On many campuses today, administrators with no special training in how to assess learning disabilities decide what accommodations to grant students. Admissions officers, with the help of experts in various types of disabilities, should develop standards that are scientifically justifiable and based on data for evaluating diagnoses and granting special accommodations. Of course, the standards then need to be implemented fairly. Colleges and universities also should give faculty members more support in adapting teaching and testing methods to students with special needs. They should assign staff members, perhaps from student-services offices, to locate extra testing rooms and proctor exams, which would include answering students' questions and replaying videos for those who are unable to process the contents after one screening.
Some institutions already provide such resources, usually at the departmental level.
But most do not. For example, the university's central administration is responsible for providing exam readers or wheelchair ramps. Yet when it comes to students diagnosed with learning disabilities, many institutions expect faculty members to adapt teaching and testing plans on their own. Our colleagues tell us that we are not alone in our concern about the fair and consistent identification of students requiring special accommodations. Now, colleges and universities also admit students whose needs raise doubts about their ability to succeed in academe.