Fundamental Alteration

When faculty receive an accommodation request, it's natural to wonder, "What if this accommodation undermines my course's essential learning objectives?" This concern is addressed through fundamental alteration considerations. The law recognizes that while disability accommodations are required, they cannot be mandated if they fundamentally change the nature of your program or course requirements. 

A Fundamental Alteration (FA) is a change to a course or program that is so significant it alters its essential nature. Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the ADA, educational institutions are required to provide reasonable accommodations but are not required to modify learning objectives or requirements that are essential to the program.

• When faculty express concern that an accommodation would fundamentally alter a course's learning objectives, the Disability Resource Center (DRC) initiates a formal review process.
• The determination to deny an accommodation on the basis of fundamental alteration is an institutional decision, not a sole faculty decision.

The core of the FA determination rests on identifying the course's Essential Requirements.

Essential Requirements Are:

• The core learning outcomes (including skills and knowledge) all students must demonstrate.
• Part of a larger interconnected curriculum related to a program or degree.

It is critical to distinguish:

• Essential Requirements from general expectations or common practice. A requirement based simply on personal values, tradition or routine practice, without a direct connection to core learning outcomes, is less likely to be considered essential.
• Methods of instruction or assessment should be evaluated, and alternatives considered, if they still allow for achieving the course's core learning outcomes.

Faculty can engage in an interactive review process with the DRC if they believe an approved accommodation constitutes a fundamental alteration.

The process is below:

1. The student is responsible for activating their course accommodations.  When they do so, faculty will get a faculty notification letter.  Faculty can also see all activated accommodations in their faculty portal.
2. Instructor raises concern to the DRC Access Consultant (AC&C) regarding an approved accommodation - the student’s accommodation letter will have the AC&C’s name and contact information.  Faculty may also reach us at drc@pdx.edu.
3. Instructor and AC&C meet to discuss essential requirements and possible alternatives. (Please provide your syllabus to the AC&C to expedite this discussion).
4. Escalation to the DRC Director: Department Chair/Dean if no resolution is reached at the AC&C: Instructor level.
5. Formation of the Fundamental Alteration Committee if the Director and Instructor still cannot agree.
6. Committee deliberates and issues a final institutional decision.

• Nature and purpose of the program.
• The relationship of the academic standard to the functional elements of the program (i.e., What is the course designed to do and measure?).
• Whether the standard is required for licensure or certification in the related profession.
• Whether exceptions or alternatives are ever permitted in the course.
• Whether the standard is required in similar programs at other institutions.

The law requires that we engage in the individual, interactive process with each student for each class.  If you've engaged in the FA process in the past and a certain accommodation was found to undermine an essential requirement, we still need to engage in the process.  That's because part of the process requires the DRC to offer the student possible alternative accommodations around their specific disability-related barriers.