Editing Herzing Issues: ADA and Disability Accommodations (section)

=== HU-142: Discussion board closed for comments at the Sunday deadline, blocking submission under an approved 72-hour extension accommodation ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
! style="width:14em" | Severity
| High
! Status
| CONFIRMED
|-
! Issue type
| Discussion Board Auto-Closure Blocks Approved 72-Hour Extension Accommodation
! Date added
| 2026-06-03
|-
! Owner
| colspan="3" | Professor Wilma Hart-Flynn / Rachel Dalmont (ADA/Title IX Coordinator, Online Students) / NSG 525 Faculty
|}
'''Finding.''' The reporting student attempted to submit his second peer reply for the prior week's discussion post in NSG 525-7E Clinical II, using his approved 72-hour disability accommodation extension, but the discussion board would not accept the submission because the topic was closed for comments. The Peer Response instructions state that peer responses are due Sunday at 11:59 PM CT, and the LMS displays "This topic is closed for comments" after that deadline. The reporting student's official ADA accommodation notification for this exact course (NSG 525-7E) explicitly includes: (1) a 72-hour extension on assignments when requested prior to the original deadline, and (2) permission for the student to submit all portions of the discussion post assignment on the same date. The automatic closure of the discussion board at the standard deadline directly prevents the reporting student from exercising his approved 72-hour extension, because the technical mechanism that closes comments does not account for accommodated extended deadlines. The reporting student emailed Professor Wilma Hart-Flynn, the same faculty member who deducted points in error in {{HU|HU-124}}, to ask how to proceed, and attached the completed peer reply he was unable to submit. The attached reply is a substantive, fully referenced post with APA citations to Pew Charitable Trusts 2018, Gordon and Catalini 2018, and GAO 2019, confirming the work was complete and ready before he was blocked by the closed board. This is a systemic conflict between the LMS discussion-board auto-closure configuration and approved disability accommodations: a student with a 72-hour extension cannot use it if the board closes at the original deadline.

'''Evidence.''' Email, the reporting student to Wilma Hart-Flynn: "As you know, I get a three-day extension due to my disability accommodations. I went in to do my second reply for last week's discussion post, and it will not allow me to submit it because comments are closed. Please let me know how to proceed. I am attaching for your review." Attached: complete peer reply to Student CL with APA references. Canvas/LMS Peer Response screenshot: "Please read and respond to at least two of your peers' initial postings... All peer responses are due by Sunday at 11:59 pm CT... This topic is closed for comments." Official ADA Accommodation Notification (NSG 525-7E, Clinical II), sent via IT Apps Auto Notifications to Heather Gregg and the reporting student: 72-hour extension on assignments when requested prior to the original deadline; student is permitted to submit all portions of the discussion post assignment on the same date. ADA/Title IX Coordinators listed on the notification: Online Students, Rachel Dalmont (ada@herzing.edu, rdalmont@herzing.edu, [phone redacted]); Ground Students, Emilie Thompson (ada@herzing.edu, emthompson@herzing.edu, [phone redacted]). (Source Group: email to Professor Wilma Hart-Flynn re closed discussion comments and 72-hour accommodation with attached peer reply; Canvas/LMS Peer Response screenshot; Official ADA Accommodation Notification for NSG 525-7E.)

'''Reported statement.'''
<blockquote>As you know, I get a three-day extension due to my disability accommodations. I went in to do my second reply for last week's discussion post, and it will not allow me to submit it because comments are closed. Please let me know how to proceed. [LMS]: This topic is closed for comments. [Accommodation letter]: 72-hour extension on assignments when requested prior to the original deadline. Student is permitted to submit all portions of the discussion post assignment on the same date.</blockquote>

'''Standards.''' Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. §12132) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. §794): an institution that approves a 72-hour extension accommodation must configure its systems so the accommodation can actually be used; an LMS discussion board that auto-closes at the original deadline and blocks submission defeats the approved accommodation. The accommodation letter itself states that faculty are required to provide approved accommodations in a timely and consistent manner and that students should promptly notify the ADA/Title IX Coordinator if accommodations are not implemented. The board closure is a failure of implementation: the accommodation exists on paper but cannot be exercised because the technical mechanism does not honor the extended deadline. OCR Dear Colleague Letter (2011): institutions are responsible for ensuring electronic and information technology used in instruction is accessible and does not deny students with disabilities the benefits of approved accommodations. This is the same pattern as {{HU|HU-125}} (accommodation blocked by approval-layer delay) and {{HU|HU-126}} (quiz deadline closing before accommodated retake): the accommodation is consistently defeated by deadline and closure mechanics.

'''Impact.''' The reporting student completed a substantive, fully referenced peer reply within his 72-hour accommodation window but could not submit it because the discussion board was closed for comments. Unless Professor Hart-Flynn manually reopens the board or grades the attached reply, the reporting student loses credit for work he was entitled to submit under his accommodation. This is the second documented grading and accommodation problem with this same faculty member, {{HU|HU-124}}, where she deducted points in error and was non-responsive Monday and Wednesday. The structural risk is broader: any online student with a 72-hour extension accommodation in a course using auto-closing discussion boards faces the same barrier every week, meaning the accommodation is systematically unusable for discussion assignments unless faculty manually intervene each time. The accommodation letter places the burden on the student to notify the coordinator when accommodations are not implemented, which forces the student to repeatedly advocate for an accommodation that should function automatically.

'''Notes.''' New personnel identified: Rachel Dalmont, ADA/Title IX Coordinator for Online Students (ada@herzing.edu, rdalmont@herzing.edu, [phone redacted]). This clarifies the ADA coordinator structure: Rachel Dalmont handles Online Students; Emilie Thompson handles Ground Students (emthompson@herzing.edu, [phone redacted]). This is relevant to {{HU|HU-135}}, where Emilie Thompson was out of office until June 3 just before the reporting student's clinical start; as an online student, the reporting student's coordinator is actually Rachel Dalmont. The official accommodation notification provides the full confirmed list of the reporting student's NSG 525-7E accommodations: 250 percent time on timed testing; 150 percent time on timed skills checkoffs; short breaks, visual breaks, whiteboard, noise-cancelling headset, self-administer medication, snack and water, stand and stretch during testing; 72-hour extension on assignments when requested prior to the original deadline; permitted to submit all portions of the discussion post assignment on the same date; PowerPoint slides 24 hours prior to synchronous sessions; instructor to record and transcribe synchronous sessions; timely feedback. The letter was sent via IT Apps Auto Notifications (IT-Apps-AutoNotifications@herzing.edu) to Heather Gregg and the reporting student. Cross-reference: {{HU|HU-124}} (Wilma Hart-Flynn deducted points in error, non-responsive), {{HU|HU-125}} (accommodation blocked pending chair approval), {{HU|HU-126}} (quiz closed before accommodated retake), {{HU|HU-135}} (8-hour accommodation, Thompson out of office), {{HU|HU-004}}/{{HU|HU-005}} (ADA accommodation failures). POSSIBLE follow-up: whether Professor Hart-Flynn reopened the board or accepted the attached reply for credit.

<span id="HU-145"></span>