Job Applicants with Disabilities
If you are a job applicant that is applying for a vacant position at UT Austin and you believe you need an accommodation because of a disability, please complete and submit the Applicant Reasonable Accommodation Request Form
Modifications to Application Process
Applicants with disabilities may request accommodations in the hiring process or application itself, such as a modification in the way an application is filed. Applicants are responsible for making specific requests so that UT Austin can provide reasonable accommodations. Applicants must make these requests in advance; UT Austin will not make retroactive accommodations. Applicants may be asked to provide supporting documentation for requests that are complex in nature or pertain to testing accommodations.
Accommodations during the Interview/Hiring Process
Applicants with disabilities can request accommodations for a scheduled interview. Applicants are responsible for making specific requests so that UT Austin can provide reasonable accommodations. Applicants must make these requests in advance either orally or in writing by submitting the Applicant Reasonable Accommodation Request Form online. Someone else can make a request for accommodation on the applicant’s behalf (e.g., a family member, friend, health professional, or another representative, such as a job coach).
Skill-Based Application Tests
In the event an applicant with a disability applies for a position that requires all applicants to complete a test(s) that measures certain skills, he or she can request testing accommodations. If the test is a requirement of the application process, the test-taker with a disability will not be granted a “test exemption.” If an applicant’s disability and need for accommodation are not obvious, Institutional Accessibility and Accommodation may ask for reasonable documentation explaining the disability and why an accommodation is needed.
The ADA requires that employers give application tests in a format or manner that does not require the use of your impaired skill unless the test is designed to measure that skill. As an example, an employer gives a written test for a proofreading position. The employer does not have to offer this test in a different format (e.g., orally) to an applicant who has dyslexia because the job itself requires an ability to read. Furthermore, if all test-takers must obtain a certain “passing score,” so must the test-taker with a disability.
Examples of testing accommodation include:
Testing in a private room
Providing extended time
Providing instructions/test in large or bold print
Providing magnification
Use of a computer with screen readers (voice output)
Use of scratch paper
Allowing breaks
The test-taker with a disability may need accommodation to help meet the standard, but the standard does not have to be lowered, changed, or altered. In most cases, the University is unable to approve accommodations such as an alternative format or extended time without documentation from a licensed healthcare provider supporting a diagnosis of disability (e.g., dyslexia) that would warrant such.
Contact Us
Contact Institutional Accessibility and Accommodation via email at ada@austin.utexas.edu or submit the contact form.
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Dr. Jennifer Maedgen
Senior Associate Vice President
ADA/Section 504 Coordinator
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Report a Barrier
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