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STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Qualified students with disabilities have the following rights:

1. Equal access to educational and co-curricular programs, services, employment opportunities, activities, and facilities available through the college.
2. Reasonable and effective accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids based on documented need.
3. Confidentiality regarding disclosure of information pertaining to disability except as required by law or by signed consent.
4. Access to information reasonably available in accessible formats (i.e., student meets required request deadlines to ensure availability).

Qualified students with disabilities have the responsibility to:

1. Identify as an individual with a disability and request accommodations in a timely manner.
2. Provide qualifying disability documentation from an appropriate profession source verifying the nature of the disability, current functional limitations, and rationale for specific accommodations being recommended.
3. Timely notify the DSS office of any specific requests (accommodations, participation in Service Learning, mandatory class trips), course withdraw/add, or changes to accommodations.
4. Attend all classes. Notify your instructor of all absences when they occur. All students are responsible for following the attendance policy as outlined in the class syllabus.
5. Be responsible for all class assignments and exams as outlined in the class syllabus.
6. Follow the college policies and procedures to add/drop, request refunds, and process withdrawals.

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INSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Ensure that the college academic standards are maintained.
2. Require qualifying disability documentation to verify students’ eligibility for disability accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids.
3. Select from among equally effective/appropriate accommodations, adjustments, or auxiliary aids in consultation with the student and DSS faculty liaison.
4. Deny requests for accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids when the disability documentation provided by the student does not identify a specific disability, fails to verify a current essential need for the requested academic support accommodation’s, or the request for the accommodation and/or disability documentation is not provided in a timely manner.
5. Deny requests for accommodation’s adjustment’s and/or auxiliary aids that, based on disability documentation, are determined to be inappropriate or unreasonable including accommodations that:
   1. Pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others;
   2. Constitute a substantial change or alteration of an essential course element/program standard, or;
   3. Pose undue financial or administrative burden on the University.

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FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT OF 1974 (FERPA)

All students enrolled in DSS services fill out a Release of Information form authorizing the DSS office to discuss with specified individuals (i.e., faculty, parents, etc.) specified information (typically, how their disability affects them in the academic setting). Disability related records are excluded from free access under FERPA. Disability related information and documentation is treated the same as medical information and handled under strict rules of confidentiality. Such information is shared only on a limited basis within the institutional community, and then only when there is a compelling reason for the individual seeking the information to have knowledge of a specific aspect of this confidential information.

ADA Definition of "Disability"

"Person with disability" means an individual who:

1. has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities;
2. has a record of such an impairment; or
3. is regarded as having such an impairment.

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Funded by the United States Department of Education