Support for Faculty with Disabilities
Academic appointees with disabilities may request a reasonable accommodation to enable them to perform the essential functions of their position. UC Berkeley is committed to exploring appropriate accomodations for individuals who request them, and to providing these accommodations whenever feasible. The Berkeley Accommodation Process for Academic Appointees (updated in 2021) specifies the procedures for engaging in an interactive process between the appointee and appropriate representatives of the Campus for accommodating an appointee with a disability. The key actions are:
- Faculty member: Begins the process by asking their chair or dean for an accommodation; provides information from a health care provider regarding limitations or restrictions, using forms available from the Academic Personnel Office. (Details about the medical condition are confidential and do not need to be provided.)
- Chair or dean: Explores the request with the faculty member and consults with campus offices to determine if the request is appropriate to the individual and feasible for the University.
- Campus consultants include: the Academic Personnel Office, Office for Faculty Equity and Welfare, Faculty/Staff Disability Management (University Health Services), and the Disability Access and Compliance Office.
- Vice Provost for the Faculty: Some central funding is available to provide financial support for a reasonable accommodation.
The Academic Personnel Office also manages leaves of absence, medical leaves, medical separations, and family medical leaves.
