RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

**(adapted from the University of South Florida’s SAS Handbook)

Students with disabilities at
Kent State University have the RIGHT to:

• Equal opportunity to learn through reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids and services
• Equal access to programs, courses, services, activities and facilities offered through the University
• Confidentiality of information regarding their disability, except as disclosure is necessary to acquire accommodations and/or is required by law.
• Accessible formats of information, as is reasonably available.

Students with disabilities at
Kent State University have the RESPONSIBILITY to:

• Meet and maintain essential institutional qualifications and standards for courses, programs, services, and activities.
• Follow published procedures for obtaining reasonable accommodations
• Provide comprehensive documentation from a licensed professional that details the manner in which their disability limits their participation, and supports each accommodation request.
• dentify themselves as an individual with a disability when an accommodation is needed, and to seek information, counsel and assistance as necessary.

Kent State University has the RIGHT to:

• Identify and establish essential functions, abilities, skills, knowledge and standards for courses, programs, services, activities and facilities, and to evaluate all students on these bases.
• Request and receive, through Student Accessibility Services, current documentation that supports the request for accommodations.
• Select among equally effective accommodations which to provide.
• Refuse an unreasonable accommodation request that imposes a fundamental alteration on a program or activity of the University.
• Deny a request for an accommodation if documentation does not support the request, or if documentation is not provided.

Kent State University has the RESPONSIBILITY to:

• Provide information to students in accessible formats upon request
• Provide or arrange reasonable accommodations in courses, programs, services, activities and facilities
• Ensure that programs, services, activities and facilities, when viewed in their entirety, are available and usable in the most integrated and appropriate settings
• Maintain appropriate confidentiality of records and communications

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 S.D.S. 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 S.D.S. 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 S.D.S. 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 S.D.S. 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.

[ Handbook Contents ] [ Introduction ][ Eligibility ] [ Reasonable Accommodations ]

[ Services & Policies ] [ Course Substitutions ] [ Assistive Technology ]

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