• Faculty & Staff Responsibility
• Guide for Faculty, Staff & Administrators
  • Relevant Federal Legislation
  • Shared Responsibilities
  • Confidentiality
  • Communication & Courtesies
  • Teaching Considerations
  • Defining Disabilities
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Acknowledgements
  • Accessibility Map
  • Providing Accomodations in the Classrooms
  • Universal Design
• Specific Disabilities & Accommodations
• Learning Disabilities
• Interacting with People with Disabilities
• Sign Language Interpreters

Relevant Federal Legislation

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 require institutions of higher education to be accessible to students with disabilities. Accessibility takes many forms, ranging from entering a building to reading a textbook. According to the ADA, accommodations provide equal access not advantage, and accommodating students with disabilities is the responsibility of the University and each member of the campus community.

Education barriers, like physical barriers, prevent people with disabilities from full participation and inclusion in society.

Under the provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the University may not :

• Limit the number of otherwise qualified students admitted that have a disability.
  
• Make pre-admission inquiries as to whether an applicant has a disability.
  
• Exclude an otherwise qualified student with a disability from any course of study.
  
• Provide less financial assistance to students with disabilities than is provided other students, or limit eligibility for scholarships on the basis of disability.
  
• Counsel students with disabilities into more restrictive career paths based solely on their disability.
  
• Measure student achievement using modes that adversely discriminate against the student with a disability.
  
• Establish rules and policies that have the effect of limiting participation of students with disabilities in educational programs or activities.

As a campus we are to provide reasonable accommodation for the debilitating effect of the disability. A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment that allows for equal access to education for students with disabilities. The accommodation removes the barriers; the degree of success lies with the student.

The Rehabilitation Act states that the campus does not need to lower its standards to accommodate a student with a disability. We do not need to fundamentally alter the essential nature of an academic program. The burden of proof of the essential nature of the component lies with the campus department or program.

The academic accommodations that students receive through Services for Students with Disabilities are intended to remove barriers that prevent them from learning or demonstrating what they have learned.