Office of Accessibility Services

No. Correspondence with OAS is confidential. When needed to implement an accommodation, faculty or staff will be informed of the accommodation only and not the disability or disabling condition.

No. Reasonable accommodations, once granted through OAS, are only applicable to the date granted and onward or if temporary, are noted as such.

No. Once a student has registered with OAS, the student must inform OAS of the course(s) in which they want the accommodation(s) to be implemented. Implementation of most accommodations is student-driven and in many cases requires communication and an agreement between students and faculty. Students can reach out to their instructors or faculty may contact their students.

It doesn’t. OAS reviews documentation from students’ providers and determines what may and/or may not be able to be implemented at CUNY SPH based on provider suggestions. Students’ provider letters must include the diagnosed disability and/or disabling medical condition and corresponding suggested accommodations. On occasion, but rarely, based on a student’s documented disability and/or disabling medical condition, OAS may suggest an accommodation to a student that is not suggested by the student’s provider.

No. But faculty must 1) consider possible ways that a student could reach the same learning outcomes through their approved accommodation(s) or through alternative ways, 2) communicate to their student and OAS that their approved accommodation(s) may not be able to be implemented, and 3) work with the student to make a best effort to implement the approved accommodations or through alternative ways.

The accommodation process is interactive. On occasion but rarely, a student’s accommodation(s) may fundamentally alter the course or the course’s learning objectives and it is possible that a student’s accommodation(s) may not be able to be implemented.

First, students should learn what the purpose of and the learning outcomes of the group work are. If a student and their instructor think that a student’s accommodation(s) cannot be implemented because of the required group work, the student and faculty member should discuss possible ways to meet the same learning outcomes. For support with implementing your accommodation(s) in courses with group work, students and faculty may contact OAS.

Because accommodations are unique to the individual and are suggestions made by students’ providers.

Students may submit appeals regarding accommodation determinations, academic adjustments or implementation by emailing Sahana Gupta CUNY SPH Chief Diversity Officer, Title IX Coordinator and ADA-504 Coordinator sahana.gupta@sph.cuny.edu.

Yes. Regardless of immigration status or location of the student, the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to all CUNY SPH students. Using the services provided by the Office of Accessibility Services will not impact any future immigration petition or your chances of getting your documents legalized or being granted a Permanent Residency.

No. Requesting to take an incomplete in a course is an agreement made between student and instructor.

No. Requesting a leave of absence is a separate process.

• CUNY SPH Counseling and Wellness Services
  Students seeking support may contact Counseling and Wellness Services for free short-term confidential individual counseling and support group sessions.
• CUNY Psycho-Educational Evaluation Site List
  See the CUNY Psycho-Educational Evaluation Site List that contains a list of sites where CUNY students can go to be evaluated for learning disabilities.
• CUNY Assistive Technology Services (CATS)
  CUNY Assistive Technology Services (CATS) is a team of assistive technology specialists with the goal to stay on the forefront of assistive technology, providing support for those technologies, to all students attending the various CUNY colleges.
• CUNY SPH Writing Assistance and Quantitative Tutoring
  One-to-one appointments for Writing Assistance and Quantitative Tutoring are offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Be sure to check out all available CUNY SPH Academic Resources, Student Services, and Student Resources.
• Blackboard Tips:
  • Blackboard Ally, a Blackboard Accessibility tool
    • Ally for Students in Blackboard Learn (Video – 0:45)
    • Ally Quick Start for Students
    • Alternative Formats in Ally
    • Student FAQs about Ally
  • For some useful time-management tools, see the CUNY Blackboard page, specifically the resources listed under Staying Organized and Communication:
    • How to create and manage tasks
    • Notification settings in Blackboard Learn with the Original Experience (Students)
    • Using the Blackboard calendar
• CUNY Coalition for Students with Disabilities and the Universal Design Learning and Leadership Project (UDL²) at CUNY
  The CUNY Coalition for Students with Disabilities is committed to increasing awareness, opportunity, and fostering community amongst CUNY’s more than 11,000 students with disabilities. The Universal Design Learning and Leadership (UDL²) initiative is a project housed out of Hostos Community College’s Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) in partnership with the CUNY Central Office of Student Inclusion Initiatives. It is operated by a diverse group of paid ‘student colleagues’ who are given the opportunity to elevate their leadership skills while promoting positive university-wide awareness around disability empowerment. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
• CUNY Central’s Disability & Accessibility Services
• Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)
• Disability Rights New York – Contact Us (drny.org)
• For pregnant students, see the Pregnant Scholar, Title IX Basics

• For suggestions on implementation and other useful information regarding students with disabilities, refer to CUNY’s Faculty Guide to Teaching Students with Disabilities. (As of summer 2024, this document is being edited.)
• Blackboard Ally, a Blackboard Accessibility Tool
  • Ally for LMS Help for Instructors
  • Ally Quick Start for Instructors
  • Accessibility Scores
    • Instructor FAQs for Ally
• CUNY Assistive Technology Services (CATS) is a team of assistive technology specialists with the goal to stay on the forefront of assistive technology, providing support for those technologies, to all students attending the various CUNY colleges. For example, see CUNY CATS’s how to videos and guides on:
  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Video/Audio Accessibility
  • PDF Accessibility
• CUNY SPS Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning
  To help make higher education available to as many students as possible, CUNY SPS supports course design that upholds the principles of accessibility and Universal Design in Learning (UDL). CUNY SPS offers the course Universal Design in Higher Education at least once an academic year.
• How to extend time in Blackboard for specific students.
• Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education on Campus
• ADA One, Higher Education – useful information on the Americans with Disabilities Act and higher education
• United Spinal, Disability Etiquette – tips on interacting with people with disabilities
• Teaching Strategies
  • University of Washington: The Faculty Room is a space for faculty and administrators at postsecondary institutions to learn about how to create on-site and online courses that maximize the learning of all students, including those with disabilities.
  • CAST.org leads, inspires, and convenes a global community to design equitable, inclusive learning experiences through our Universal Design for Learning framework.
  • Colorado State University: Accessibility by Design
• Designing Accessible Websites
  • Introduction to Web Accessibility
  • Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool

A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities that is permanent or temporary. This includes disabling conditions because of pregnancy and pregnancy recovery and what are commonly referred to as ‘invisible disabilities,’ for example:

• • Learning disabilities
  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or ADD
  • Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
  • Major Depressive Disorder/clinical depression (MDD)
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Physical conditions, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) and chronic pain disorders

The CUNY SPH Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) coordinates and provides reasonable accommodations and support services to students with disabilities.

The reasonable accommodation process is student-driven and self-advocacy focused. CUNY SPH Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) reviews student disability documentation for accuracy and specificity and works in collaboration with students, instructors, and CUNY SPH staff to ensure that students with disabilities are provided with equal access (a ‘level playing field’) to CUNY SPH’s academic and non-academic programs and activities.

All correspondence with the Office of Accessibility Services is confidential. For accommodation implementation, instructors and applicable CUNY SPH staff may be informed of the granted accommodation(s), but not the disability or disabling medical condition of students.

For more, see the CUNY Reasonable Accommodations and Academic Adjustments policy and the CUNY Procedures for Implementing Reasonable Accommodations and Academic Adjustments.