9.11 Access and Accommodations for Employees and Students with Disabilities

MIT is committed to providing effective and reasonable accommodations to employees and students with documented disabilities, in accordance with federal law.   

For employees, the Disabilities Services and Medical Leaves Office (DSMLO) within Human Resources oversees accommodation requests and also oversees medical leaves. Employees with disabilities may request reasonable accommodations through their immediate supervisor or their human resources officer, or may contact the DSMLO directly for assistance.  Decisions on whether an accommodation is required and if so, the specifics of the accommodation are made on a case-by-case basis through an interactive process with the employee requesting the accommodation. It is the responsibility of the employee requesting an accommodation to provide sufficient information, upon request, to support the need for the accommodation requested.   

For students, Disability and Access Services (DAS) in the Division of Student Life oversees access and accommodation requests.  DAS ensures that qualified students with disabilities receive equal access to all of the Institute’s programs, activities, and services. DAS works closely with faculty members and students in determining reasonable accommodations. Faculty are responsible for working with DAS and the student to implement approved reasonable accommodations.

Employees are responsible for contacting the DSMLO if a reasonable accommodation approved by the DSMLO is not effectively implemented or is denied to them. Students are responsible for contacting DAS if academic access is not provided or is not implemented in an effective manner for them. The DSMLO or DAS will work with Institute personnel and the individual with the disability to resolve disagreements regarding recommended accommodations.

Pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, MIT has adopted an internal process to provide the prompt and fair resolution of complaints alleging a violation of MIT’s nondiscrimination policy based on a disability. MIT has designated the Chancellor (for student matters) and the Vice President for Human Resources (for employee matters) as Section 504 Coordinators; formal complaints alleging discrimination based on a disability may be submitted to them. Also see Sections 9.3 Nondiscrimination, 9.5 Harassment, and 9.8 Complaint Resolution.