Disability Services

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Disability Services

The Office of Disability Services works closely with other College departments to provide appropriate aids and services for students with disabilities to ensure their full participation in all courses, activities, programs, and services.

Disability Services is a division of the Learning Commons. Click here to learn more.

The Office of Disability Services works closely with other College departments to provide appropriate aids and services for students with disabilities to ensure their full participation in all courses, activities, programs, and services. A reasonable accommodation is a modification or change in the academic atmosphere, living environment, or the way things are usually done that provides equal access to an educational program, or otherwise provides equal access to benefits available to other individuals in the educational environment or residential halls.

The services provided help to:

  • Remove barriers, identify accommodations, and facilitate access to address individual student needs
  • Support students in achieving academic, personal, and career goals
  • Empower students with disabilities to become self-advocates
  • Serve as a source of disability-related information for the College.

 

Learn more about disability and accommodations by selecting the questions below.

What is a disability?

The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) defines disability as:

  • a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities;
  • a person who has a history or record of such an impairment;
  • a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.

Individuals who fall into the first two categories may be eligible for accommodations if they are experiencing barriers because of the interaction of between their disability and an inaccessible aspect of their education. Reasonable accommodations are not determined based on disability or diagnosis alone. A student’s disability plus any specific academic impacts shapes what accommodations may be reasonable.

What are some examples of disabilities?

Disabilities may fall into one of the following diagnostic categories but may also be present in additional ways:

  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
  • Blind or Low Vision
  • Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH)
  • Intellectual Disability
  • Orthopedic
  • Health Conditions
  • Mental Health Conditions
  • Specific Learning Disability
  • Speech/Language Disability
  • Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Temporary Disability (Broken arm/hand/leg, concussion, etc....)

What are (and are not) higher education accommodations?

  • Accommodations are academic adjustments that allow a student with a disability to have an equal opportunity to meet an academic standard or requirement.
  • Accommodations do not reduce the established course standards or learning objectives.
  • Accommodations also do not lessen the expectations required of a college student to fulfill general academic responsibilities.

What is the purpose of an accommodation?

  • An accommodation should create access by removing or modifying a barrier present in the environment (physical space, policy, written/auditory/electronic information, and/or attitude) that nondisabled peers do not experience.
  • The goal is to adjust the method in which academic tasks are accomplished without substantially altering the task itself or the academic rigor required. For example, a student may need additional time to take an exam, rather than reducing the number of questions or difficulty of an exam.
  • Accommodations are not meant to ensure academic success, provide comfort, or reduce discomfort, but ensure that students with disabilities are not disadvantaged in their education simply because of their disability.

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