AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT SECTION 504 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT
Summary of Legal Requirements for Higher Education
- Discrimination is prohibited against qualified persons with disabilities in the areas of recruitment, admission and treatment after admission.
- All programs, services and activities must be available to students with disabilities in the most integrated setting possible. This requirement includes academic programs, field trips, practicums, internships, research, campus employment, graduate assistantships and all student services and student life activities.
- No student may be excluded from any course or any course of study solely on the basis of disability.
- When necessary, reasonable modification of course or degree requirements must be made for students with disabilities unless the requirements can be demonstrated as essential to the program or unless modification would fundamentally alter the nature of the program.
- Prohibitive rules may not be imposed on qualified students with disabilities, such as banning tape recorders, service animals or other necessary equipment or aids in the classroom.
- The institution must provide appropriate auxiliary aids to qualified students with disabilities when necessary for full educational access. Auxiliary aids include interpreters, note takers, readers, adaptive equipment, books on tape, captioned films/videos, etc.
- Teaching techniques, as well as special equipment and devices used in the classroom, should be adapted in individual cases when necessary to ensure equal access.
- Educational materials must be provided in an alternate format that is effective for the student when necessary to ensure access to educational information.
- Alternate testing and evaluation methods must be used when necessary to ensure the studentâ€™s achievement is being measured rather than his or her impaired sensory, manual or speaking skill, except where such skills are the factors that the test purports to measure.
- Classes must be relocated, when necessary, to permit access for students with mobility impairments.
- It is discriminatory to counsel students with disabilities toward more restrictive career objectives than other students with similar interests and abilities.
- Communications with persons with disabilities must be as effective as communications with others and sometimes must be accomplished by the use of auxiliary aids such as interpreters, telephone relay service for the deaf, the use of a computer, or alternate format materials such as large print, cassette tape or CD, electronic text or Braille for persons with visual impairments.
- A student with a disability cannot be required to accept an accommodation, aid, service, opportunity or benefit.
- It is unlawful to retaliate, coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with any individual who exercises his/her rights under ADA or who aids or assists others in doing so.
- Disability information is confidential and should not be disclosed without individual consent.
Generally, all information relating to a studentâ€™s disability is confidential. Students are not required to name or list the disability on the memo to faculty about accommodations, but may choose to do so. Faculty members should treat disability-related information shared by a student or an SDS staff member as confidential. Faculty members are cautioned about making statements in front of other students which might cause a student with a disability to be singled out for reasons related to his/her disability. At times, disability-related information will need to be shared with other faculty or staff members on a need-to-know basis. If you have questions about confidentiality related to a student with a disability, feel free to contact Karen Conway, Dean of Students/Director of Student Disability Services (901) 321-3536.
Syllabus Disability Statement
A statement placed on a course syllabus inviting students with disabilities to discuss their disability-related needs helps to open the lines of communication between the faculty member and the student. A statement on the syllabus and an announcement in class often make students more comfortable about disclosing their disability and need for accommodations. An example syllabus disability statement:
Any student who may need class or test accommodations based on the impact of a disability is encouraged to speak with me privately to discuss your specific needs. Students with disabilities should also contact Student Disability Services (SDS) at (901) 321-3536. SDS coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
Policies & Procedures for Disability-Related Exception to Attendance Policies
- In most cases, class attendance is critical to a student's mastery of the knowledge and/or skills that are taught in a specific course.
- Students are expected to follow the attendance policy established by the instructor in each class.
- Christian Brothers University recognizes, however, that there may be times when a qualified student with a disability cannot attend class because of disability-related reasons.
- If such a student believes it may not be possible to abide by the attendance policy because of medical issues related to a disability, the student should contact the Director of Student Disability Services prior to the beginning of the semester, or as soon as possible after the need for an exception arises, to discuss the matter of a possible accommodation.
- Essential Course Requirements: The University will make every effort to reasonably accommodate a student's disability related academic needs. Please note, however, that neither the University nor an individual faculty member is required to waive an essential or fundamental academic requirement of a course, regardless of the nature of the student's disability.
- The Department identifies and defines the essential or fundamental academic requirements for its courses and instructors may establish an acceptable number of excused absences in light of these essential requirements. Attendance requirements for each course are usually stated on the course syllabus.
The following questions will be considered when determining the extent to which attendance is an essential requirement of a course and whether an exception to the attendance policy may be appropriate:
- Is there classroom interaction between the instructor and students and among the students themselves?
- Do student contributions in class constitute a significant component of the learning process?
- Does the fundamental nature of the course rely on student participation as an essential method of learning?
- To what degree does a student's failure to attend class constitute a significant loss to the educational experience of other students in the class?
- What does the course description and syllabus say regarding attendance? Each instructor may have different requirements regarding attendance.
- By what method is the final grade calculated?
- As with all disability accommodations, exceptions to the attendance policy will be determined on an individual, case-by-case basis depending on:
- the extent to which the supporting medical or psychological documentation from a licensed professional qualified to diagnose and treat the disability in question supports the need for an exception to an attendance policy, and
- the reasonableness of this accommodation in each requested class as determined by discussions between the Student Disability Services Office and the course instructor based upon the above criteria. In questionable cases, the academic department head and/or other appropriate academic administrator will be included in these discussions.
- Students who are approved for an exception to the attendance policy based on disability are required to provide a memo from Student Disability Services to each instructor confirming the accommodation.
- Accommodations are not retroactive. All accommodations, including an exception to the attendance policy, become effective when the student delivers the notification memo from Student Disability Services to the instructor.
- An exception to the attendance policy does not mean that unlimited absences will be permitted. The number of additional absences a student may receive as a reasonable accommodation will be determined on a case-by-case basis for each class, depending on the student's individual disability, the nature of the course and the degree to which class attendance is an essential requirement of the specific course as provided in Paragraphs 5 and 6 (a) & (b) of this Policy.
- Exception to the attendance policy does not mean exception to any of the other academic requirements of the course. Students are required to fulfill all course requirements and will be held to the same evaluation standards as specified in the course syllabus.
- Students who are approved for an exception to the attendance policy are expected to contact instructors in advance of an anticipated absence. This is particularly important if the anticipated absence will result in the student missing a quiz or exam or a deadline for turning in an assignment. For emergencies or unexpected disability-related absences, contact should be made as soon as possible to verify the reason for the absence and to discuss make-up work. The student and instructor should come to a clear agreement about the nature of the make-up work and deadlines for completing it. It is the individual student's responsibility to obtain copies of lecture notes and/or materials from missed classes. Students who are likely to be absent from class should plan responsibly ahead of time to get lecture notes from a classmate or "study buddy." Phone numbers should be exchanged in advance. The Office of Student Disability Services cannot provide note takers for students who are absent from class.
- Students should understand that even though an exception to the attendance policy has been made for them, absences are likely to have a negative impact on their academic performance simply because of the content and experiential learning they may have missed by not being in class. For this reason, they should make every attempt to attend class. Students should make special effort to attend class for quizzes and exams and to observe deadlines for submission of assignments.
- Students should be aware that exception to the attendance policy will not be possible in all courses because class attendance is an essential, integral part of some courses, as discussed in paragraph 4 of this policy. Some academic programs or majors may not be amenable to exceptions to the attendance policy. Students who know that attendance may be an on-going issue for them should consult with the academic department regarding the feasibility of attendance exceptions in the specific program of their interest.
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