Accommodations Overview
What is an accommodation?
Accommodations are designed to provide equal access to and ensure nondiscrimination of disabled students in the learning and living environment of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø. The accommodations process is guided by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as well as University policy 3-01.3. The process is focused on creating equal access to fully engage and participate in the same activities, campus services, benefits and experiences offered to a person without a disability, to utilize the same information shared with all students, and to have the same opportunity to achieve. Because accommodations are focused on equal access rather than ensuring student success, they do not reduce or remove the expectations held for all students in both behavior and meeting academic standards.
The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights defines accessible as a person with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use. The person with a disability must be able to obtain the information as fully, equally and independently as a person without a disability. Although this might not result in identical ease of use compared to that of persons without disabilities, it still must ensure equal opportunity to the educational benefits and opportunities afforded by the technology and equal treatment in the use of such technology.
What is a disability?
Under federal law, a person with a disability is defined as someone with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. This means that having a diagnosis (or label) alone does not necessarily qualify as a disability; the impairment must result in a significant limitation of major life activities.
What kinds of accommodations does SAS provide?
Accommodations are aids or adjustments designed to remove barriers caused by a person’s disability within a specific environment. SAS provides accommodations for housing and dining, on-campus transportation, and academic settings. Some examples are:
- Academic: extra testing time, distraction-reduced testing, copies of PowerPoints, ASL interpreters, alternative format materials
- Housing & Dining: roll-in shower, access to a kitchen, meal plan reduction
- On-campus transportation: door-to-door transportation via PARTA SATS
What makes an accommodation appropriate?
Accommodations must be directly connected to the disability and are intended to mitigate a barrier to equal access caused by the impact of the student’s disability in the college environment. Accommodations may not be necessary if the student’s disability does not limit equal access to a course, program, activity, or service. They cannot alter the essential nature of a program or activity, lower academic standards, or alter essential requirements. Accommodations cannot pose a threat to the safety of the public or others and cannot pose an undue administrative or financial burden on the university. If SAS believes that an accommodation is an undue administrative or financial burden or a fundamental alteration, an Access Advisor will contact the student to discuss alternative accommodations.
How are college accommodations different than high school accommodations?
K-12 institutions have a responsibility to identify students with disabilities and provide them with a free and appropriate education under the . This means that high school accommodations, typically provided by an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan, may provide additional support, such as classroom aides or tutors, or adapt assignments and exams, or remove requirements, such as minimum scores required on standardized assessments.
Colleges and universities provide accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These laws require equal access for and prohibit discrimination of people with disabilities. Because college accommodations are focused on providing equal access, not ensuring a specific outcome, they may be different than what students experienced in high school.