, there are important differences. Programs should communicate to BMAC and to students the maximum number of times a student can be tardy or absent from class or from an external practicum and still allow faculty and external mentors to assess whether the student is meeting course and program objectives. In contrast to undergraduate work, unlimited absences and extensions are not typically acceptable in graduate classes. Programs and faculty should work with BMAC to assess individual student accommodations related to pregnancy.

Graduate programs will provide BMAC with a list of essential job requirements for student placement roles from sites outside of the university. Graduate students who wish to receive accommodations in a lab, clinical, teaching, internship, or practicum experience with an organization outside the university must collaborate with BMAC.  They may need to allow BMAC to provide a release of functional limitations. Students must inform the outside organization of their accommodation needs and reach an agreement about what is appropriate with the outside organization(s) before starting that experience. Whenever possible, students must communicate with their CSULB site supervisors/faculty. If an unanticipated need for accommodation arises during the experience, the student must initiate the accommodation process with their faculty, BMAC, and the external site immediately.

Academic programs and faculty mentors are restricted by law from sharing students’ private information and are therefore not able to communicate student accommodation needs with external organizations. A graduate student’s failure to communicate clearly with their practicum site about needed accommodations may undermine their ability to successfully complete the requirement, delay their time to degree, and negatively affect both their grade in the designated course for the requirement, and their overall GPA. 

Graduate programs should provide BMAC with a list of course numbers that apply to lab, internship, practica, and clinical experiences so that BMAC can flag those courses that may need different kinds of accommodations than traditional coursework. 

Thesis and dissertation work requires a significantly greater degree of independent research and writing than is expected of undergraduates or in most graduate coursework. Reasonable accommodations may vary across the various stages of the culminating activity, such as the proposal, data collection, research, writing, and defense. BMAC will collaborate with the graduate student’s program to plan accommodations appropriate to both the student’s needs and the degree program requirements at each stage of the process. 

Graduate students should plan well in advance to discuss needed accommodations with BMAC and their faculty mentors/departments.

BMAC will collaborate with graduate students and their direct supervisors or graduate programs to determine appropriate accommodations and modifications within their on-campus assistantships. Those accommodations should ensure that individuals with disabilities can both fulfill essential duties required by an assistantship in their discipline of study and have access to the same experiences as those without disabilities. 

Since many graduate students attend classes in the evening or on weekends, they are not able to access BMAC and other campus resources that are open Monday - Friday 9:00 PM - 5:00 PM. BMAC must work with Graduate Studies, graduate programs, and graduate students to make sure that such students have access to information about, and support for, the accommodations they need to succeed in their program and disciplines.