Accommodations (or “What Isn’t Accessibility?”)

You may have noticed that when we talk about “accessibility” we use the word “everyone.”  Accessibility is something we do for everyone.  Accommodations, on the other hand, are things to do to tailor an educational opportunity to a particular person. Accommodations are for the individual.

In the United States, people have legally-protected rights to receive certain accommodations in most educational environments. In order to receive accommodations, individuals must provide certain documentation to the college or university, and the institution then provides the necessary accommodations.

In many ways, accessible choices help to support effective accommodations making them quicker, cheaper, and more effective. But accommodations are not the same as accessibility.  Accommodations are the institution’s job to provide.  Accessibility is everyone’s job.