Identifying Students with Disabilities

You should include this statement in your course outline/syllabus in order to be sure to reach those students who may have missed the class announcement.  This enables us to assess the disability-related needs of these students and take whatever steps are necessary to insure that those needs are met.

Please update the following statement in all your syllabus’ for the Spring 2013 semester. I have attached a copy of the memo and an online course accommodation information for you to cut and paste.

I would appreciate hearing from anyone in the class who has any type of disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) which may require some special accommodation.  Please see me during my office hours so that we can discuss your needs. Before services can begin, you must also contact the Disability Services Office, 792-5644, in Room 153 of the Academic Building on the Utica Campus. (For classes on the Rome Campus, students should be referred to the Student Services Office, PC A30, 334-7709). Staff members will review your documentation, determine your eligibility for accommodations, and decide what those accommodations will be.

If you plan to show uncaptioned DVDs or require the use of any uncaptioned audio/visual materials, please also include the following statement:

Uncaptioned educational DVDs and/or other uncaptioned audio-visual materials will be shown in this class.  Anyone with a hearing disability should discuss this with me during office hours.

           [Note: If someone responds to this part of the statement, please contact DSO to discuss options.]               

In most instances, accommodations can easily be made (special seating, help finding note-takers, permission to tape-record classes, time extensions on tests, etc.).  You may want to arrange to confer with staff directly regarding those students with more complex needs.  We will be happy to work with you to make whatever arrangements are necessary.

 

Working with Students with Disabilities in Online Courses

Disability Services Office

As online courses proliferate, so too will the number of students with disabilities enrolling in them.  For most of these students, the appeal of online courses is the same as it is for any other student, but for some there is an added benefit.  These courses can be an excellent way for students to avoid disability-related barriers that make it difficult or even impossible for them to function successfully in courses that are offered in the college classroom. The vast majority of these students will need no accommodations at all, because the nature of online courses will allow them to circumvent the problems they would ordinarily encounter.  Others will need some minor considerations. However, there are design elements you may choose to employ that could create new and at times insurmountable barriers to access. Please contact Tamara Mariotti to ensure that your entire course is accessible to individuals with disabilities and that it complies fully with federal regulations regarding accessible web content.


The accommodation process will for the most part parallel that which occurs when the student is physically present in the college classroom, with the primary difference being the medium in which our communication takes place.

Please use the following procedure when working with students in the online environment:

1. Include this statement about self-identification and accommodation in your course syllabus:

I would appreciate hearing from anyone in the class who has any type of disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) which may require some special accommodation.  Please email me so that we can discuss your needs. Before services can begin, you must also contact the Disability Services Office, 792-5644, in Room 153 of the Academic Building on the Utica Campus. (For the Rome Campus, students should contact the Student Services Office, PC A30, 334-7709). Staff members will review your documentation, determine your eligibility for accommodations, and decide what those accommodations will be. Students who notified me regarding accommodation needs in a previous semester must do so again each subsequent semester

If you plan to show uncaptioned videos or require the use of any uncaptioned audio/visual materials, please also include the following statement:

Uncaptioned educational DVDs and/or other uncaptioned audio-visual materials will be shown in this class.  Anyone with a hearing disability should discuss this with me.

[Note: If someone responds to this part of the statement, please contact DSO to discuss options.]

 

2. Devise a system whereby students must acknowledge/confirm that they read and understood the above statements.

3. When students self-identify, respond to them via e-mail with a cc to Disability Services, saying that you are happy to accommodate students with disabilities once you receive information from Disability Services that verifies the disability and states their accommodation needs.

 

4. Disability Services will acknowledge your e-mail (using “reply all”), and then communicate separately with students, discussing specifics about the disability, requesting and reviewing documentation, and considering the appropriate accommodations.  Updates regarding the status of this process will be sent to the professor as necessary.

5. Disability Services will e-mail the usual Accommodation Plan to the professor (with a copy to the student). Any additional information or explanations will accompany the form.

 

6. When extended time testing is the appropriate accommodation, the Disability Services representative will advise the professor and student regarding how much additional time should be given.  Students should be told at this time what the penalty will be for exceeding that time limit; this penalty should be the same as it is for students without disabilities who exceed the allotted time. 

7. In hybrid online courses, tests that are taken online will follow the online course procedures.  Tests that are taken on campus will follow on-campus procedures.

 

8. In the case of tests that the student will be taking on campus with Disability Services, the student must follow the usual office procedures. He or she must contact Disability Services at least 3 days before the test for tests during the semester and at least one week in advance for finals.  This should be done via a phone call to (315) 792-5644. 

9. Don’t accept vague statements about disabilities or accommodation needs from students (“I might need a little extra time.”), and don’t make any of your own.  Make it clear that you are more than willing to discuss and attempt to meet student needs but that you cannot do so without detailed information and specific requests for assistance or accommodations, channeled through the Disability Services Office.

 

10. Save copies of all written correspondence and take and keep notes on all conversations you have with students related to their disabilities.

11. Contact a Disability Services staff member if you have any questions or concerns.


CONTACT INFORMATION:

Disability Services Coordinator:
Tamara Mariotti
(315) 731-5702
AB 153, Utica Campus
tmariotti@mvcc.edu


Interim Learning and Assistive Technology Specialist     Rome Campus Disability Services
Joanna Nassimos                                                                    Josalyn DeJesus
(315) 792-5413                                                                       (315) 334-7744
AB 153, Utica Campus                                                               PC A30, Rome Campus
jnassimos@mvcc.edu                                                                 jdejesus@mvcc.edu
                                                                                            

 
Interim Technical Assistant/Accommodative Testing Coordinator
John Burns
(315) 792-5644
AB 153, Utica Campus
jburns@mvcc.edu


Secure Test email: disabilityoffice@mvcc.edu

Please send your tests to this email and not individuals

Spring 2013