Expanding Access: UIC Law Invests in Dedicated Support for Students with Disabilities
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July serves as Disability Awareness Month, and UIC Law is recognizing its commitment to fostering an accessible and inclusive learning environment for students with disabilities. By investing in staff and resources focused specifically on accommodations, the law school is helping ensure students have equitable opportunities to succeed both in and out of the classroom.
Leading those efforts are Marc Ellis, assistant director of Student Engagement and Accommodations, and Milea Foy, administrative associate for Student Life and Leadership. Together, they guide students through the accommodations process, coordinate individualized support and work closely with faculty and university partners to ensure approved accommodations are implemented effectively while maintaining the law school’s academic standards.
UIC Law offers a variety of accommodations based on each student’s approved needs. These include extended testing time, reduced-distraction and private testing environments, speech-to-text software, classroom recordings, assistive technology, scheduled breaks during examinations and alternative formats for course materials and exams.
To further expand access, the law school has invested in remote proctoring technology, allowing multiple students to complete accommodated exams simultaneously while maintaining exam security. The technology gives students greater flexibility while enabling Ellis and Foy to more efficiently coordinate accommodated testing.
For Ellis, who has spent more than a decade working with law students, accommodations are about ensuring they have an equitable opportunity to succeed; not giving anyone an academic advantage. He also notes that law school presents unique academic challenges, making individualized support an important part of student success.
“Students aren’t asking for an ‘upper hand’; they’re asking for a fair path,” Ellis said. “By helping provide that to students with accommodations, we are not only doing a great service for our students, but we are also doing a great service for the legal profession.”
Foy, who previously coordinated accommodations and accessible testing at the high school level before joining UIC Law, said her work has always focused on creating student-centered testing environments that uphold academic integrity while removing unnecessary barriers.
“Providing reasonable accommodations in law school is essential because accommodations promote equitable access, not an unfair advantage,” Foy said. “Students with disabilities should have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills without being limited by barriers unrelated to their ability to succeed.”
As more students enter graduate and professional programs having received accommodations throughout their educational journeys, UIC Law continues to adapt its services to meet their evolving needs. Through dedicated staff, innovative testing solutions and individualized support, UIC Law continues to remove barriers to success, ensuring students can focus on what matters most: developing the knowledge, skills and confidence to become tomorrow’s legal leaders.