by DRS Staff
This month we wanted to take some time to, perhaps, illuminate what happens in the DRS office. With the beginning of a new year (and the beginning of a new semester) what a perfect time to give you some information about what DRS does; how we do these things; and, some information on just how many students, accommodations, and exams we are interfacing with across the University. Hopefully this allows you to see how our department is working to make sure students with reasonable accommodations have equal access to the University of Pittsburgh.
DRS is a Support System
If you are reading this then you have already gone through submitting an application, providing supporting documentation, and completing an Intake Appointment with your assigned specialist in order to solidify the accommodations you may receive as a student at the University. But this is an interactive, and ultimately student-driven, process that requires your communicating not just with the DRS office but with your academic advisors, instructors, TAs and department coordinators, as well as others like Panther Central and Dining -- depending on the accommodations you’re seeking.
All initial communication from DRS is done through email, sent to your @Pitt.edu email address. We send out numerous reminders throughout the semester, during breaks, and around important moments during the school year to keep you on track. (See: finals!) This means you should be up to date on your inbox and if you see something from DRS, you should look at it right away to determine if any action is required. This even means looking at the automated emails in case an exam request is cancelled or as a notification to changes in policies surrounding certain accommodations.
Your specialist may reach out to check in, but ultimately, the responsibility is on you to reach out with questions or concerns as soon as they arise. You are always welcome to come into the office, email your assigned specialist, or call to speak to someone. We will try and direct you to speak with your assigned specialist because they are the most familiar with your case, but if needed there is usually a specialist on stand-by who can speak to you.
We also utilize our administrative staff (both full-time employees and student workers) to keep communication flowing, so even if you’re not able to speak to your specialist, a note will be made to see if the specialist needs to follow up through email or phone.
Here is what Megan Davis, disability specialist, has to say about what specialists are doing day-to-day:
"Disability specialists’ days are a bustling mix of meetings and correspondence with students, faculty, and staff; service to committees and teams across campus; and consultation and professional development to stay current on relevant disability and civil rights laws. We help you establish services and provide ongoing support, so you don’t face barriers when using your reasonable accommodations. We also promote disability awareness, access, and inclusion across campus.
“Upon receiving your disability notification letter requests, specialists promptly send your letters to faculty so you can begin using your accommodations quickly. Specialists are often in touch with our students to address questions or concerns, check in, review current accommodations or additional accommodations requests. We also accept applications and new intakes throughout the semester.
“Specialists routinely work with faculty and staff to ensure their understanding and implementation of accommodations. We provide trainings for departments across campus and have representation on many committees and teams including the Campus Crisis Support Team, Campus Well-Being Consortium, CARE Team, Sexual Assault Awareness Month & Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force, Staff Council, Student Affairs Programmers, and Survivor Support Network. Specialists also oversee the DRS peer mentoring program, serve as advisors for several student groups, and coordinate communication services including ASL interpreting and captioning.
“Your disability specialists are busy but invested in supporting you. We’re not in class or on campus with you, so we rely on you to tell us how it’s going! Remember, it’s far easier to address concerns brought to us in a timely manner."
How DRS Fits in
Something that is repeatedly voiced to DRS, by both students and faculty, is the idea that DRS is responsible for providing the accommodations. That the DRS office accommodates students for testing or living arrangements or what-have-you. Per the DRS website: Disability Resources and Services (DRS) is the designated department by the University of Pittsburgh to determine reasonable accommodations and services, under the provisions set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
While DRS is responsible for determining reasonable accommodations and services, the implementation of the accommodation is between the student and their respective faculty or administrative staff. DRS notifies the appropriate members of the university when a student has disclosed a disability that we determined requires reasonable accommodations by verifying students’ requests fit within the parameters of the ADA. Therefore, once accommodations are approved by DRS, the implementation of accommodations is put in place by faculty, academic departments, and other relevant offices on campus. Access and the administration of reasonable accommodations are shared responsibilities of the entire Pitt community.
For our role regarding how DRS determines housing, dining, or other non-academic accommodations, Jenny Huff, disability specialist, provides some insights:
”The process for requesting a housing, dining, or other non-academic accommodation is similar, yet different from more commonplace academic accommodations. Students are required to complete an application and submit documentation, however all requests outside of academics are reviewed by a committee after the initial intake meeting. This committee is comprised of all the DRS specialists, DRS’ director, and any other outside parties, such as housing, Pitt Eats, dietitians, etc. The process of approving such requests can take upwards of 7-10 days after an intake meeting, depending on what other steps are required.
“Although any student can put in requests for a housing or dining accommodation, a request is not guaranteed and can be impacted by factors such as availability, feasibility, and whether the request provides equal and necessary access to the university. One common misconception is that a housing accommodation, if approved, places a student at the top of the housing list. A housing accommodation does not guarantee a student housing or their preferred assignment, nor does it transfer them from a non-guaranteed status to a guaranteed status.
“My biggest recommendation for those seeking a housing or dining accommodation is to speak with us as soon as possible, make sure you have documentation of your need, and to be sure to closely monitor your email for all relevant housing and dining communications each semester!”
For Academic Accommodations, Jen Thompson, disability specialist, dives further into that process:
“Once a student applies to DRS and submits appropriate documentation, they are assigned to a disability specialist who reviews their application and documents in advance of meeting with the student. During the intake (interactive process) the specialist will ask the student many questions related to their diagnosis including history, symptoms, treatment, and barriers in the academic setting. After the initial part of the meeting, if the specialist agrees that our office will recognize them as a student on campus with a disability, then the accommodations are provided based on the impact of the condition. We do not have an all-inclusive list of accommodations we provide.
“After the student is established with DRS, they do not need to go through the intake process each semester and will be granted these accommodations throughout their time at Pitt. Students must learn to advocate for themselves as it is the student’s responsibility to request their disability notification letters at the beginning of each semester so their faculty are aware they are registered with our office and the faculty can provide the accommodations. Students often make the mistake of waiting until halfway through the semester to request their letters not realizing accommodations are not retro-active, so this often will negatively impact the student.
“Throughout the semester students can always email or request a meeting with their specialist if they are experiencing additional symptoms, receive a new diagnosis or something is not working. If students do not reach out to us, then we may not know if they are struggling and cannot provide support and resources.”
In the hopes of clarifying DRS’ role in these processes, we hope to illustrate that there is a shared responsibility across the University when it comes to accommodations and accessibility. DRS, faculty, and various University departments all play an important part and so do our students. Students have the responsibility to request their Disability Notification letters each semester, to submit exam requests in a timely manner (at least three business days for exams, and seven business days for finals), and if there are any issues—first, communicate with your instructors about how the accommodations are working and then, if there needs to be conversations about solidifying changes or navigating concerns, DRS should be notified.
We want you to use your accommodations to be as successful at the University of Pittsburgh as possible, and we’re here to assist you with that. If anything can be taken from this: please reach out to our office as soon as any problem arises, or with any questions you may have.
Statistics
At the beginning of the spring 2023 semester there are almost 2500 students registered with active accommodations in the DRS office, and over 100 in the application stage applying for accommodations. We want to share some data we accumulated from the fall semester to show some of what our office does during a semester.
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Total students with active accommodations: 2475
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Total fall applications for students: 289
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Drop-ins (people coming into the office with some unscheduled DRS-related issue): 151
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Total scheduled appointments with students: 795
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Total requests for accommodations made by students: 7519
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Number of classes with requested accommodations: 3117
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Total students with Alternative Testing taking their exams in the Testing Center: 1242
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Total exam requests (including finals): 4028
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Number of finals exams: 1092
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Number of students with Housing/Dining Accommodations: 239
In summary, we hope this brings some clarity into what the DRS office’s role at the University is and our place in making your time here an inclusive and equitable one. We are always open to comments and questions, so please feel free to come into the office at 140 William Pitt Union, call 412-648-7890, email your assigned specialists or DRSrecep@pitt.edu.
Have a great spring semester!
