The Law
Section 504 does require the college to provide reasonable accommodations that afford an equal opportunity for students with disabilities. Achieving reasonable accommodations for a student with a disability involves shared responsibility between students, faculty, and staff. This Guide is designed to serve as a quick reference for information, accommodations, and legal requirements in providing equal access for students with disabilities.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states that:
"No otherwise qualified person with a disability in the United States shall, solely by reason of disability, be denied the benefits of, be excluded from participation in, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."
A person with a disability includes
"Any person who (1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, (2) has a record of such impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such impairment."
A "qualified person with a disability" is defined as one:
"Who meets the academic and technical standards requisite to admission or participation in the education program or activity."
Section 504 protects the rights of qualified individuals who have disabilities such as, but not limited to:
Blindness/visual impairment/Cerebral Palsy/ Deafness, hearing impairment/ Epilepsy or seizure disorder/ Orthopedic, mobility impairment/ Specific learning disability/ Speech and language disorder/ Spinal cord injury/ Tourette's syndrome/ Traumatic brain injury and Chronic illnesses, such as:
AIDS/Arthritis/Cancer/Cardiac disease/Diabetes/Multiple sclerosis/Muscular dystrophy Psychiatric disability
Under the provisions of Section 504:
The College may not discriminate in the recruitment, admission, educational process, or treatment of students. Students who have self-identified, provided documentation of disability, and requested reasonable accommodations are entitled to receive approved modifications of programs, appropriate academic adjustments, or auxiliary aids that enable them to participate in and benefit from all educational programs and activities.
Section 504 specifies that institutions may not:
limit the number of students with disabilities admitted, make preadmission inquires as to whether or not an applicant has a disability, use admission tests or criteria that inadequately measure the academic qualifications of students with disabilities because special provisions were not made, exclude a qualified student with a disability from any course of study or establish rules and policies that may adversely affect students with disabilities.
Modifications and accommodations for students with disabilities include/but are not limited to:
- Provision of services such as readers for students with blindness, visual impairments or learning disabilities, qualified interpreters and note takers for students with deafness or hearing impairments, and note takers for students with learning disabilities or orthopedic impairments
- Allowance of extra time to complete exams
- Permitting exams to be individually proctored, read orally, dictated, or typed
- Use alternative forms for students to demonstrate course mastery
- Permitting the use of computer software programs or other assistive technological devices to assist in test-taking and study skills.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act contains more specific information about compliance issues in postsecondary education than the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The ADA did extend the law to include private institutions of higher education as well as those receiving federal funding. Universities and colleges can also expect to see more rigid enforcement of the law with the passage of the ADA.
Responsibilities of Students with disabilities
Notify the Academic and Career Planning office of his/her disability in a timely fashion.
Provide disability documentation that is as recent as within the last five years.
Request the appropriate accommodations.
Responsibilities of Faculty/Staff Members
If Notified in Writing:
Faculty/staff members have the responsibility to cooperate with the Academic and Career Planning office in providing authorized accommodations in a reasonable and timely manner. Faculty/staff should talk with students whom have been referred to in a letter of request for accommodations to establish the means of providing accommodations.
If Not Notified In Writing:
If a student requests accommodation and the faculty/staff member have not been notified of the student's need for accommodation by the Academic and Career Planning office, the faculty/staff member should refer the student to the Academic and Career Planning office. If the disability is visible and the accommodation appears appropriate, the faculty/staff member should provide the accommodation while waiting for written notification.
Questions related to Accommodation:
If a faculty/staff member has questions about the appropriateness of certain accommodations, the Academic and Career Planning office should be contacted for further information and discussion. The faculty/staff member should continue to provide accommodations while the issue is being reviewed. When a student uses a tape recorder in the classroom, it is appropriate to ask the student to sign an agreement related to the use of the recording and other potential copyright issues. (Agreement forms may be obtained from the Academic and Career Planning office.)
Shared Responsibilities
Students with disabilities have the first responsibility to report their needs to the faculty in a timely manner as faculty are not required to anticipate special student needs. Faculty/staff members should keep disabled students in mind when making special class arrangements such as field trips.
If a student waits until the day of an exam to ask for extended time or a separate testing area, the student has failed to make the request in a timely manner. If the student fails to ask for extended time until late in the semester, the instructor is only required to provide accommodations from that time and does not need to offer make up exams.
What to Expect if You Have a Student With a Disability in Your Classroom
When a student with a disability has identified her/himself with the Academic and Career Planning office and has requested that information regarding accommodations be sent to professors, the Academic and Career Planning office will verify the disability and outline appropriate accommodations to professors in a confidential letter. The student is responsible to give the letter to the professor and discuss what is reasonable.
If a student with a disability does not need specific accommodations, but has a condition that may interfere with her/his coursework, the memo will explain this (examples: diabetes, epilepsy, heart condition, cancer).
If you have a student with a disability in your class and you have not received a disability memo from the student, the student may have chosen not to notify the professor or may not know about the Academic and Career Planning office. If you feel comfortable referring the student to our office, please do so. Many students do not identify themselves prior to matriculation.
Keep in mind that students with disabilities are our best resource in our attempts to provide accommodations. They usually know what works for them. Students are encouraged to speak with professors and discuss their accommodations. During this discussion is a good time to ask any questions that you may have of the student.
If you suspect a student has a learning disability, be aware that Alma College provides limited testing. Alma College does not provide a full range of diagnostic evaluations. The Academic and Career Planning office does maintain a list of resources available to refer students for diagnostic testing if deemed necessary.
Learning Disabilities
A learning disability is a permanent neurological disorder that affects the manner in which information is received, organized, remembered, and then retrieved or expressed. Students with learning disabilities possess average to above average intelligence. The disability is demonstrated by a significant discrepancy between expected and actual performance in one or more of the basic functions: memory, oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, or mathematical reasoning. Learning disabilities vary from one person to another and are often inconsistent within an individual.
Some of the terms associated with learning disabilities include:
dyslexia – difficulty reading, decoding symbols
dyscalculia – difficulty with mathematics, decoding symbols
dysgraphia – difficulty with writing (appropriate syntax and/or letter/word forms)
dysphasia – difficulty with speech or to understand others figure-ground
perception – difficulty seeing an object from a background of other objects
visual discrimination – difficulty seeing the difference in objects
auditory figure-group perception – difficulty in hearing one sound among others
auditory sequencing – difficulty hearing sounds in the right order.
Other Disabilities
A large number of students have disabilities that do not necessarily fall into the major categories already discussed but are covered by Section 504/ADA. The degree to which these disabilities affect students in the academic setting vary widely. At times it is not the condition itself but the medication that is required to control symptoms that impairs academic performance. Common side effects of medications include fatigue, memory loss, shortened attention span, loss of concentration, and drowsiness. In some cases the degree of impairment may vary from time to time because of the nature of the disability or the medication. Some conditions are progressive and others may be stable.
The following is a partial list of conditions that fall under disabilities, but are not limited to:
Diabetes mellitus/Epilepsy/Hemophilia/Lupus/Motor neuron diseases
Multiple sclerosis/Muscular dystrophy/Renal-kidney disease/ Respiratory disorders
Sickle cell anemia/Stroke/Tourette's syndrome/ AIDS/ Arthritis/Asthma/Burns
Cancer/Cardiovascular disorders/Cerebral palsy/Chronic pain /Mental Illness
Included is a sample of the Alma College Reasonable Accommodation form. Accommodations may include, but are not limited to the following:
(Note: A student is required to make up missed assignments and tests.)
Alma College Disability Special Accommodation Form:
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
RE: Special Accommodations
____________ has been identified as a student who, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, is entitled to special consideration and accommodations. I encourage you to discuss the situation in some detail with the student, so that together you can arrive at a mutually satisfactory arrangement. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at the Academic and Career Planning office (#7247).
This student is entitled to the accommodations described below:
___ Extended time on tests in a separate room free of distractions.
___ Extended time on assignments as deemed necessary in consultation with the professor.
___ Copies of instructors' notes or outlines, or assistance with note-taking.
___ Permission to tape record class lectures if so desired.
___ The use of a calculator for math classes.
___ Access to formula's during testing if requested.
___ Other: ______________________________________
I, <student>, give my permission to the Academic and Career Planning Office staff to share necessary information with relevant members of the faculty, administration, and staff of Alma College.
I understand the sole purpose of this is to help me with my program of study at Alma College. Any information that is shared with will be kept confidential and used only for the stated purpose.
All students are encouraged to discuss their disability and needs with each of their Alma College faculty. Additional information may be provided along with this form to the faculty regarding the student's specific disability.
Student signature: ___________________ Date: ___________
This resource guide is designed to assist faculty and staff to provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities.
The mandate to provide reasonable accommodations comes from federal law and from the mission of the institution to provide an equal educational opportunity to the students it admits.
Please be aware that when students ask to take a test in a quiet room, The Academic and Career Planning office has opened its doors freely allowing students to use space while monitoring their test taking. This is a service provided by the Academic and Career Planning officefor the convenience of faculty and students. However, faculty may choose to select a location and monitor the test themselves. The Academic and Career Planning office also provides readers when needed. If the Academic and Career Planning services are to be used, we only ask that the faculty member call (x7247) to make necessary arrangement 3 days prior to test date. The Academic and Career Planning office cannot be responsible for the delivery or the pick-up of tests, therefore faculty and student must discuss arrangements for this.
However, any professor can make other arrangements with the student without the Academic and Career Planning office permission or involvement. The professor does not have to change their curriculum or syllabus. Students with disabilities are required to complete any work that is assigned.
If you have additional questions regarding disability services do not hesitate to contact the Academic and Career Planning office at ext. 7247.
