STUDENT HANDBOOK
Reasonable Accommodations
"Reasonable accommodation" is a term borrowed from legislation
that protects the rights of individuals with disabilities. In the university
environment, it refers to any necessary modification or adjustment to
a facility, course, program, service or activity that affords an otherwise
qualified student with a disability equal opportunity to attain the
same level of performance, benefits and/or privileges as are available
to a student without a disability.
To determine reasonable accommodations, Student Accessibility Services
will seek information from University staff regarding essential standards
for courses, programs, services, activities and facilities. It is important
to note that the University is not obligated to modify an element of
a course, etc. that is deemed essential to the curriculum. Final determination
of accommodations is made by Student Accessibility Services.
Reasonable accommodations are determined by considering:
- Documentation of the disability and recommendations made by the diagnosing professional.
- The student's request for a specific accommodation.
- Barriers resulting from the interaction between the documented disability and the campus environment.
- Possible accommodations that might remove the barriers.
- Whether or not the student has access to the course, program, service activity or facility without accommodation (i.e., is he/she otherwise qualified for participation).
- Whether or not essential elements of the course, program, service, activity or facility are compromised by the accommodation.
Accommodations are determined on an individual basis based on the student's
unique interaction with the University environment. Initial accommodation
requests should be made in the required Pre-Enrollment Interview, which
should occur NO LATER than 4-6 weeks prior to enrollment.
Subsequent accommodation requests/changes should be made to a member
of the SAS. staff by making an appointment to discuss the individual
need.
To summarize, a student is REQUIRED to do the following to obtain accommodations:
- Schedule a Pre-Enrollment Interview with a member of the S.D.S. staff 4-6 weeks prior to enrollment.
- Schedule a "check-in meeting" during the first two weeks of
- EACH semester with a member of the S.D.S. staff.
- Meet with each professor individually, identify him/herself as
a student with a disability, give the professor accommodation letters
(provided by SAS. at the "check-in meeting", and discuss which accommodations
are most appropriate for the particular course.
Note: Students approved to use auxiliary aids (such as American
Sign Language Interpreters, FM Augmented Hearing Devices, Textbooks
on Cassette Tape, Real-time captioning) MUST notify a member of the
SAS. staff each semester of their need.
Notification of Professors:
During the required check-in meeting in the first two weeks of classes
each semester, Student Accessibility Services will provide the student
with "accommodation letters" verifying that the student has a documented
disability. The letters also detail any accommodation needs of the student.
The letters are given to the student to hand deliver to each instructor
in order to enhance communication regarding the student's disability,
and to facilitate any need the student may have relating to the particular
course. It should be noted that faculty are under no obligation to provide
classroom accommodations for students who fail to present them with
an accommodation letter.
The responsibility of provision of accommodations is often shared between
the faculty, the student and Student Accessibility Services. This letter
also invites faculty to contact SAS. with any questions or concerns
about accommodations. It is important to mention that faculty do not
have the right to access diagnostic or other information regarding a
students' disability without their written permission. The staff of
Student Accessibility Services is extremely cognizant of the need for
confidentiality of this material, and will discuss ONLY accommodation-related
information with faculty.
Policies to Obtain Accommodations: Help is Available!
There are many things that a new student at the University must keep
track of, and a student with a disability often has even more to manage.
The staff of Student Accessibility Services is available to help you
sort through your many priorities, to make sure that you comply with
all necessary policies to continue to obtain needed accommodations.
Please feel free to make an appointment with a member of the staff to
discuss your needs.
The following section is a summary of services and accommodations that are available to students with disabilities, and the policies that students must comply with in order to obtain these services.
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