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Saint Xavier University’s Disability Services: A Guide to the Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities . Presented By: Margaret Rose McDonnell Director, Learning Center and Disability Services Room: L108 Phone : (773) 298-3308 E -Mail: mcdonnell@sxu.edu.
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Saint Xavier University’s Disability Services: A Guide to the Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Presented By: Margaret Rose McDonnell Director, Learning Center and Disability Services Room: L108 Phone: (773) 298-3308 E-Mail: mcdonnell@sxu.edu
Statistical Data on Students with Disabilities Attending Institutions of Higher Education • Now more than ever, high school students with disabilities are planning on attending postsecondary institutions to continue their educational endeavors (including vocational and career schools, two-and-four year colleges, and universities). • The National Center for Education Statistics (the U.S. Department of Education’s federal agency for data and research), states that 88% of colleges reported enrolling students with disabilities in the 2008-2009 academic year, or more than 707,000 students. • Of these students, about one-third had a specific learning disability.
Documentation Requirements • To receive academic accommodations for his or her disability, a student must present documentation (at his or her expense) from a licensed or certified professional to the director or coordinator of Disability Services at his or her college or university. • All documentation must be within the last three years. • All documentation must be decided on a case-by-case basis. • The purpose of documentation: • To establish that an individual has a disability. • To describe and document the functional impact of the disability for use in establishing the need for and design of accommodations.
Documentation Guidelines According to the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), documentation should include the following elements: The credentials of the diagnosing professional. A statement identifying the disability, date of the most current diagnostic evaluation, and the date of the original diagnosis. A description of the diagnostic tests, methods, and/or criteria used including specific test results (including standardized testing scores), and the examiner's narrative interpretation.
Documentation Guidelines continued • A description of the expected progression or stability of the impact of the disability over time. • A description of current and past accommodations, services, and/or medications. • Recommendations for accommodations, adaptive devices, assistive services, and/or support services and strategies.
Confidentiality • All colleges or universities will treat data on students with disabilities with confidentiality in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. • Disability information and documentation is housed separately from students’ academic information.
Accommodations • All accommodations are individualized and based on the specific criteria of the student’s needs. • Colleges and universities must look at each individual disability and the functional impact of the disability for each student(case-by-case and class-by-class). • When evaluating a student’s request for accommodations, the overall objective of the law is to afford “equal access” to the opportunity not unfair advantage. • Postsecondary institutions are not required to lower or substantially modify essential academic requirements or make adjustments that would fundamentally alter the nature of a service, program, or activity, or that would result in an undue financial or administrative burden.
What is a “reasonable” accommodation? • A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a course, program, service, activity, or facility that enables qualified students with disabilities to have equal opportunity to attain the same level of performance or to have equal benefits and privileges as are available to similarly situated students without a disability. • Temporary accommodations are offered to students who may have undergone surgery or experienced a temporary physical injury that requires assistance with course work or the ability to maneuver around campus. To qualify for this one-time accommodation, the student must provide documentation from a medical source describing the nature of his or her injury and indicating the duration of the impairment.
It is the sole responsibility of each student to contact the director or coordinator of his or her university’s Disability Services office to request accommodations. The outline below illustrates the application procedures that the Learning Center and Disability Services office utilizes: • Schedule an appointment with the director of Disability Services, Margaret Rose McDonnell at (773) 298-3308. • Submit current, comprehensive documentation of a disability for which you are requesting academic accommodations. If the student does not have documentation, schedule a meeting with the director to discuss documentation requirements and potential accommodations. • Once the documentation has been reviewed and deemed appropriate, the director will schedule a meeting with the student to develop an “accommodation plan.” The student will then be given a letter for each class outlining his or her accommodations for that semester. Requesting Services
Requested Services continued • The student is responsible for meeting with his or her faculty member to discuss the accommodations. The student and faculty member will mutually agree on how to carry out the accommodation requests so as to best satisfy individual needs without adversely affecting the academic integrity of the course. • Since the process of providing accommodations involves assessing the needs for specific courses, it is necessary to review and revise the student’s accommodation plans on a semester-by-semester basis.
Rights and Responsibilities of Students Students with documented disabilities have the right to: • Equal access to courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities available through the university or college. • Individualized professional assessment of the documentation supporting the disabling condition and its impact on function in an academic environment. • Appropriate and reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids determined on a case-by-case basis. • Appropriate confidentiality of all information pertaining to the disability with the choice of to whom to disclose the disability, except as required by law. • Information reasonably available in accessible formats.
Rights and Responsibilities continued • Students with documented disabilities have the responsibility to: • Meet the essential qualifications and institutional standards of the university or college he or she attends. • Disclose his or her disability in a timely manner to the Disability Services officewhen seeking an accommodation(s). • Follow the specific procedures for obtaining appropriate and reasonable accommodations as outlined by the Disability Services office. • Provide documentation from an appropriate professional source that verifies the nature of the disability, functional limitations, and the need for special accommodation(s).
Rights and Responsibilities of Universities The university has the right to: • Identify and establish standards for courses, programs, services, activities and facilities, and to evaluate students on this basis. • Request and receive current documentation that supports requests for accommodations. • Select among equally effective accommodations, adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids and services. • Deny a request for accommodations if the documentation demonstrates that the request is not warranted, or if the student fails to provide appropriate documentation. • Refuse an unreasonable request for an accommodation that imposes a fundamental alteration on a program or activity of the university
Rights and Responsibilities of Universities continued Saint Xavier University has the responsibility to: • Ensure that courses, programs, services, activities and facilities, when viewed in their entirety, are available and usable in the most appropriate settings. • Evaluate students on their abilities and not their disabilities. • Provide or arrange reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities in courses, programs, services, activities and facilities. • Maintain appropriate confidentiality of records and communication, disclosing only when permitted or required by law.
Differences Between High School and University High School University Parent does not have access to student records without student’s written consent Student advocates for self. Student must get evaluation at own expense Parental Role • Parent has access to student records and can participate in the accommodation process. • Parent advocates for student. Required Documentation • School provides evaluation at no cost to student.
Self-Advocacy High School University The student must self-identify to the Disability Services office to request services. Primary responsibility for self-advocacy and arranging accommodations belongs to the student. Professors are usually open and helpful, but most expect you to initiate contact if you need assistance. • The student is identified by the school and is supported by parents and teachers. • Primary responsibility for arranging accommodations belongs to the school. • Teachers approach you if they believe you need assistance.
Grades and Tests High School University Testing is usually infrequent and may be cumulative, covering large amounts of material. Makeup tests are seldom an option; if they are, you need to request them. Professors expect you to read, save, and consult the course syllabus (outline); the syllabus spells out exactly what is expected of you, when it is due, and how you will be graded. • Testing is frequent and covers small amounts of material. • Makeup tests are often available. • Teachers often take time to remind you of assignments and due dates.
Study Responsibilities High School University You manage your own time and complete assignments independently. You need to study at least 2 to 3 hours outside of class for each hour in class. • Your time and assignments are structured by others. • You may study outside of class as little as 0 to 2 hours a week, and this may be mostly last-minute test preparation.
Classes High School University Individual students must manage their own time and schedules. Academic year is divided into two separate 15-week semesters plus a week for final exams. Courses are offered fall, spring, and summer semesters, and summer classes may be used to accelerate graduation. • Usually follow a school-directed schedule and proceed from one class to another. • Typically a school year is 36 weeks long; some classes extend over both semesters. Summer classes may be offered but are not used to accelerate graduation.
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