Faculty/Staff Information about the Faculty Notification Letter (FNL)

The FNL is used by a student, at their discretion, to communicate their need for accommodation to WKU faculty and staff. The FNL lists the approved academic accommodations that the SARC office has deemed appropriate and necessary to ensure access. The SARC produces the same letter for a student for all of their classes. The student should thus collaborate with their faculty to clarify each accommodation's relevancy within a given class structure. 

These letters are NOT retroactive and do not go into effect until they are acknowledged by all parties with the SARC office notified.

A student will reach out to you if they need accommodations in your course. Generally, they will do this at the beginning of the semester, yet they may present their accommodations to a faculty member at any point during the semester. You are not expected to apply the accommodations retroactively, but you are expected to meet the request for accommodations after your collaborative discussion and acknowledgment. 

There are a few ways a student may present faculty with their FNL. They may approach faculty before/after class, ask to make an appointment, come by office hours, or send an email.

Students are prompted by staff and the FNL to provide a respectful and professional context when sending this notification, just as they are encouraged for any communication with faculty (i.e., name, course, section, greeting, etc.). Students do not need to disclose the specifics about their disability, and faculty should not probe for this information. Some discussion of symptoms or needs, however, may be necessary to provide proper and reasonable accommodations. 

If an accommodation is deemed not applicable or is otherwise not provided to the student, the SARC should be notified of such alterations. Please, send an email to sarc.connect@wku.edu stating such. The SARC will review and determine if revisions are appropriate.

If it is believed, by the student or faculty, that alterations need to be made to the accommodations listed therein, the Student Accessibility Resource Center should be contacted immediately in writing. 

1. Read the FNL thoroughly. Brief explanations accompany each listed accommodation. If you need assistance interpreting any of the descriptions, please contact our office. 
2. Collaborate with the student about how these accommodations apply to your course. This can be done in-person or via email. Feel free to copy (Cc) the SARC on any emails. If you meet with the student in person, please write a follow-up email to the student and the SARC outlining the discussion. 
3. The SARC must have a complete FNL on file. The FNL can be hand-delivered to the SARC or scanned and emailed to sarc.connect@wku.edu. In lieu of a printed and signed FNL, the faculty can email the student and the SARC from their WKU email with a statement of acknowledgment (most common).
4. If it is believed, by the student or faculty, that alterations need to be made to the accommodations listed therein, the Student Accessibility Resource Center should be contacted immediately in writing. If an accommodation is deemed not applicable or is otherwise not provided to the student, the SARC should be notified of such alterations. The SARC will review and determine if revisions are appropriate.