Taking time out for students

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Posted: Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 at 12:36 am | Last Updated: Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 at 12:36 am
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Oakland University is asking professors to use their own time and resources to accommodate students who need more time to take tests.

Professors assert that the Office of Disabilities Support Services used to hold this responsibility and should continue to do so because of federal mandates.

Students, meanwhile, seem to be getting lost in the shuffle.

DSS continues to offer test-taking accommodations for students who need more support than additional time. That includes students who may need a reader, interpreter or alternative test format.

The Oakland Chapter of the American Association of University Professors has filed a grievance with the school because the organization believes that this breaches the collective bargaining agreement it reached with OU.

We understand the inconveniences this may cause professors but are confident they can overcome this roadblock.

Recently, College of Arts and Sciences dean Ron Sudol sent an e-mail to the college’s department chairs instructing them to require faculty to arrange for the extended exams, which require 50 percent more time.

Scott Barnes, executive director of AAUP, addressed the matter in a letter sent to all faculty members on Feb. 11. In the letter, Barnes expressed his disapproval in finding out about the new requirements unofficially before receiving Sudol’s correspondence.

AAUP is challenging the mandate. Barnes said this request is too much and that “Oakland cannot substantially change working conditions without bargaining the terms and conditions of the change.”

Sudol said instructors are required to carry out their job of administering classes to Oakland students.

The DSS office could not be reached for comment on these changes.

Professors like AAUP vice president and history professor Karen Miller are worried about the privacy of students who need additional time. If the DSS office proctored every test for students in need, wouldn’t classes already notice an absent classmate during an exam?

A valid concern for professors is the difficulty in arranging a time and place to make up the remainder of the test time. A central location for students who need additional time to complete examinations is the most practical answer. Eastern Michigan University, for instance, has one learning center that is always available for use. That could alleviate concerns Oakland professors have while allowing the DSS office to retain what little space they do have.

The DSS office should be offering the entire scope of services to students with disabilities. There is no doubt about that.

At the same time professors, who in most cases have earned doctoral degrees, should be creative enough to develop innovative solutions.

We understand there are limited resources because the office only has two staffers. But Vice President for Student Affairs Mary Beth Snyder said there are a growing number of students being admitted who require special accommodations. The DSS staff should grow in turn.

It’s time to reevaluate the needs of OU’s growing student body and adjust the amount of student services accordingly.
Readers can turn to page 5 to read the accompanying story.

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  • Charlie Sheen

    I agree that all students should be accommodated, but disagree to the idea of professors bearing that entire burden.

    For one – professors have lives outside of the classroom (how selfish of them) – that should be considered.

    Two – Currently, there are few adequate places on campus where tests can be administered outside the DSS office.

    Three – Professors cannot just take on new responsibilities “because the university said so.” If the university has that kind of influence, the power it has is limitless. The idea negates even having collective bargaining when decisions that should be mutual are made by one party.

    And on a side note, the new supposed duties of professors to incorporate disabled students themselves generates problems for the rest of the student body.
    Suppose a professor, with little time to spare as it is, now has to utilize his/her only available time on campus doting to individual students. Surely, you considered the effect this has on the rest of the class.
    Said teacher now is not available after class for the remainder of the enrolled students, because he/she is off to administer a test to a specific individual. This would create a problem for the majority of a class, because it no longer has an accessible instructor.
    I simply can’t see a justification to ostracize, for example, 49 students in a class for the convenience of one.

    Here is a brilliant idea – one that doesn’t prioritize the few over the many, and one that doesn’t impose new responsibilities on professors without their consent.

    Expand the DSS office. It is a lot more practical and is creating jobs in the process. Win-win. Also known as bi-winning.

    I’ve got tiger’s blood.

    - Charlie Sheen

  • Oakland Alum

    Yes, my opinion is politically incorrect, however -
    “The needs of the many out way the needs of the few or the one.”
    Standards are set for a reason. If a student cannot meet the necessary standard, be it time constraints, language constraints, etc., it IS the responsibility of the student NOT the instructor in a university setting to find a way to succeed.

    Mr. Sudol and Office of Disabilities Support Services should be training students with disabilities how to work in the real world not how to manipulate the system.

    It’s time we stop kowtowing to our young adults. It’s time for them to stand up and learn for themselves that the road to success is full of potholes, collisions, and roadblocks. It’s called life.