1. Many professors/staff send ESL students to the Office for Accessibility Resources for extended time on tests. Our office does not recognize ESL as a disability. However the student should speak directly to the professor and ask about options for extended time. If the professor decides they will allow the student more time, they can provide the extension themselves, or contact the placement testing area to coordinate testing through the out of class testing options.
2. The Office of Accessibility Resources provide E-text and alternate format books for students that have a reading, visual or physical disability that is documented. We typically process 200 or more requests per semester. We cannot provide e-text or audio books to students that do not qualify as having a disability. There are options through the bookstore and websites for students to purchase these formats if preferred directly from the publishers.
3. A student with a disability does not have to seek services for accommodations. The Office of Accessibility Resources provides information for students to locate our office and find out about services; including all students that check the optional support services with the advisors at admission inquiry that they have a disability. If the student does not come into the office to set up services, accommodations will not be provided. It is not until the student arrives to inquire about services that we have to provide services. There are no “retroactive”
Federal law mandates these services and accommodations. Common sense tells us that it makes more sense for a person with a disability to get through college and get a job rather than need societal support for the rest of his or her life. And common decency tells us that each human being deserves the opportunity to live a full, meaningful life.
DSO does not (cannot) notify you that one of your students has a disability. It is up to the student to self-identify.
It is best for students with disabilities to notify you at the start of the semester, but it is not essential. They can choose not to do so and still schedule their final exam with DSO or request other services.
When a student self-identifies, you may ask that student for a form from DSO that verifies that the disability exists and lists the services the student needs.
DSO and/the student may tell you what accommodations and services have been deemed appropriate without divulging the actual nature of the student’s disability.
If you suspect a student has a disability, you can try to find out if you’re right. The best way is to say: “I’ve noticed that you ____ (appear to know the material but have a hard time on tests; seem to have difficulty paying attention; seem sleepy” -- whatever it is that you’ve noticed.). Then, “Has this always been a problem? Did you receive any special services to help you with this while you were in school?”
You should not call us to ask if someone who has not self-identified has a disability; we can’t tell you that without the student’s permission.
No. But it is important to recognize that when you do anything different for a student with a disability, it almost always helps everyone in the class. Probably the two best things you could do are: first, share copies of power point presentations/transparencies/ lecture notes, and second, use more than one method to present information.
1. Students schedule tests, not faculty.
2. Students must give us at least three days’ notice (one week for finals); if they don’t, they must take their tests in class.
3. We always schedule tests at the same time, or as close as possible to the same time, the class is taking the test.
4. You will be notified that a test has been scheduled via your MVCC e-mail address. Please deliver it to our office as soon as you can after that notification.
You may not impose upon students with disabilities other rules, such as the prohibition of recorders or laptops in classrooms or of dog guides in campus buildings that have the effect of limiting the participation of students with disabilities. In order to allow a student with a disability the use of an effective aid and, at the same time, protect the instructor, the institution may require the student to sign an agreement so as not to infringe on a potential copyright or to limit freedom of speech.
There can be many reasons. Students may need a reader or large print due to vision impairments. They may need someone to enter their answers on a computer scan-tron sheet because of problems with fine motor skills. They might need to be able to stand and stretch during a long final because of back problems. They may need extended time because of difficulty with attention or memory. Please be assured of two things: 1. that we have documentation that shows that the student needs the service being provided, and 2. that we are only providing access – no matter what we do, if the information is not in the student’s head, it will not end up on the test paper.
Students may have difficulty taking notes for a variety of reasons, including attention deficit disorder, hearing loss, auditory processing difficulties, or carpal tunnel syndrome, to name a few. If the student gives you a note taker request form, please help him/her find a volunteer. Better yet and if at all possible, share your notes.
If a student doesn’t practice good student behaviors, or if a student has minimal academic ability (in addition to his or her disability), all of the accommodations in the world aren’t going make a difference. We’re required to level the playing field – not to carry the student to home plate, or make the basket for him or her.
• Encourage students to self-disclose their disability or disabilities in an appropriate and confidential time and place.
• Check on the legitimacy of a student’s claim of a disability by contacting the disability service provider.
• Make suggestions for appropriate academic accommodations.
• Help students whom they suspect have a learning disability by suggesting that the student seek support from the appropriate campus service providers.
• Hold students with disabilities to the same standards as students without disabilities.
• See a student’s documentation of a disability or request information on the student’s disability from the campus service providers unless given written consent by the student.
• Set a limit for the number or amount of accommodations provided during a semester – or the number of students with disabilities in his/her classes.
• Allow the right to academic freedom to impact the types of accommodations permitted in the classroom.
• Refuse a request for an academic accommodation. If an issue comes up, such as a safety issue, the faculty member should contact the Office for Services to Students with Disabilities to discuss the request for accommodation.
• Ask a student if they have a learning disability if the student is experiencing difficulty in class. The faculty member can suggest the student seek out support services.
• Ask a student to arrange his or her own accommodations such as finding a note taker. It is the responsibility of the instructor to provide notes or to ask other students in the class to make a copy of their notes.
• Discuss information about a student’s disability with or in front of others.