One aspect of creating an inclusive and welcoming classroom is including a statement in your syllabus that addresses students with disabilities. Below are two examples. Please be sure to include one of these statements, or something similar, in all your course syllabi.
Sample Syllabus Statement 1
Rutgers University welcomes students with disabilities into all of the University's educational programs. In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, a student with a disability must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation: https://ods.rutgers.edu/students/documentation-guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office will provide you and your instructor with a Letter of Accommodations. Please discuss the accommodations with your instructors as early in your courses as possible. To begin this process, please complete the registration form (https://webapps.rutgers.edu/student-ods/forms/registration).
Sample Syllabus Statement 2
Rutgers University is committed to the creation of an inclusive and safe learning environment for all students, and welcomes students with disabilities into all the University's educational programs. The Office of Disability Services (ODS) is responsible for the determination of appropriate accommodations for students who encounter barriers due to disability. Once a student has completed the ODS process (registration, initial appointment, and submitted documentation) and reasonable accommodations are determined to be necessary and appropriate, a Letter of Accommodation (LOA) can be requested and will be sent to the student and instructor. This should be done as early in the semester as possible as accommodations are not retroactive, and a discussion should occur about how the accommodations will be implemented. More information can be found at www.ods.rutgers.edu. You can contact ODS at (848)445-6800 or via email at dsoffice@echo.rutgers.edu.
