Contact us

Our office hours are 9 am to 4 pm,
Monday to Friday

Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL)
1250 Maggie Benston Centre
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby BC V5A 1S6
Email: caladmin@sfu.ca
Phone: 778.782.3112
Secure Fax: 778.782.4384

Visit our Accessibility Information Page to find detailed information about our office and its accessibility considerations.

Faculty & Instructor Rights and Responsibilities

FACULTY AND INSTRUCTORS HAVE THE RIGHT TO:

  • Establish standards for courses and academic programs.
  • Consult with the CAL regarding reasonable accommodations given the academic requirements of a course.

FACULTY AND INSTRUCTORS HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO:

  • Evaluate students solely on the basis of their academic performance.
  • Consider including a statement on course syllabi that informs students about the process for requesting and receiving reasonable accommodations based on disability.
  • Provide academic accommodations as recommended by the CAL up to the point of undue hardship (faculty and instructors are not expected to lower academic standards by compromising requirements that are essential to the course).
  • Explore and discuss with the CAL any alternatives if the recommended accommodation appears to be unworkable.
  • Participate in the discussion and implementation of reasonable academic accommodation (please note that once notified by the CAL of a student’s request for an accommodation, the faculty member or instructor may accept and implement the recommendations without further discussion).
  • Discuss with the CAL any concerns that should arise with recommended academic accommodations . In general faculty members or instructors should not be approaching the student directly without having first consulted with the CAL .
  • Deny accommodations to students where an Accommodation Notification from the CAL has not been received, or the student's requested accommodation is not found on the Accommodation Notification.
  • Acknowledge that requests for reasonable academic accommodations can be difficult for some students, making sensitivity, confidentiality and understanding critical.
  • If documentation and/or accommodation requests are submitted directly to a faculty member or instructor without a Notification from the CAL, the faculty member or instructor is encouraged to refer the student to CAL.
  • Foster a learning environment that is accessible to all learners.