The American Association of University Professors at OU has filed a grievance against the university regarding a letter  sent to faculty in the fall by Disability Student Support services, addressing a recent change in their policy.

Until the policy was changed, students with disabilities requiring an additional 50 percent of time to complete their exams were allowed to take their exams in the DSS office in North Foundation Hall.

“This is a service that is provided at most universities because it allows the university to comply with federal law in a way that was convenient to the student and his or her professors,” said Karen Miller, an associate professor and chapter vice president of the AAUP.

The letter explained that professors are now responsible for finding a location for these longer exams and administering the exams themselves. The AAUP disagrees with these changes and has begun the process of filing a grievance with the university.

The reason for the changes

Mary Beth Snyder, the vice president of student affairs, said that these changes regarding the administering of tests were made, in part, due to an increase in the number of disabled students admitted to OU.

“With that has come an increase in alternative testing accommodations,” Snyder said. “DSS, with only two employees, has begun to focus on those accommodations that require more than just extra time on tests.”

The additional accommodations include students who require readers, interpreters and scribes to assist them with exams.  According to Snyder, DSS will continue to administer exams for those students. Under this new policy, professors will only be responsible for students requiring additional time for the  exams, and nothing else.

The AAUP said they have been given conflicting information.

“The position of the DSS office is that they have to cut their service because they no longer have the resources to provide them,” Miller said. “However, this has been disputed by representatives of the university who have told us that, because of the federal mandate to provide these services, the DSS office is given any resources that it needs.”

The referenced federal law is Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which applies to federally funded programs like the university and states that students who have voluntarily disclosed that they have a disability and provide proper documentation are entitled to receive appropriate academic adjustments that enable them to participate in all educational programs.

DSS declined to comment regarding these changes.

The causes for concern

The AAUP has expressed concern over  the new policy for many reasons. The first concern is maintaining the privacy of the student requiring extra time for their exam. The Rehabilitation Act stipulates that students be accommodated in ways that protect their privacy.

“They cannot simply take an examination with the rest of the class and continue to work 50 percent longer, since it will be possible for anyone to identify them as receiving special accommodations,” AAUP Executive Director Scott Barns said in an e-mail to OU faculty.

The AAUP also noted that the location of these extended exams can pose a problem, because many departments do not have common rooms that can serve as test facilities.

“Most of our part-time faculty either do not have offices or must share them, limiting their ability to use faculty office space for testing,” Miller said. “Moreover, faculty offices are not necessarily quiet test facilities. In many cases, test takers would be interrupted by telephone calls and people knocking on the door.”

She said that student needs are better met in a quiet, monitored, independent testing facility, like the type of facility that was previously offered by DSS.

Despite these concerns, Snyder said that many professors have not had any difficulties administering these exams. Ron Sudol, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said that he has not yet had any feedback from professors and does not expect any.

“When you’re a faculty member, you take the students you are given,” Sudol said. “It’s a little bit of extra work … but I can’t imagine that there would ever be any faculty member who wouldn’t be willing to do that.”

Filing a grievance

In addition to concerns for the students, the AAUP has stated that these changes have affected the faculty’s working conditions, which is a mandatory issue for collective bargaining.

“Simply put, Oakland cannot substantially change your working conditions without bargaining the terms of conditions of the change,” Barns said. “If the AAUP Executive Committee waives this off, the change will set an unwanted precedent and there would be little that can be done about the next unilateral change in working conditions that Oakland attempts.”

It was these numerous concerns that led the AAUP to initiate the first step of the formal grievance process with the university administration.

“The AAUP would like to return to the previous policy,” Miller said. “Special-needs students who require time and a half to complete examinations should have the opportunity to take their exams in facilities managed by the DSS office in North Foundation Hall.”

Although the outcome of the grievance will not be known for some time, Snyder emphasized that the university is addressing the issue.

“I am committed to seeing that our students with disabilities have a positive experience at Oakland,” Snyder said.

— Mike Sandula contributed to this report