Requests for Accommodations
The process of requesting accommodations for field placements should begin with a conversation between the student and the DRC Access Counselor & Consultant (AC&C). It is best that the request for accommodations is made as soon after the student secures a field placement as possible. The process of determining reasonable accommodations in field placements is collaborative so the initial discussion with the DRC AC&C will then lead to subsequent conversations most likely involving the DRC Director, the program’s Field Placement Coordinator, and the Field Placement Site Supervisor.
If a student decides to notify their academic department or site of their disability and/or need for accommodations first, those informed individuals will alert the DRC of the request and the student will be referred to the DRC to officially begin the process of requesting accommodations. If a student does not disclose a disability to, or request accommodations through the DRC, the student may be held to the same expectations as all other field placement participants.
Finally, accommodations cannot be applied retroactively, meaning that all accommodations are official from the day the DRC sends field accommodation letters to the student’s site supervisor and moving forward.