Office of Student Life
Disability Services

Remote Participation Requests

The Ohio State University primarily offers in-person instruction, and most of the university’s academic programs have essential in-person components. Remote participation may be approved for one semester as a reasonable accommodation if a student’s disability renders them temporarily unable to participate in person.

If this applies to you, we first encourage you to enroll in all online courses if possible. Your college’s academic advising office is a great resource in exploring alternative course options. If you are required to enroll in an in-person course and want to request to participate remotely, you must submit an updated letter of support from your healthcare provider. Please share our updated Documentation Guidance document with your healthcare provider to ensure that their letter meets all requirements.

We ask that you submit your provider’s letter of support to us as soon as possible so that we may expediently review and coordinate these requests. Our priority deadline for remote requests is three (3) weeks prior to the first day of the academic term for which you are requesting. We will review requests received after this deadline, but keep in mind that review often takes several weeks and course delivery options may be limited.

Parameters for remote participation:

  • This accommodation is not intended for multiple semesters in a row, nor to convert an in-person academic program into an all-virtual experience. Long-term requests for remote participation will require additional steps to assess feasibility within your academic program.
  • Once SLDS determines that you are eligible for remote participation, full approval is contingent upon assessing feasibility in each of your courses in collaboration with faculty. If the course design or learning objectives make remote participation not feasible, then the accommodation will not be approved for that course.
  • If remote participation is approved, there may still be aspects of a course’s design that are not ideal for remote participants. Remote participation within an in-person course is not the equivalent experience of a course designed to be delivered online. You will be encouraged to utilize instructors’ office hours and to work with your instructors to identify campus and outside resources to support your success in the course.