The University of Minnesota Duluth is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in courses, programs, services, and activities in a timely manner. Reasonable accommodations for students in the post-secondary setting include academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and reasonable modifications to policies. The University works together with students to identify reasonable accommodations that provide equitable opportunity to participate in the University’s educational programs.

Determining and arranging academic accommodations is a partnership between the student, the instructor, and the Disability Resources staff. The student requesting academic accommodations is an active participant in the interactive process to provide reasonable accommodations that provide an equitable opportunity to participate in, while not fundamentally altering the University of Minnesota Duluth's courses, programs, services, and activities.

The student role in the interactive process is to discuss the impacts of their disability, provide information/documentation on an as-needed basis, and share which disability accommodations have worked in the past. The interactive process does require direct communication with DR staff via in-person, phone, Zoom meetings, and on occasion, email.

UMD Disability Resources Disability Specialist's role in the interactive process is to work with the students and their instructors to identify barriers to accessing the course, program, service, or activity and recommend reasonable accommodations that mitigate the impact of the barriers but do not fundamentally alter the essential functions of the course, program, service, or activity.

The instructor’s role in the interactive process is to share their knowledge of the essential elements of the course or program. It is also the instructor’s role to contact the Disability Resources Disability Specialist if they believe that the recommended academic accommodations compromise the essential requirements of a course/program or fundamentally alter a course/program.