New Students
To Do within the first two weeks of the semester:
- Make an appointment with the Learning Support Services (LSS) staff (Walker 124).
- Complete an Application for Services.
- Fill out the Checklist of Services Available.
Disability Services available through Learning Support Services
Students needing to request disability services must identify with
our office as soon as possible (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act). In the college setting a student does not qualify for services
until they have registered with the designated disability office
(Learning Support Services), provided the appropriate documentation,
and been certified for eligibility. It is the student's choice as to
whether they choose to register with Learning Support Services.
Eligibility for Accommodations
Any
student with a documented disability is eligible to receive services
from Learning Support Services (LSS). The purpose of accommodations is
to reduce or eliminate any disadvantages that may exist because of an
individual's disability. The law does not require institutions to
waive specific courses or academic requirements considered essential to
a particular program or degree. Rather they are required to adjust
existing requirements on a case-by-case basis in order to ensure that
individuals are not discriminated against on the basis of their
disability.
Every student with a documented disability has the following rights:
- Equal access to courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities available through the College.
- Reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids determined on a case-by-case basis.
- Appropriate confidentially of all information pertaining to his/her disability with the choice of whom to disclose his/her disability to except as required by law.
- Information reasonably available in accessible formats.
Every student with a documented disability has the following responsibility to:
- Meet the College's qualifications and essential technical, academic, and institutional standards.
- Identify himself or herself in a timely manner as an individual with a disability when seeking an accommodation.
- Provide documentation from an appropriate and qualified professional source that verifies the nature of the disability, current functional limitations, and the need for specific accommodations.
- Follow specific procedures for obtaining reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids.
Procedure for Accessing Accommodations - Do this within the first two weeks of the semester:
- Make an appointment with the LSS staff (Walker 124) to register for Disability Services.
- Submit appropriate documentation to the LSS staff in order to verify the need for accommodations (see Documentation Guidelines for more details).
- Complete an Application for Services.
- Fill out the Checklist of Services Available.
- Make a request with the LSS staff for accommodations and/or academic adjustments (if applicable).
NOTE: Reasonable accommodations depend upon the nature and the "current substantial limitation" of the documented disability. While the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires that priority consideration be given to the specific methods requested by the student, it does not imply that a particular accommodation must be granted if it is deemed not reasonable and other suitable techniques are available.
