Policy 6.07: Student Accessibility Services

Policy

In compliance with the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, Quincy College and Student Accessibility Services works with the campus community including academic departments, faculty and staff, to provide equal access and opportunity to educational programming, activities and services for students with disabilities. Under the ADA guidelines, a person with a disability is one with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities including operation of a major bodily function, has a record of such impairment or is regarded as having such an impairment. Quincy College prohibits discrimination against any qualified student on the basis of physical or mental impairment, or perceived disability, and is committed to providing reasonable and appropriate accommodations and resources to students with disabilities.

Procedure

Requesting Accommodations

To receive accommodations, a student must first register with Student Accessibility Services. Registration includes completing a Student Accessibility Services intake form, providing documentation of the disability (see below), and scheduling a meeting with Student Accessibility Services to discuss accommodations and/or services relative to the student’s disability as each student’s needs are unique and must be addressed individually. If a student is offered services and accommodations through Student Accessibility Services, the Student Accessibility Services Coordinator will review the proposed services and accommodations with the student to ensure that the student has a clear understanding of services and accommodations offered. Moreover, the Student Accessibility Services Coordinator will review the proposed services and accommodations with each of the student’s instructors to ensure their understanding of the proposed services and accommodations, and to address any potential concerns, including but not limited to whether the requested services and accommodations may fundamentally alter the course. Thereafter, the Student Accessibility Services Coordinator will generate a letter of accommodations that explain the granted services and/or accommodations.

If the College denies a request for accommodations, the College must clearly communication the reason for its decision to the student and allow the student a reasonable opportunity to respond and provide additional documentation that may address the College’s objection.

Every semester thereafter, in circumstances when a student is assigned a new instructor and/or new course, and/or when a student believes their academics needs have changed, the student must notify Student Accessibility Services of his or her academic needs to initiate the College’s process described above.

Request for any and all accommodations should be made in advance, preferably at the start of the semester to allow reasonable time to prepare for the implementation of services. Students with disabilities who choose not to register with Student Accessibility Services will not receive accommodations under the ADA or Section 504.

The College reserves the right to make the final decisions regarding accommodations.

Requirements for Documentation

The student is responsible to submit the most current documentation from a qualified and/or licensed clinician(s) with expertise related to the student’s physical, mental, and/or learning disabilities. The appropriate documentation should be comprehensive and include a diagnosis of the disability, the history of the disability, the testing and assessment tools used to render the diagnosis, and an explanation of how the disability affects a major life function. In addition, the documentation should include recommendations for accommodating the disability. It is essential that a link is established between the requested accommodation(s) and the functional limitations of the student’s disability.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Support services are available at the College to enable students with disabilities to participate fully in college life and achieve their academic goals. Listed below are some of the services and accommodations offered through Student Accessibility Services:

• Academic planning and advising, including assistance with registration.
• Classroom educational accommodations: extended time for in-class assignments, quizzes and/or tests; recording lectures, note taker, oral and/or written instructions; computer use for in-class writing assignments; preferential seating; prearranged or frequent breaks; advanced noticed of assignments; alternative formats for book and course materials; oral dictation for tests and quizzes; extra wait time for oral responses.
• Adaptive Technology such as Echo Smart Pen, text to speech software, audioplayers/recorders, reading guides, and frequency modulation (FM) systems.
• Testing in a distraction-reduced environment.
•  Access to handicapped parking available on campus.
• American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreter service.

Fundamental alterations of the academic program is not considered a reasonable accommodation.

Accommodation Letter

Every semester the student requests letters of accommodation. The Student Accessibility Services Coordinator will generate a letter for each classroom instructor, notifying the instructor of the accommodation(s). The Student Accessibility Services Coordinator may email the instructor said letter or the student may be asked to deliver a hard copy of the letter to the instructor, to sign jointly and then return the signed letter to Student Accessibility Services within the allotted time indicated in the accommodation letter.

Student Responsibilities

The student’s responsibilities are to register with Student Accessibility Services by completing a Student Accessibility Services intake form and submitting the appropriate documentation, as described above. Each semester thereafter, the student must submit a new request for accommodation form in a timely manner to allow a reasonable amount of time to process the request. In addition, the student is responsible to maintain reasonable contact with Student Accessibility Services regarding granted services and/or accommodations. In the event that the approved accommodations are not implemented in a satisfactory manner, the student is required to contact and report issues to the Student Accessibility Services Coordinator

Instructor Responsibilities

The instructor’s responsibility is to inform Student Accessibility Services if the instructor believes that the requested accommodation fundamentally alters the course and/or if implementing the accommodation is problematic. Every effort will be made to assist the instructor to meet the concerns regarding the accommodation.

A statement regarding who students contact to request accessibility services should be included on the instructor’s syllabus. For example:

If a student has a disability that qualifies and under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and requires accommodations, he/she should contact Student Accessibility Services at: sas@quincycollege.edu