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Requesting Employment or Appointment Accommodations

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.

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.

Each of the graduate schools within the University has an administrative designee who works with faculty and staff to facilitate access to appropriate reasonable accommodations. Students may contact the administrative designee for information about campus resources, to request an accommodation, or to seek assistance with the implementation of an accommodation.

The Graduate Student Reasonable Accommodation Request Form and Health Care Provider Release Form are available online, from the Rackham Disability Coordinator, or administrative designee in the appointing school or college.

Employee or Appointee Instructions

1. In many cases, reasonable accommodations can be arranged easily by a direct conversation between the student and faculty supervisor, appointing unit supervisor, or administrative designee. Students are not required to disclose to the academic unit the medical basis for requested accommodation.
2. Information to be provided by the employee or appointee:
   1. Accommodation request: To submit a formal request for a reasonable accommodation, students should complete the Graduate Student Accommodation Request Form. The student submits the completed Graduate Student Accommodation Request Form to either the Rackham Disability Coordinator, administrative designee for the appointing unit or via the Rackham website. Note that this form does not require the student to disclose the nature of his/her disability to his/her supervisor. See Resources for Graduate Students with Disabilities for additional information regarding the accommodation request process.
   2. Job Analysis: A job analysis for a student’s position may be prepared if more specific information is needed in order to respond to the request. Typically the faculty supervisor or administrative designee will consult with the Rackham Disability Coordinator, Services for Students with Disabilities, Office of Institutional Equity, Academic Human Resources and others as appropriate.
   3. Health care provider information: Students are asked to complete a Health Care Provider Release Form which grants permission for the University to contact their health care provider. Medical information will be shared only with the Rackham Disability Coordinator or Services for Students with Disabilities.
      1. The health care provider information may include: A diagnosis and assessment of the student’s particular disability as it relates to their ability to perform the essential functions of their position, with or without accommodation; and any functional limitations which may require accommodation.
      2. The university may choose to secure other medical opinions from health care professionals of its choice at its own expense.

Administrative Designee Instructions

Employee or Appointee Request

1. Academic units must consider carefully an employee/appointee’s request for accommodation due to disability. In many cases, reasonable accommodations can be arranged easily by talking directly with the employee/appointee.
2. The student is not required to disclose to the academic unit the medical basis for the requested accommodation. Do not ask the employee for personal medical information or ask questions about the disability itself.
3. Faculty and appointing unit supervisors should always consult with the administrative designee regarding requests for accommodation. Should a request not seem appropriate or you wish technical assistance, refer it immediately to the administrative designee who may, as appropriate, consult with others.
4. Financial support for disability accommodations may be available through the Central Accommodation Fund. Funding requests for accommodations relative to impairments and/or conditions which meet the criteria established for use of these funds should be made to the Rackham Disability Coordinator (RDC), the administrator of the fund.
   1. The disability accommodation fund would be utilized to respond to accommodations for graduate student employees/appointees and may be used to provide accommodations for the work environment. See the Central Accommodation Fund procedures for additional information.

Graduate Student Accommodation Form

1. If more information is needed in order to evaluate the accommodation request, or if you wish to secure funding for the accommodation through the Central Accommodation Fund, ask the employee/appointee to complete and return the Graduate Student Accommodation Request Form. (Forms are available from the Rackham Disability Coordinator, administrative designee, or on the Rackham website.)
2. If you receive the employee’s completed request, submit a copy to Rackham’s Disability Coordinator.
3. Review the material with your department head and appointing authority.
4. You may now have enough information to provide appropriate accommodation. If so, complete the School and College Reasonable Accommodation Reporting Form and send a copy of it to the Rackham Disability Coordinator.

Job Analysis

1. If information is needed from the student’s health care provider(s) in order to respond to the request, Rackham’s Disability Coordinator, Services for Students with Disabilities, the Office of Institutional Equity, and others as appropriate will work with you to develop a job analysis of the position.
2. You will provide a copy of the job analysis to the Rackham Disability Coordinator.

Health Care Provider Information

1. Services for Students with Disabilities will review information or documentation provided by the health care provider, determine whether it is sufficient to establish that the employee is a qualified individual with a disability, and so notify the Rackham Disability Coordinator.
2. The Rackham Disability Coordinator will share appropriate information from the health care provider with you regarding the functional limitations of the employee’s disability and any recommended accommodations. The RDC may refer you to other campus resources such as SSD, OIE, or external agencies.

Develop Accommodation Plan

1. Meet with the student and supervising/appointing faculty to discuss potential accommodations. (The RDC will initiate these discussions as necessary).
2. Consider all options for accommodation including the preferences of the employee/appointee.
3. Select the accommodation(s) to be implemented.
4. If accommodation meets criteria for reimbursement by the Central Accommodation Fund, complete the request form. Obtain necessary signatures and submit request form to the Rackham Disability Coordinator.
5. Implement the accommodation plan.
6. Submit the School or College Reasonable Accommodation Reporting Form to the Rackham Disability Coordinator within 10 business days of implementing reasonable accommodation.

Confidentiality of Medical Records

1. By law, medical records must be treated confidentially. At the University of Michigan, medical records, related to reasonable accommodation requests, are maintained in SSD or Rackham Disability Services
2. Do not keep medical records in department files. Should medical records inadvertently come to you, immediately forward them, in a confidential envelope, to the Rackham Disability Coordinator so that they can be filed appropriately.
3. Information obtained through the accommodation process must be treated with sensitivity and care. While an employee/appointee may choose to discuss such matters with friends and associates in the work environment, the academic unit must treat all such information or requests in a sensitive and confidential manner.

Complaints or Disputes Related to Requests for Reasonable Accommodation.

1. If a request is denied based on the nature of the accommodation requested, the student may contact the administrative designee to continue the interactive process in order to determine whether an equally effective reasonable accommodation is available.
2. Students who believe that they have been discriminated against on the basis of disability may file informal or formal complaints in the Office for Institutional Equity.
3. Students with a GSI or GSSA appointment whose request for an accommodation is denied may have access to grievance procedures under the GEO Contract.