Funding Employment or Appointment Accommodations
The University maintains a central accommodation fund for implementing reasonable accommodations for graduate students with disabilities who hold a GSI, GSSA, GSRA or temporary hourly appointment in an academic unit.
Central Accommodation Fund
The University of Michigan does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its employment, programs, services or activities. Pursuant to Titles I and II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and applicable state laws, it is the University’s policy to provide, upon request, reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities in order to ensure equal access to campus employment and other programs, services, and activities.
In the context of employment or an appointment, a reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or work environment that permits a qualified employee with a disability to perform the essential functions of a job, or to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by employees without disabilities. For example, reasonable accommodation may include:
- providing or modifying equipment or devices,
- job restructuring,
- modified work schedules,
- adjusting or modifying training materials, or policies,
- providing readers and interpreters, and
- making the workplace readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities
The determination of whether an accommodation is reasonable is contextual and involves a process in which the department and the graduate student identify the impacts of the disability on performance and workflow; explore potential accommodations to mitigate those limitations and maintain essential functions of the appointment and standards.
The accommodation process is expected to be interactive with participation from the graduate student, the appointing unit faculty, and the unit’s administrative designee. Rackham Graduate School’s Disability Coordinator is the designated central contact for management of the central accommodation fund and responding to requests for accommodations for GSI, GSSA, GSRA and temporary hourly graduate students with disabilities. The Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) is available to assist in identifying reasonable accommodations. The ADA Coordinator in the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) is available to consult regarding the ADA, to informally resolve disputes related to the accommodation process, and also investigates complaints of alleged disability discrimination or harassment. You may contact the ADA Coordinator by calling (734) 763-0235.
The Scope of This Fund
These procedures describe how costs are shared between a program and/or department and the University’s central fund with respect to funding reasonable accommodations for graduate students with appointments. This fund is not intended to pay for academic accommodations covered by Services for Students with Disabilities. For more information about academic accommodations for students with disabilities, contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office at (734) 763-3000 (voice) or see the SSD website homepage at: http://ssd.umich.edu/
If the requested accommodation is for GSI, GSSA, GSRA or temporary hourly graduate student employees with a disability, departments should consult applicable personnel policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, and follow the procedures set forth here.
When there is an accommodation request, the Rackham Disability Coordinator may consult with the University ADA Coordinator, or Services for Students with Disabilities to determine reasonable accommodations.
Darlene Ray-Johnson, Rackham Disability Coordinator can be reached at rayj@umich.edu, or (V) (734) 936-1647; (FAX) (734) 763-2447.
Carole Dubritsky, Office of Institutional Equity ADA Coordinator can be contacted at cfd@umich.edu, or (V) (734) 763-0235; (TTY) (734) 647-1388; (Fax) (734) 936-8894; http://www.hr.umich.edu/oie/office.html
Stuart Segal, Director, Services for Students with Disabilities, can be contacted at sssegal@umich.edu, or (V) (734) 763-3000; (FAX) (734) 936-3947; http://ssd.umich.edu/
Funding Conditions
To apply for central accommodation funds, the department’s request must be for a specific individual with a disability who needs an accommodation, rather than for improvements/modifications to improve accessibility in general. To encourage departments to expeditiously provide accommodations to individuals with disabilities, a department may initially pay for the accommodation and thereafter seek reimbursement for expenses retroactively anytime during the same academic year.
Appointing Unit Responsibilities
- Appointing units are expected to fund expenses normally provided for all graduate student appointments, independent of disability status (such as furniture, phones, computers, technology upgrades, professional development opportunities, and other tools of the position.)
- Appointing units are expected to cover the first $500.00 of an individual’s accommodation expenses annually based on a fiscal year (July - June).
- Appointing units can request assistance from the Central Accommodation Fund for qualifying accommodation expenses above $500.00.
- Appointing units are expected to participate in the process of ordering and installing needed equipment or services in a timely manner once they are identified as reasonable accommodations.
Procedures to Request Funding
To request funding under these procedures for a reasonable accommodation, the appointing unit or department should submit a request form to the Rackham Disability Coordinator for review, with a copy to the administrative designee. The Provost’s written response/recommendation will be sent to the appropriate Dean/Director with a copy to the appropriate faculty or staff whose duties include the coordination and/or management of GSI, GSSA, GSRA, or temporary hourly employees.
When submitting a request for assistance from the Central Accommodation Fund, the appointing unit’s administrative designee (or departmental designee) will complete the Central Accommodation Fund Request Form and submit it to the Rackham Disability Coordinator.
Every attempt will be made to review requests and provide funding promptly, but departments are responsible for providing accommodations in a timely manner regardless of the status of their request for funding from the Central Accommodation Fund.
Contact
For more information about this accommodation funding process contact:
Darlene Ray-Johnson, Rackham Disability Coordinator at rayj@umich.edu or (734) 936-1647