2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This practice paper presents a synthesis of university web-published accommodation processes into three prototypes with evaluation of their alignment with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II/Section 504. Based on the findings, a concise website checklist is provided to support accessible implementation in engineering programs. Accommodation processes shape the learning experience of disabled engineering students and influence how they view themselves as engineers. In this paper, we examine the types of formal accommodations offered by US universities, assess the extent to which information is publicly accessible, and evaluate alignment with Title II of the ADA as amended and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Using an exploratory content analysis approach, we analyzed disability services webpages from 25 institutions nationwide and inductively identified recurring configurations of the processes that emerged from those webpages. Overall, three accommodation process prototypes, each indicating varying levels of student responsibility and differences in organizational approach and transparency, were identified: (1) Student-Driven Manual, which asks students to self-advocate and connect accommodations with courses and instructors; (2) Institutional Portal-Based, which uses a university portal to streamline requests, status, and guidelines; and (3) Pre-Approval Interactive, which includes multiple meetings with service staff to ensure a comprehensive review before approving accommodations. These web-published steps were then evaluated against ADA Title II (§35.130, §35.160) and Section 504 (§104.44, §104.4). While initial steps for implementing accommodations were often visible on public pages, other aspects, including differing timelines and varying visibility of collaboration among students, disability services, and faculty raise questions about whether posted processes and policies meet the spirit of federal mandates.