Rights and Responsibilities
Federal legislation requires that otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities are provided equal access to all the programs, services and activities of the college.
Colleges and universities have the right to:
Ø Maintain academic, admissions and graduation standards.
Ø Require that a student with a disability provide current documentation completed by a qualified professional source to verify the need for reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids.
Ø Discuss a student's need for reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids with the professional source of his/her documentation with the student's signed consent authorizing discussion.
Ø Select among equally effective and appropriate accommodations, adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids for each student on a case-by-case/course-by-course basis
Ø Deny a request for accommodations, adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids if
a) The documentation does not identify a specific disability,
b) The documentation fails to verify the need for the requested services, and/or
c) The documentation is not provided in a timely manner.
Ø Refuse to provide an accommodation, adjustment, and/or auxiliary aid (that is inappropriate or unreasonable, including any that:
a) Poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others;
b) Constitutes a substantial change or alteration to an essential element of a course or program;
c) Fundamentally alters the nature of the service provided; and/or
d) Poses undue financial hardship or administrative burden on the institution.
Colleges and universities have the responsibility to:
Ø Review and revise institutional, programmatic, employment and other policies and procedures to assure that they do not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities.
Ø Ensure that the institution's courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities, when viewed in their entirety are offered in the most integrated and
Ø Provide information regarding policies and procedures to students with disabilities in a timely manner and assure its availability in accessible formats upon request.
Ø Evaluate students on their abilities, not their disabilities.
Ø Provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids for students with disabilities upon a timely request by a student.
Ø Maintain appropriate confidentiality of records and communication concerning students with disabilities except where disclosure is required by law or authorized by the student.
More specifically, institutions have the responsibility to:
Ø Assist students with disabilities who self-identify and meet the college's or university's criteria for eligibility in receiving reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids determined on a case-by-case/course-by-course basis.
Ø Assure confidentiality of all information pertaining to a student's disability.
Ø Inform students with disabilities of the college or university policies and procedures for filing a formal grievance both internally and/or through external agencies (e.g., US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights).Every, otherwise qualified, individual with a documented disability has the following rights and responsibilities:
Disabled Individual Rights and Responsibilities
Disabled individuals have the Right to:
Ø Equal access to courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities available through the college or university.
Ø Reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids determined by the institution on a case-by-case and/or course-by-course basis.
Ø Appropriate confidentiality of all information pertaining to the disability with the choice of to whom to disclose the disability, except as required by law.
Ø Information reasonably available in accessible formats.
Disabled individuals have the Responsibility to:
Ø Meet the qualifications and essential technical standards, both academic and institutional, including the student code of conduct.
Ø Identify him/herself in a timely manner as an individual with a disability when requesting an accommodation from the appropriate service provider (DRC).
Ø Provide documentation from a qualified source that verifies the nature of the disability, functional limitations, and the need for specific accommodations.
Ø Follow specific procedures for obtaining reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments and services.
Ø To actively and fully participate in the delivery of service system.
