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WesternU / Harris Family Center for Disability & Health Policy / Faculty & College Accommodations Liaison

Faculty & College Accommodations Liaison

Harris Family Center for Disability and Health Policy’s (CDHP) College Accommodation Liaisons

Together, CDHP staff and College Accommodations Liaisons (CALs) help students with disabilities succeed on their educational pathway to their chosen health professions career. This page provides important information and resources specific to your role and responsibilities.

CDHP is here to provide support should you have questions, concerns, or need additional information to understand, implement, or manage a student’s CDHP approved academic accommodations and/or adjustments. Please reach out to our office by email at disabilityaccommodations@westernu.edu, phone at 909-469-5441, or drop by.

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Role of the College Accommodations Liaison

Each college has a designated College Accommodation Liaison or CAL. The CAL serves as a confidential liaison between the student, CDHP, and the faculty of a specific college within the institution. Although, the CAL is not part of the decision-making process to determine accommodations nor reviews or retrains healthcare provider documentation, they are integral to the collaborative process and work with CDHP staff to implement and manage students with disabilities approved reasonable accommodations and academic adjustments timely and with fidelity within the college setting.

CAL Responsibilities

In their collaborative role, CALs have important responsibilities to ensure that students with disabilities receive the accommodations and/or adjustments for which they were approved by CDHP. The following is a list of some of their most important responsibilities:

  • Make themselves available to students to discuss the implementation of the accommodations and adjustments and not the diagnosis or specific disability.
  • Ensure that the accommodations listed on the CDHP Accommodation Memorandum are implemented timely (within 3 business days) and with fidelity.
  • Consult with appropriate faculty and CDHP staff when the approved accommodations would impede conducting the fundamentals of the faculty member’s curriculum so that equally effective alternative accommodations can be discussed.
  • Deny a request for accommodation that CDHP has not approved and refer the student back to the Center for assessment.
  • Participate in a collaborative discussion with CDHP about the delivery of accommodations.
  • Maintain confidentiality of the Accommodation Memorandum, correspondence, and communication regarding the student’s disability.
  • Provide CDHP with timely and accurate information regarding exams.
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CAL-Specific Resources

CDHP has created especially useful resources for CALs. One is our Quick Reference Guide, and the other are recordings of the training sessions provided at quarterly CAL meetings. We regularly update this page with additional training sessions as they occur.