[Athen] Helping a blind student survive physical anthropology

[Matson, Eric (ecmatson at uidaho.edu) via athen-list]

For labs, you would most likely need to review the fundamental alteration question for each lab, as each week likely has different learning objectives.  University of Oregon has a good Fundamental Alteration page with links to OCR resolutions - Fundamental Alteration Assessment Process | UO Accessible Education Center<https://aec.uoregon.edu/fundamental-alteration-assessment-process>.  I also like how UCLA has roles and responsibilities outlined on their fundamental alteration page - Determining Essential Requirements and Fundamental Alterations | Center for Accessible Education<https://cae.ucla.edu/appeals-grievances/alterations-requirements-fundamental>. We have one or two students a semester that have an accommodation for a lab assistant.  I usually navigate safety concerns about extra people or equipment in the lab, and my director navigates any fundamental alteration concerns. So like Robert said, this needs to get bumped up the chain.

Is the instructor creating the labs or are they using something from one of the major publishers? If the labs are from a publisher, reaching out to their accessibility department might also be useful. Natalie Davison at Boise State University shared with me that a lot of those course packets have accessibility features that just need to be turned on.  She's also done a lot of amazing work on STEM content for blind students.

Also, just want to echo Robert's sentiment that the student usually has more authority in these situations than staff. I've had a few times where nothing was happening until the student started raising a stink.  It sucks, but sometimes an OCR complaint is the only way to get anything changed.

I've never taken an anthropology lab, so if you're able to share the specific challenges in this lab, might be able to come up with more concrete solutions.

Happy Friday everyone!

Eric Matson | Assistant Director - Assistive Technology & Accommodation Operations
Center for Disability Access and Resources
Division of Student Affairs
The University of Idaho
Phone: 208.885.6307 | ecmatson at uidaho.edu|<mailto:ecmatson at uidaho.edu%7C> Message me on Teams<https://teams.microsoft.com/l/chat/0/0?users=ecmatson@uidaho.edu>
Bruce M. Pitman Center 127
Fax: 208.885.9404
Campus Zip: 4257

Treasurer - Idaho Partnership on Higher Education and Disability
Pronouns: He / Him / His



From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman22.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of Robert Beach via athen-list
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2025 6:34 AM
To: Deborah Armstrong <armstrongdeborah at fhda.edu>; Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Helping a blind student survive physical anthropology

Accommodations are modifications to policies and procedures that allow a student with a disability to have equal access to our programs, services, and courses. Unless a modification would fundamentally alter the nature of the course or program,

Accommodations are modifications to policies and procedures that allow a student with a disability to have equal access to our programs, services, and courses. Unless a modification would fundamentally alter the nature of the course or program, the instructor cannot deny the accommodation.

So, when you say, "But this professor requires students work alone believing that lab partners encourage cheating." Your recommend of a partner is one option that would not fundamentally alter the nature of the course or program. I doubt seriously that one of the learning outcomes of the course is to perform labs independently. So, the institution is on shaky ground to let the instructor deny this accommodation.

Your other idea to allow a lab assistant is probably a better option is the student would not be leaning on another student's work. This would keep the instructor's idea of students working alone but still the give student with a disability access to the labs.

You wrote, "We don't typically hire assistants to help students; there's nothing in our budget for that." There is budget for it, it just needs to be found. It may not be in disability services' budget, but there is the entire institutional budget that has to be considered. Believe me, the cost of a lab assistant will not stand up as an undue financial burden if this goes to DOJ. A larger institutional discussion needs to happen here. I'm sure that is above your pay grade, but it is not above somebody's. Bump this up the line.

You also wrote, "I told the counselor who is panicking that we also have students with sight but physical limitations that also prevent them from performing alone in science labs and she needs to consult with the department chair for a permanent solution." You are absolutely right. There needs to be a policy put in place for this situation with guidelines as to what the assistant is and is not expected to do.

Good luck! It is a tough spot you are in. Just remember, it is not your problem to fix as you do not have the authority to do so. It may take the student making a  fuss to get anything done. In some ways, the student has more authority that you do in this situation.


Robert Lee Beach, Assistive Technology Specialist
Kansas City Kansas Community College
rbeach at kckcc.edu<mailto:rbeach at kckcc.edu>
913-288-7671

From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman22.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman22.u.washington.edu>> On Behalf Of Deborah Armstrong via athen-list
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2025 6:40 PM
To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network' <athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>
Subject: [Athen] Helping a blind student survive physical anthropology

When she started college she was low-vision but now my student is almost completely blind.
Though she's a liberal arts major she's required to take at least one science course.
We've had this problem forever; absolutely none of our science courses are accessible. They all have labs which sometimes involve working with computer simulations, and often involve measuring, pouring, looking through a microscope etc.
My suggestion has always been that the blind student works with a partner and operates as the note-taker and the person who researches the science, while the lab partner performs the physical parts of the experiment. The partner can also say if a solution changes color while the blind student can be the one who knows what the color changing signifies. This seems quite reasonable to me and that's how blind friends in the past have coped with Anthropology, biology, geology, chemistry and even meteorology labs.
But this professor requires students work alone believing that lab partners encourage cheating. This is not the first time we've had this problem and I keep being asked for another solution. We don't typically hire assistants to help students; there's nothing in our budget for that.
I told the counselor who is panicking that we also have students with sight but physical limitations that also prevent them from performing alone in science labs and she needs to consult with the department chair for a permanent solution. But I'm a paraprofessional; consulting with the department chair would be a violation of my personal role at the college.
So I'm asking the list. What have you done when this situation crops up?
And why in the heck cannot there be at least one fully accessible science course for those who have no intent to make science a major? I keep reading about all sorts of grants schools get to encourage participation in STEM for blind and visually impaired students but it's always for a particular high school or community college, or worse yet a school for the blind, and it's not applicable to anyone outside the little "test" group. someone really needs to get a grant to create a fully online mooc-style course that any disabled student who needs to fulfill a science requirement can enroll in.
--Debee


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