ADA Guidelines for MU Syllabi and Publications

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act covers programs, activities, and services of public entities, which include public universities like MU. The ADA protects qualified individuals with disabilities from discrimination on the basis of disability. The law also requires public entities to inform persons with disabilities of their ADA rights. The following guidelines are offered with these requirements as a framework.

Course syllabi should include this statement or something similar:

If you need accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please inform me immediately. Please see me privately after class, or at my office.

Office location:_______________ Office hours : __________

To request academic accommodations (for example, a notetaker), students must also register with the Office of Disability Services, S5 Memorial Union, 882-4696. It is the campus office responsible for reviewing documentation provided by students requesting academic accommodations, and for accommodations planning in cooperation with students and instructors, as needed and consistent with course requirements. For other MU resources for students with disabilities, click on "Disability Resources" on the MU homepage.

NOTE: Please also consider including a statement along these lines in your introductory remarks to your class.

Test and application announcements (whether for students, job applicants, current employees, or others) should include the following type of statement:

If you have a disability and need testing accommodations, please contact me [or name and phone number] right away so that appropriate arrangements can be made. [For employees and applicants, please add: "You may also contact the Human Resource Services Department at 882-4256 for assistance".] [For students, please add: "You may also contact Disability Services at 882-4696.]

Providing Notice of Availability of Information in Accessible Formats

Publications that describe MU services, programs, or activities (e.g. booklets) should include one of the following statements regarding availability in accessible formats:

This publication is available in accessible formats. Please call [phone no].

This publication is available in large print, Braille, on audiotape, on computer disk, [other]. Please call [phone no.]

If you need this information in an alternative format (Braille, large print, audiotape, computer disk, [other]), please call [phone no]. TTY users: please call 711. The University of Missouri-Columbia also has a Disability Services office which provides support services to students with disabilities; call (573) 882-4696 for more information.

NOTE: Individuals requesting large print usually need font size 18 or larger. Braille transcription services are limited on campus, but can be provided by the IATS Adaptive Computing Technology Center (882-2000), with advance notice for a small fee. Materials should be submitted in an ASCII file. Specialized formats and tape recorders may need to be used for audiotaping materials. Short passages can often be read directly to the person.

Providing Notice of Willingness to Provide Accommodations

Job recruitment and other publications or notices encouraging persons to call, write, visit, or otherwise contact MU should include the following type of statement:

The University of Missouri-Columbia complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. If you have a disability and need accommodations in connection with [describe event or process] [e.g. the job application process], please notify us at [address and/or telephone no.] as soon as possible so that necessary arrangements can be made.

Short version: For ADA accommodations, please contact [name] at [address/phone].

MU Statement on Nondiscrimination

Long version: for catalogs and other publications with room to spare

The University of Missouri-Columbia does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, disability, or status as a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era. Any person having inquiries concerning the University of Missouri-Columbia's compliance with implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or other civil rights laws should contact the Assistant Vice Chancellor, Human Resource Services, University of Missouri-Columbia, 130 Heinkel Building, Columbia, MO 65211, (573) 882-4256, or the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education.

Short version: for brochures and other small publications

The University of Missouri-Columbia does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, disability, or status as a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era. For more information, call the MU Human Resource Services Department at (573) 882-4256 or the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

Shortest version:

MU: An equal opportunity/ADA institution.

Revised June 2005