Faculty and teaching instructors have a new resource this semester for supporting their students’ learning inside the classroom: the Student Accessibility and Accommodation Services website, studentaccessibility.umich.edu.

For decades, the campus community has looked to Services for Students with Disabilities as the institutional home for student accommodation services. SSD staff and the office’s website have long served as an open door for students, faculty and staff alike. 

The way Student Life meets students’ needs has evolved since SSD’s inception, and in 2021, SAAS was created to bring together the university’s key student-centered disability resources under one unit. Now, the digital home for student accommodations more closely reflects SAAS’ holistic approach to supporting students in their time at U-M. 

“Our vision for SAAS is to create an academic experience, a campus and a world that values equity, accessibility, inclusion and belonging for all,” said Oluwaferanmi Okanlami, SAAS’s inaugural director who’s widely known as “Dr. O” across campus. “In partnership with faculty and staff, we aim to change perspectives around disability, dismantle systemic barriers and provide individualized support for disabled students at U-M.”

The website is a part of a broader effort to make digital information more accessible for all users, including faculty and staff who teach and support students. Instructors will find a webpage that offers quick access to tools such as a disability accommodations syllabus statement template and detailed information on the digital platform used to manage student accommodations, including student exam accommodations.

SAAS is a collection of four departments that support various dimensions of student well-being at U-M:

• Academic Support & Access Partnerships offers workshops, coaching and other programs to support disabled students’ academic success.
• Adaptive Sports & Fitness aims to increase awareness about, knowledge of, access to, and participation in adaptive sports and fitness among people with and without disabilities at U-M and in the broader community. 
• Services for Students with Disabilities gives disabled students access in the classroom and housing.
• Testing Accommodation Centers are one option for instructors to provide equitable access to course examinations, offering a secure and supportive environment for students approved for testing accommodations.

Bookmarked webpages to SSD resources will be redirected to the new SAAS site for six months.