Faculty and Staff Resources

Faculty and Staff Resources

Accessibility Services Mission
Central Lakes College Accessibility Services values diversity and inclusion and seeks to promote access to educational opportunities for all students. We honor and respect each student and their uniqueness. Our commitment to students:

  • Provide and ensure access to resonable accommodations.
  • Promote and advocate for clear, transparent, and effective communication with students, faculty, and staff.
  • Purposful effort to maintain and enhance our collaborative approach with students, faculty, and staff.
  • Foster self-advocacy skills.
  • Adhear to Federal Civil Rights Laws of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
  • Embrace the spirit of the law by advocating for an impactful educational experience for each student while preserving their independence and confidentiality.

Accessibility Services Vision
Assessibility Services cultivates a community that embraces, encourages, and empowers students with a disability to access equitable and inclusive accommodations. We strive to create awareness on the vast diversity of disabilities that encompasses the populations we serve. Our office pursues implementing and utilizing universal design strategies to provide the opportunity for all students to have access that creates knowledgable and successful learners. We foster self-advocacy for students to be contributing agents of their own success.

Accommodation Process for Faculty

  • Disability Faculty Notification Forms Forms are emailed to faculty to inform them of any students who are working with Accessibility Services and what accommodations they have access to.
  • Alternative Test Site, Extended Test Time (1.5), The student will fill out and bring you a Request for Alternative Testing form that contains a section for faculty to fill out and sign. The student then brings that form to AS and schedules to take the test/exam in our testing lab.
  • Online Extended Test Time (1.5) Faculty add the extended test time to the students testing time.
  • Note Taker AS will email faculty a Peer Note Taker Request form that informs you of the student who is requesting the accommodation. Faculty are then responsible for either recommending a student they feel is qualified or stating to the class that there is a need for a peer note taker. If a student volunteers you would direct the student to AS office for more detailed information. If a student does not volunteer AS will come to the class to give a more detailed and brief statement.
  • Audio Record Lectures An instructor is required to allow a student to record their lectures if recording the class is determined to be an appropriate accommodation. Audio recording is specifically mentioned in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act as a means of providing full participation in educational programs and activities. Students who are approved to have this accommodation must sign an Audio-Recording Agreement form at the AS office. This form provides assurance that the student will protect the confidentiality of the recorded information. Contact AS office with specific questions or concerns about audio recording lectures.
  • Closed Captioning Faculty member submits a work ticket through the ticketing system for any videos shown for the course. It is highly encouraged to caption all videos shown in a course to enhance universal design efforts.

Captioning Videos
You may receive a notification from AS that there is a student who is registered for your course who has access to closed captioning. The accommodation for closed captioning requires that all videos shown for the course contain accurate closed captioning. To get your videos captioned you must submit a work ticket on the ticket system with the video and link attached. The Coordinator of AS receives the ticket and will complete the captioning process and then return the captioned video back to the faculty member via their preferred method they checked on the ticket.

Decision Making Process for Accommodations
The decision making process for accommodations a student has access to is multifaceted. All students are required to provide documentation of their diagnosis which could be an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan that they had in K – 12 or a letter from a credential source such as a Physician, Nurse Practitioner, Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Neurologist, Clinical Social Worker, and/or other licensed counselors or therapists that contains the students official diagnosis.

Once the documentation is received I review the information and diagnosis. I am a Licensed Graduate Social Worker (LGSW) who has a degree in clinical social work. This educational background coupled with maintaining my licensure as well as understanding the Federal Civil Rights Laws of Americans with Disability Act (ADA), Section 504, Title II, and Title III enhances my ability in reviewing documentation and assessing a student’s need.

When I have completed reviewing the student’s documentation an intake is scheduled and completed. The intake process allows me to gather more information about the student’s diagnosis or disability and how it impacts them as well as having a better understanding of their educational history, how they study and learn best, and their strengths and areas for growth. After the review of their documentation and the intake being completed I carefully process, evaluate, and research if necessary to make an ethical, educated, and professional decision in reasonable and appropriate accommodations the student can have access to in order to ensure they are receiving an equitable education.

U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division: ADA Testing Accommodation Requirements
Standardized examinations and other high-stakes tests are gateways to educational and employment opportunities. Whether seeking admission to a high school, college, or graduate program, or attempting to obtain a professional license or certification for a trade, it is difficult to achieve such goals without sitting for some kind of standardized exam or high-stakes test. While many testing entities have made efforts to ensure equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities, the Department continues to receive questions and complaints relating to excessive and burdensome documentation demands, failures to provide needed testing accommodations, and failures to respond to requests for testing accommodations in a timely manner.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ensures that individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to fairly compete for and pursue such opportunities by requiring testing entities to offer exams in a manner accessible to persons with disabilities. When needed testing accommodations are provided, test-takers can demonstrate their true aptitude.

The Department of Justice (Department) published revised final regulations implementing the ADA for title II (State and local government services) and title III (public accommodations and commercial facilities) on September 15, 2010. These rules clarify and refine issues that have arisen over the past 20 years and contain new and updated requirements.

Overview
This publication provides technical assistance on testing accommodations for individuals with disabilities who take standardized exams and other high-stakes tests. It addresses the obligations of testing entities, which include private, state, or local government entities that offer exams related to applications, licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary (high school), postsecondary (college and graduate school), professional (law, medicine, etc.), or trade (cosmetology, electrician, etc.) purposes. Who is entitled to testing accommodations, what types of testing accommodations must be provided, and what documentation may be required of the person requesting testing accommodations are also discussed.

What Kinds Of Tests Are Covered?
Exams administered by any private, state, or local government entity related to applications, licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary or postsecondary education, professional, or trade purposes are covered by the ADA and testing accommodations, pursuant to the ADA, must be provided.1

Examples of covered exams include:

  • High school equivalency exams (such as the GED);
  • High school entrance exams (such as the SSAT or ISEE);
  • College entrance exams (such as the SAT or ACT);
  • Exams for admission to professional schools (such as the LSAT or MCAT);
  • Admissions exams for graduate schools (such as the GRE or GMAT); and
  • Licensing exams for trade purposes (such as cosmetology) or professional purposes (such as bar exams or medical licensing exams, including clinical assessments).

For more information on ADA Testing Requirements please visit:
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division: ADA Requirements: https://www.ada.gov/regs2014/testing_accommodations.html

For more information on ADA please visit:
ADA Website: www.ADA.gov
ADA Information Line: 800-514-0301 (Voice) and 800-514-0383 (TTY); M-W, F 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Th 12:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Model Testing Accommodation Practices Resulting From Recent Litigation: http://www.ada.gov/lsac_best_practices_report.docx

Suggestions for working with students that have a disability:

  • Remember, students with disabilities are “qualified students”. They have met the same requirements as their non-disabled peers to enter college. They have, more often than not, very high intelligence, and can be over achievers in some areas, but have some type of obstacle that makes it very difficult to achieve at the same level of their peers in other areas. Students with disabilities do not get by with less work. Often they must work harder than other students.
  • Students with disabilities can take up to 3 to 4 times longer to read and/or process than their non-disabled peers and have to go back and re-read 2 to 3 times to understand what is being read.
  • The reason the student is allowed extra time to complete exams is because of the length of time it takes them to read and re-read a question! They are in no way given an advantage over their non- disabled peers!
  • Treat each student as an individual.
  • Every person has limitations. Students with disabilities may have some additional limitations.  Do not overestimate those limitations, and try not to accommodate the student beyond what is reasonable.
  • Expect students with disabilities to meet the same standards of academic performance as other students.
  • Students with disabilities enrolled at CLC have met academic qualifications for admission.  They are here because of their abilities, not their disabilities.
  • Make a general announcement at the beginning of the semester when going over the syllabus to encourage students to seek out services who may need it. Include an accommodations statement in your syllabus.
  • Instructors can help at the start of the semester with a general announcement of their willingness to discuss individually a student’s special needs. Do not disclose any student information you obtain from the AS office.
  • Students with disabilities are the best sources of information. Do not hesitate to ask them questions about how you can facilitate their participation. Do Not Pry.
  • Don’t apply blanket accommodations. Each student has unique needs.
  • All accommodations are not automatically applicable to all students with disabilities.  Disabilities can vary in terms of the degree of limitation, the length of time the person has been disabled and the stability of the condition.
  • Students with disabilities are not getting unfair advantages.

 

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