Academic Accommodations

The College seeks to assure access by providing accommodations to individuals with a disability as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). Accommodation is the provision of aids, or modification to testing, services or a program of study, that allows access by individuals with disabilities. Additionally, the College is required to abide by the provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which protects otherwise qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability. In order to be considered otherwise qualified, a student with a disability must be capable, either with or without accommodation, of fulfilling the essential requirements of the educational program.

The Office of Accessibility engages in an interactive process initiated by the student and accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis. The process to obtain academic accommodations consists of the following steps and it is the responsibility of the student to complete, provide, and submit the necessary information.

Complete the Academic Accommodations Request Form (Word Document Version) and submit or bring a signed copy to the Office of Accessibility.
Provide the appropriate documentation from a licensed or otherwise properly credentialed professional. Information regarding documentation can be found in the Documentation Guidelines for Academic and Residential Accommodations. Please note that Individualized Education Plans (EIPs), Health Plans, or Section 504 Plans do not typically provide the necessary information to meet the documentation guidelines. However, these plans may be useful for the Office of Accessibility in determining reasonable accommodations.
Once the Academic Accommodations Request Form and relevant, supporting, documentation have been received, the Office of Accessibility will contact the student to schedule an access planning interview. During this meeting, the student and the Coordinator of Accessibility work together to determine appropriate and reasonable accommodations focusing on individual needs, specific accommodation requests, and how the student’s academic functioning is impacted by their disability.
Academic accommodations are provided on a term- by -term basis. Prior to the beginning of each term, academic accommodations letters will be provided to students to distribute to appropriate faculty members. Emails will be sent to students informing them of the details for picking up and distributing accommodation letters.
Students are advised to communicate with each professor individually to ensure they have a plan to access the course utilizing appropriate accommodations. Providing accommodations in the classroom is a collaborative process between the student, the BSC instructors, and the Office of Accessibility. Students are encouraged to contact each instructor to arrange accommodations as early in the term as possible or as soon as accommodations are approved. Accommodations are not retroactive. Students begin receiving accommodations once they have completed registration with the Office of Accessibility, provided the instructor their academic accommodation letter and discussed their needs.
Students are responsible for providing the accommodation letter listing the accommodations for which they qualify. Students do not need to disclose their disability to instructors in order for instructors to provide accommodations.

Temporary Accommodations

The Office of Accessibility may offer limited services to students with temporary impairments. Temporary refers to injuries or illnesses having an expected duration of less than one semester. If illnesses or injuries are expected to last longer than one semester, students should review the appropriate documentation requirements.

Students needing temporary accommodations should complete the Office of Accessibility registration process by submitting an application and documentation. The documentation should be on official letterhead and include the following: a statement which classifies the individual as disabled; onset, nature, estimated duration and severity of injury/illness; any adverse side effects caused by medication, recommended assistance to accommodate the student’s injury/illness, and a signature from the diagnosing professional. Documentation should also be recent enough to describe how the injury/illness affects the individual currently.

A temporary injury does not usually qualify as a disability under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, the severity and duration of the injury will be taken into consideration. Since temporary conditions can occur at any point during the term, the timing can significantly impact the accommodation options available to the student. Timely communication with the Office of Accessibility, and other campus offices such as Health Services, as needed, about the nature and duration of the condition and requested assistance can often result in satisfactory solutions to the short-term issues caused by the injury or condition.

The Office of Accessibility does not notify instructors of student absences, nor do we provide excuses for absences. Students with temporary impairments are encouraged to contact BSC Health Services for more information about medical excuses and informing instructors about absences and contact the Office of Accessibility to determine accommodation options.