Student Self-Advocacy

Collaborative Interactions with the Goldman Center

At Tulane, you’ll have the opportunity to interact with peers, professors, and professional staff who each contribute to the community of learners we value. Each person brings a unique skillset, different lived experience, and valuable insight to this community. You’ll interact with people of different identities and different abilities—and they’ll get to interact with you!

We are partners in accessibility. Interactions with faculty and staff should be practice for your interactions in a professional world; these interactions should model respect, non-discrimination, inclusion, care, and collaboration necessary for an increasingly interconnected global society.

Discriminatory, inflammatory, or hostile interactions towards students, faculty, or staff will not be tolerated. Staff will refer students to appropriate Conduct offices if behavior exhibited during this process is in violation of the Student Code of Conduct. Parents and families calling on behalf of their students should facilitate our work by remaining respectful and collaborative.

Advocating for Yourself in the Access Interview

Students who need to request specific, disability-related accommodations should submit an online application with supporting documentation detailing functional limitations. After submission, students will continue in the "interactive process" for accommodations through scheduling an Access Interview.

What is an Access Interview:

• The Access Interview is a component of the "interactive process" for accommodations. 
• A Goldman team member will ask clarifying questions about your experiences in the academic, housing, and/or dining environment. The goal of this conversation is to assess what the most appropriate form of support is for the concerns you are navigating, which may include collaboration with offices outside of the Goldman Center. 

What to expect to discuss in an Access Interview:

• The Goldman team member will introduce themselves and the Goldman Center for Student Accessibility; they may give also provide an overview of the structure of the meeting and the legal guidance of access, aimed at removing barriers in the environment, which govern accommodations in the higher education environment.
• To begin the meeting, the Goldman team member may ask questions like:
  • What led you to submit a request for accommodations at Tulane?
  • What is your history with accommodations?
  • What resources and supports have you utilized to address concerns you've encountered in the educational environment? How effective were those resources in addressing your concerns?
• A timeline for determination, requests for additional information, and other individualized next steps will be communicated to you during or after this meeting.

What questions you may be asked during your Access Interview:

• How does your disability affect you specifically? What strengths and compensatory methods (i.e., tutoring, therapy) have helped you succeed in the past?
• What supports and services have you utilized in the past to navigate academic demands or health/safety needs in the living environments?
• What strategies and accommodations have been effective in the past?

The Goldman Center may ask clarifying questions to explore what accommodations are necessary for equitable access while assessing what campus-based resources may be helpful for facilitating student success and wellbeing on campus. Requests for accommodations may not always be granted if alternative methods of support or services exist, therefore negating the need for an accommodation. 
 

What to expect after your Access Interview:

• The Goldman Center staff member will communicate information about an anticipated timeline for determinations. Accommodation determinations may involve consultation with pertinent staff, support offices, faculty, campus resources, and/or with the specialist who is responsible for the student’s treatment.
• A determination of accommodations will be shared to your Tulane email. This determination may include approvals for accommodation and instructions on how to implement your accommodations.
• The determination email may include information about what accommodation was able to be approved as necessary for access, along with information about appropriate campus resources designed to support you and your specific concerns.

Collaborative Interactions with Faculty

Your professor is your course-content expert and is often the faculty who determines what is fundamental in the learning outcomes of their course. Faculty are responsible for providing equitable access in their classrooms while maintaining standards of high academic rigor for all students. Professors have the right to set policies in their class through their syllabus, including attendance policies, honor code enforcement, grading standards, and expectations for students to demonstrate competency in their course content. 

When seeking support from faculty for class content or requesting support beyond what is listed in their syllabus: 

• Be intentional and informed. What support are you looking for? Does your course syllabus detail how to seek this support?
• Organize your thoughts on your needs ahead of any conversation or request for support out. Write your thoughts down, discuss with a friend or parent, or practice the conversation to yourself. 
• Treat your course syllabus like a contract between you and your professor—is there a concern you are experiencing that isn’t addressed through the policies listed in the syllabus? If you have a concern about the syllabus, how can you and the professor address the concern while adhering to the syllabus or course standards and expectations?
• Emails are not DM’s—emails sent to staff should use appropriate language and format expected of young professionals.
• Be courteous, polite, and respectful. This is important even if you are feeling frustrated, lost and/or confused. 
• Approach concerns with curiosity, even if you have a proposed solution in mind. 

Not sure where to start? Consider the setting you want to discuss your concerns with your professor-- (1) what is the goal of your conversation, and (2) who should be witness to this conversation?

• Casual opportunities for conversation may arise—such as before or after class—for quick questions.
• For more in-depth, private opportunities, consider:
  • Office hours, listed on your course syllabus
  • Email, using your Tulane email address, to communicate your specific question or a request for meeting outside of standard office hours.

It is reasonable to ask a professor for help regarding understanding their course content, clarifying course expectations, and navigating support resources. It is not always reasonable to ask your professor for special considerations such as modified grading scales, bonus opportunities, or blanket forgiveness for tardy work or excessive absences. Professors may be open to working flexibly with you to help your academic success and student wellbeing, but it is not their obligation to act outside of the syllabus.

Navigating Conversations around the Impact of your Disability

The following information is intended to be a helpful guide for facilitating conversations with faculty outside of the scope of an approved accommodation; the following is not intended to instruct students to request accommodations directly with faculty. Students requesting accommodations should request through the Goldman Center.  

During your time as a student in the educational environment at Tulane, the specific nature of your disability may lead to concerns with attendances, deadlines, assignments, and other pertinent academic requirements detailed in your course syllabi. You may miss class or assignments for personal or emergency reasons completely unrelated to your disability. Regardless of the circumstances, it is always best to communicate directly with your professors as a means of taking ownership over your educational experience. This may feel intimidating if you have never been your sole advocate for your health or for seeking support around the impact of your disabilities. 
When seeking support, it may be difficult to know how much to disclose and how personal to become with your professors or Tulane staff. 
 

When discussing your health or disability, it is important to strike the balance of “just enough information” versus “too much information.” When advocating for yourself, you do not need to share intimate details of your symptoms or health impact. You can speak broadly about impact on your health, self-care, ability to attend class, ability to study, or learn without speaking in detail about bodily functions or mental states. 

Getting Started: Advocating via Email

1. Send the email from your Tulane email address
2. Use a clear, concise subject line with proper capitalization 
3. Address your recipient with professional/official titles (“Dear Professor,” "Hi Dr. Smith,")
4. Use proper grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Spellcheck tools through Microsoft or Grammarly can provide assistance with this need. 
5. Introduce yourself through the context of your concern/class. Give detail about the course you’re enrolled in (title, section number, and time).
6. Identify your concern, using “I” statements and only sharing pertinent information about the situation or health concern that you need to share. View your professor as a potential employer, rather than as a teacher, friend, or stranger you are DM’ing. 
7. Identify what support you are seeking 
8. Request information about next steps. This may include how you can have follow-up conversations, demonstrate efforts to get back on track/stay accountable, or how to address this concern in the future.
9. Conclude with a thank you 
10. Sign the email with your name and your professional email signature.