Class Participation Accommodation

A student may receive an accommodation for adjusted class participation or alternative forms of assessment if they experience a disability that substantially limits their functioning during cold-calling sessions, in-class discussions and/or oral presentations/crits.

In developing a course syllabus, faculty should make students fully aware of course requirements related to in-class participation. In the event that a student in the course has a class participation accommodation, the instructor could consider giving the student:

• advance notice of when they may be called upon in a class.
• advance notice of questions they will be asked during class, in order for the student to prepare responses.
• a choice of when to give a presentation.

Students with a class participation accommodation need to follow up with all relevant instructors to discuss how the accommodation applies to a given course. It is important for the student and instructor to explore the boundaries of what is reasonable for this accommodation to cover, as in some cases it may not fundamentally alter any essential elements of the course.

Offering an adjusted or alternative assignment is not a reasonable accommodation if it would fundamentally alter the essential learning objectives of the course. For example, if an essential course learning objective is for students to demonstrate an ability to engage in extemporaneous analysis and discussion, then an alternative assessment in lieu of cold-calling on students may not be a reasonable accommodation.

At RISD, studio critiques are especially essential to the learning process. Critiques (or “crits”) give students opportunities to learn a new vocabulary and to use terms that support the delivery of direct, honest feedback. It is then essential to the overall process that all students contribute to individual and group critiques and are graded on their participation.