For students with a disability, faculty and the Office of Disability Support Services at Lansing Community College.
Who Benefits
Student Rights &
Responsibilities
Faculty Rights &
Responsibilities
ODSS Rights & Responsibilities
Definition of Terms
Educational access is the provision of classroom accommodations, auxiliary aids and services to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students regardless of disability. Creating equal educational opportunities is a collaborative effort between the student, the faculty member and the Office of Disability Support Services (ODSS).
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 protect students with disabilities from discrimination that may occur as a result of misconceptions, altitudinal barriers and/or failure of the institution to provide appropriate accommodations, auxiliary aids or services. Examples of accommodations and auxiliary aids include, but are not limited to: qualified interpreters, note takers, extra time for exams ad educational materials in alternate formats (ie: Braille, audiotape electronic format or enlarged print).
- Students with disabilities. A
disability includes any physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits a major life activity.
- All faculty. Instructors are
assisted in their responsibility to teach all students in
their classes and t provide equal access to education.
- The Office of Disability Support
Services. The office provides a system for service
coordination in order to better meet student needs.
- Lansing Community College. By providing educational access for all students, the college meets its mandated responsibilities and enhances campus diversity.
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Student Rights and Responsibilities:
Students have the right to:
- Confidentiality: Expect all
disability-related information to be treated confidentially.
- Accommodations:
Receive appropriate accommodations in a timely manner from faculty or ODSS.
Students should have the opportunity to meet privately with faculty to discuss
needed accommodations and address any other concerns. Please keep in mind
that ODSS is the only office designated to review disability documentation and
determine eligibility for appropriate accommodations.
Appeal decisions regarding accommodations and auxiliary aids.
Students have the responsibility to:
- Documentation: Provide ODSS with
appropriate documentation of the disability.
- Confidentiality: Go to the
instructor's office hours or make an appointment with the
instructor to facilitate privacy with discussing classroom accommodations.
- Accommodations:
1. Initiate requests to ODSS for specific accommodations in a timely manner,
preferably at least four weeks before each semester.
2. Follow procedures with ODSS and faculty to arrange the appropriate
accommodations.
3. Inform ODSS of the materials you need in alternate format as soon as possible.
4. Notify faculty/ODSS immediately when an accommodation is not being provided
completely or correctly.
5. Notify faculty/ODSS immediately when a decision has been made to not use an
accommodation or if the accommodation is no longer needed.
6. Provide for your own personal independent living needs or other personal
disability-related needs.
- Communication: Act as your own advocate. Work with ODSS counselors on developing advocacy skills and communicating your specific needs and accommodations to faculty.
Faculty Rights and Responsibilities:
Faculty have the right to:
- Instructor Memos: Students must
communicate their accommodation needs to each instructor by
providing an Instructor Memo form. This form must be
obtained from the Office of Disability Support Services each
semester.
- Accommodations: Expect the students to initiate accommodation requests with the Office of Disability Support Services (ODSS) and individual instructors each semester.
Faculty have the responsibility to:
REVIEW AND CLARIFY
- Accommodations:
1. Identify and establish essential functions, abilities, skills and knowledge of their courses and evaluate students on this basis. Students with disabilities should meet the same course expectations as their peers.
2. Provide academic accommodations only to students who are registered with ODSS (as identified when students present a current Instructor Memo). It is NOT instructors' responsibility to provide accommodations to students who are not registered with ODSS.
3. Act immediately upon receiving a student's request for accommodations by contacting ODSS (if unsure about request), by providing the service or by meeting with students individually to discuss accommodation needs. The student is responsible for meeting with ODSS staff each semester and obtaining an Instructor Memo that can be shared with faculty members.
4. Work to ensure that all audio-visual materials used in class are accessible
(ie: the videos shown are captioned for students with hearing impairments and that the VCR equipment used has captioning capabilities; that videos shown will be made with auditory description in some way or that transcripts will be provided, etc).
- Confidentiality: Treat and protect
all disability-related information as confidential medical
information
. - Communication: Consult with the student with a disability and ODSS in providing appropriate accommodations. PLEASE NOTE - Faculty do NOT have the right to ask students if they have a disability. For those students with documented disabilities, faculty do NOT have the right to ask about the nature of the disability. However, if students choose to disclose their disability, this information should be treated confidentially.
ODSS Rights and Responsibilities:
ODSS has the right to:
- Documentation: Receive the
appropriate documentation from the student prior to
initiation of accommodations.
- Accommodations:
1. Expect students and faculty to work cooperatively with ODSS to facilitate
academic accommodations.
2. Deny unreasonable academic accommodations, adjustments, and/or auxiliary
services. Accommodations cannot impose undue hardship to or fundamentally
alter a program or activity of the college.
3. Deny academic accommodations/services if appropriate documentation has not
been provided.
ODSS has the responsibility to:
- Documentation: Collect, evaluate,
determine eligibility for services and securely house
disability documentation for students.
- Confidentiality:
1. Treat and protect all disability-related information as confidential medical
information.
2. Meet with students privately in an accessible location to discuss disability related
needs.
- Accommodations:
1. Provide appropriate accommodations in collaboration with the student and the
instructor.
2. Provide printed materials in an accessible format once the student identifies a
need for this accommodation each semester and provides a detailed course
syllabus outlining reading assignments.
- Communication: Communicate
procedures clearly to the student and the faculty.
- Advocacy: Assist students with
disabilities in understanding their strengths and functional
limitations. Provide them with the skills to become
self-advocates.
- Alternative Media -- Print
material that has been converted to a format that enables a
print-impaired person to read the materials. This includes,
but is not limed to: taped materials, Braille, electronic
text and enlarged print.
- Auxiliary aids -- Services,
equipment and procedures that allow students with
disabilities access to learning and activities in and out of
the classroom. They include, but are not limited to: sign
language interpreters, real time captioning, adaptive
technology, alternative media, exam accommodations, etc.
- Exam accommodations --
Legally-mandated services that allow students with
disabilities to exhibit their knowledge on exams by using
auxiliary aids which include, but are not limited to:
extended time on tests, a Reader/Scribe, computers, large
print, adaptive software, Quiet Room, etc.
- Instructor Memo -- The form is provided to students with disabilities by ODSS in an effort to facilitate communication between students and faculty regarding academic accommodation needs.
Adapted from "Fast Facts for Faculty -- Rights and Responsibilities", developed by Patricia Carlton, Jennifer Hertzfeld and Ann Yurcisin at The Ohio State University partnership Grant.
