(1)
Policy statement. No student
shall, on the basis of his or her disability, be excluded from participation
in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subject to discrimination under
any college program or activity. Skagit Valley College is committed to
providing qualified students with a disability an equal opportunity to access
the benefits, rights, and privileges of college services, programs and
activities, in the most integrated setting appropriate to the student's needs,
in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and chapter 105, Laws of 1994.
Skagit Valley College is committed to providing reasonable
accommodations, including core services, to qualified students with
disabilities. The purpose of this policy is to identify the rights and
responsibilities of students under ADA/504 and to establish clear guidelines
for seeking and receiving reasonable accommodations.
To receive reasonable accommodations, students are responsible
for requesting accommodations and documenting the nature and extent of their
disability in a timely manner. This policy establishes the scope of and the
procedures for requesting those accommodations.
(2)
Scope. Reasonable
accommodations under this policy include, but are not limited to:
(a) Academic adjustments, such as
modification of academic requirements and flexibility in test-taking
arrangements;
(b) Adjustments in
nonacademic services and other rules; and
(c) Auxiliary aids and services.
Skagit Valley College will make those modifications to its
academic requirements that:
(i) Are
necessary to ensure that those requirements do not discriminate, or have the
effect of discriminating, against a qualified student with a disability based
on that disability; and
(ii) Do not
impose an undue hardship on the college or require alteration of essential
program requirements.
Appropriate academic adjustments/reasonable accommodations will
be provided to qualified students with disabilities for recruitment, the
application process, enrollment, registration, financial aid, course work,
academic counseling, nonacademic programs and services.
Section 202 of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act
states:
No qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of
such disability, be excluded from the participation in or be denied the
benefits of the services, programs or activities of any public entity, or be
subject to discrimination by any such entity.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act states:
No otherwise qualified, handicapped individual in the United
States shall solely, by reasons of his/her handicap, be excluded from the
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination
under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
(3)
Definitions. "Reasonable accommodations" in college programs and
services, are modifications of those programs, policies, practices, and
procedures that enable qualified students with a disability to have an equal
opportunity to benefit from and have access to college programs and services
and providing auxiliary aids and services.
"Student" is a person enrolled at the college.
A "qualified student with a disability" is one who, with or
without reasonable accommodations, meets the academic and technical standards
required for admission to, participation in, and/or fulfilling the essential
requirements of college programs or activities.
A "student with a disability" is a student who:
(a) Has a physical, mental or sensory
impairment that substantially limits one or more of his/her major life
activities;
(b) Has a record of
such an impairment; or
(c) Is
perceived to have such an impairment.
A "learning disability specialist" is a person with a masters
degree in special education/learning disabilities.
"Undue hardship" is any excessively costly, extensive,
substantial or disruptive modification or one that would substantially alter
the nature or operation of the institution or any of its programs or services
or threaten the health or safety of the college community.
"Program accessibility" means that all programs and services,
when viewed in their entirety, are accessible to persons with a
disability.
"Core services" are those services listed in chapter 105, Laws
of 1994, that are necessary to ensure students with disabilities are reasonably
accommodated at the college.
"Course substitution" is the replacement of a specific course
required for a degree program with another course that measures the same
learning objectives/skills as the required course.
Disabled student services office and disabled student services
coordinator serve district-wide functions.
(4)
Obligations of the college.
Skagit Valley College shall:
(a) Comply with
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Section 202 of the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended.
(b) Notify students of the college's policy
of nondiscrimination on the basis of disability and of steps the student may
take if he/she believes discrimination has taken place. This notice shall be
included in all formal correspondence that communicates decisions or policies
adversely affecting the student's status or rights with the institution of
higher education. This notice shall include the phone numbers of the United
States Department of Education, U.S. Office of Civil Rights, and the Washington
state human rights commission.
(c)
Make available to all students information on the services available to
disabled students, including the name and location of the disabled student
services coordinator, and the process for accessing those services.
(d) Work with the student, faculty, and staff
on a case-by-case basis, to select and provide those accommodations/core
services appropriate for each qualified student with a disability.
(e) Develop procedures to protect the
confidentiality of information regarding the nature and extent of the
documented disability.
(f) Maintain
the academic integrity of its program.
(g) Not make preadmission inquiry as to
whether the applicant has a disability, except as provided by law.
(h) Work collaboratively with eligible
students to determine what accommodations are reasonable and appropriate. The
college may require specific documentation from the student's physician to
identify the accommodations that are reasonable based on the nature and extent
of a student's disability.
(5)
Obligations and rights of
students. The college is obligated to provide reasonable accommodation
to a qualified student with known disability. What is appropriate for a student
is a case-by-case determination. A student who seeks accommodation under this
policy is responsible for documenting the nature and extent of the disability.
The college will work collaboratively with the student in determining the
appropriate accommodations.
To ensure that needed accommodations are provided in a timely
manner, the student shall:
(a) Provide
timely notice and documentation of the nature and extent of the disability, and
the accommodations requested, to the disabled student services coordinator.
Some accommodations may require some time to arrange. Requests for
accommodations should be received by the college six weeks prior to the
beginning of the quarter for which the request is made, when possible. Lack of
advance notice may delay the availability of an accommodation.
(b) Provide such additional documentation on
the nature and extent of their disability as the college may require to
determine appropriate accommodations. Such documentation may include, but is
not limited to, identification of tests administered, test results, description
of the covered disability, and recommended accommodations.
(c) Cooperate with the disabled student
services coordinator to develop an appropriate curriculum plan and reasonable
accommodations.
(d) Promptly notify
the disabled student services coordinator of any problems encountered in
receiving the agreed-upon accommodations.
(6)
Disabled student services
office. The disabled student services office is responsible for the
coordination of services to qualified students with disabilities requiring
reasonable accommodations.
The disabled student services office is committed to a
reasonable approach in the identification of students with disabilities,
including contacting all students who voluntarily self-identify during the
college admission or orientation process.
Information regarding a disability will be kept confidential
unless the student signs a release of information form.
The office will assist and advise each qualified student with a
disability who requests accommodations under this policy in developing an
instructional plan, identifying those reasonable accommodations appropriate for
the student, and ensuring that the agreed-upon accommodations are
provided.
(7)
Reasonable accommodations -- Examples by categories. The process
of selecting reasonable accommodations for each qualified student with a
disability shall be made on a case-by-case basis, appropriate to the nature and
extent of the student's disability.
(8)
Academic modifications.
Academic modifications may include, but are not limited to:
(a) Flexibility in timeliness for completion
of courses, certification, and degree requirements;
(b) Substitution of specific courses required
for the completion of degrees;
(c)
Adaptation of the manner in which specific courses are conducted;
(d) Flexibility in teaching methods and
test-taking arrangements;
(e)
Flexibility in credits required to satisfy institutional eligibility.
(9)
Auxiliary aids and
services.
(a) Flexible procedures in
the admissions process, (early registration or priority
registration);
(b) Qualified sign
language, oral and tactile interpreters, or other technological
alternatives;
(c) Access to
adaptive equipment including, but not limited to TDDs, FM communicators, closed
caption devices, amplified telephone receivers, closed circuit televisions,
low-vision reading aids, player/recorders for 15/16 4-track tapes, photocopy
machine able to use eleven-by-seventeen inch paper, braille devices and
computer enhancements;
(d)
Textbooks and other educational materials in alternative media, including, but
not limited to large print, braille, electronic format, and audio
tape;
(e) Provision of readers,
notetakers, and/or proofreaders; and
(f) Release of syllabi, study guides, and
other appropriate instructor-produced materials in advance of general
distribution and access beyond the regular classroom session to slides, films,
overheads, and other media, and taping of lectures.
(10)
Access.
(a) Ongoing review and coordination of
efforts to ensure campus accessibility, including barrier-free design, signage,
identification of hazards of mobility barriers, maintenance of access during
construction, snow and ice clearance, and adequate disability parking for all
facilities;
(b) Facilitating
physical access to programs and services including relocating classes,
activities, and services to accessible facilities;
(c) Referral to appropriate on-campus and
off-campus resources, services and agencies; and
(d) Accessibility to tutoring, mentoring,
peer counseling, and academic advising, if available on campus, for students
with disabilities.
(11)
Procedures for course substitutions and waivers.
Policy. Skagit Valley College recognizes that
certain disabilities may preclude a student from successfully completing a
specific course requirement for a degree (for example, math) even with
appropriate accommodations. Skagit Valley College recognizes its obligation to
accommodate disabled students without compromising the integrity of the
academic program.
Under the ADA, the college is not required to waive essential
requirements of a student's program of instruction. Therefore, every student
enrolled in a degree program at the college is required to meet the essential
requirements of the degree program.
Skagit Valley College recognizes that altered methods of course
delivery and/or providing core services will enable most disabled students to
successfully complete course requirements, except in unusual circumstances.
Therefore, disabled students will attempt to successfully complete required
courses with accommodations.
If a student is unsuccessful in completing a course, that
student may request course substitution under this policy. Waivers of degree
program requirements will be rarely given, and then only after students have
attempted, with appropriate reasonable accommodations, to meet those
requirements.
(12)
Procedure for requesting course substitution.
(a) Course substitutions will be approved
only when such substitution is consistent with the essential degree
requirements.
(b) Requests for
substitution for a required course shall be considered only when a qualified
student with a disability has demonstrated that, even with academic adjustments
and auxiliary aids/services provided by the college, he or she is unable to
successfully complete the course solely because of his/her
disability.
(c) All requests for
course substitution shall be submitted to the disabled student services
coordinator in a timely manner and shall include the following information:
(i) A description of the accommodations
previously provided to the student for the course;
(ii) An explanation of the relationship of
the student's disability to the lack of success in completing the
course;
(iii) The proposed
substitute course, if known;
(iv) A
statement by the student that he/she has made a good faith effort to complete
the required course with appropriate accommodations;
(v) A statement from a medical, psychological
or learning disabilities specialist who works in the field of the disability
which makes this request for substitution necessary; and
(vi) A release signed by the student,
authorizing the department chair, appropriate dean or associate dean, and
vice-president of educational services to review the documentation on the
student's disability and to contact the evaluating doctor, psychologist, or
learning disabilities specialist.
(d) The disabled student services coordinator
shall forward the request, with documentation through the appropriate approval
process as designated below.
(13)
Waiver/substitution
committee.
(a) All requests for course
substitutions/waivers shall be submitted through Skagit Valley College's formal
waiver process. This process consists of obtaining approval from the
appropriate department chair, dean or associate dean and the vice-president of
educational services.
(b) Request
for a course substitution shall be approved if the proposed substitution meets
the learning objective of the degree requirement.
(c) The appropriate dean or associate dean
shall respond in writing to all requests for course substitutions within two
weeks of receiving the request. The response shall include a brief summary of
the basis for the decision.
(14)
Waiver of degree
requirements. Requests for waiver of a program requirement will only be
considered when the course substitution is not successful. The waiver request
shall be considered in the same manner as provided above.
(15)
Reasonable accommodation --
disputes.
(a) If a student believes
that the disabled student services coordinator has not identified or provided
reasonable academic adjustments or auxiliary aids, that student may seek review
of the coordinator's actions by the dean of guidance and special
populations.
(b) The student will
submit the appeal to the dean of guidance and special populations. The dean
will review the student's position, and respond within five days.
(c) If resolution is not reached the dean
will refer the appeal to the formal grievance process.
(d) The decision of the grievance committee
is the final decision of the institution.
