Accessibility Services, located in the Academic Resource Center (ARC), provides academic assistance and support for students covered by the American Disabilities Act or ADA. The ADA utilizes a three-pronged definition of disability. For the purpose of coverage under the ADA, a person with a disability is defined as an individual who:

• Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or
• Has a record or history of such an impairment; or
• Is perceived or regarded as having such impairment.

The job of Accessibility Services is to make the academic arena "accessible" for all students who meet one or more of the aforementioned definitions of disability.

Student Responsibilities
Students must self-disclose their needs for Accessibility Services. This is usually done by requesting contact on their Spalding University Admissions Application, but they may also contact Accessibility Services directly. It is against federal regulations for the Accessibility Services office to contact a student who has not yet requested assistance. Faculty or staff may, however, suggest students contact Accessibility Services for assistance if the faculty or staff person senses there might be a problem or if the student self-discloses.

Students are required to complete an application for services and provide documentation verifying diagnosis (es) from a physician, psychologist or certified mental health professional. Along with the diagnosis (es) the professional must provide recommendations for academic accommodations. Once the application for services is completed and all required documentation has been submitted, students meet with the Director to discuss the accommodations they are entitled to under ADA regulations. Students are also informed that if they misuse any of their accommodations, those accommodations can and will be suspended or revoked, depending on the severity of the infraction.

If students are unable to provide documentation from a psychiatrist, psychologist or certified mental health professional, they are referred to the Spalding University Counseling Center for a full battery of assessments. This process is time consuming and may require one or more sessions for the Spalding University Counseling Center to schedule and complete the assessments. No accommodations will be allowed until the report is received by Accessibility Services.

Accessibility Services Responsibilities to Students
Accessibility Services has a responsibility to clearly disclose Federal laws and Spalding University guidelines regarding services provided to each applicant. The Director researches current regulations and recommended academic accommodations for specific diagnoses, consults with colleagues at other universities and consults the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and Job Accommodation Network (JAN) for updates on nationally standardized accommodations. When creating an accommodation letter for faculty/staff, reasonable accommodations, as defined by the ADA, must be clearly stated. It is then the responsibility of Accessibility Services to provide the student with an original of the academic accommodation letter and copies to provide to faculty/staff. To summarize, Accessibility Services:

• Assists students with intake process, which may include referral for battery of assessments
• Evaluates documentation of diagnoses
• Researches diagnoses for recent standardized accommodations
• Creates accommodation letter for student to distribute to faculty/staff
• Provides assistive technology including various text formats for classes
• Provides guidance with policies in the Spalding University Catalog
• Collaborates with vocational counselors and medical professions at the request of students
• Meets with students and their families upon request

Faculty/Staff Responsibilities to Students
Faculty/staff are legally obligated to provide the accommodations as specified in an accommodation letter. If a student does not provide an accommodation letter, no testing or instructional accommodations will be provided. It is critical, as a teaching tool, to place the responsibility on the student to understand the importance of documentation and that accommodations cannot be given without an accommodation letter from Accessibility Services. Likewise, faculty/staff must never accept documentation regarding any diagnosis. That information is protected under law and should be given to Accessibility Services by the student or the student’s guardian. Asking for such documentation by faculty/staff can give the students grounds for legal action. The only documentation available to faculty/staff is the accommodation letter. To summarize, faculty/staff:

• Provide accommodations to students when notification letters have been received.
• Share the implementation of student accommodations with Accessibility Services.
• Identify and provide quiet, private testing rooms.
• Identify and provide a proctor for testing.
• Refer students who report having a disability to Accessibility Services.
• Include a reasonable accommodations statement on all syllabi.

Accessibility Services Responsibilities to Faculty/Staff
Accessibility Services serves as a liaison between the student and the faculty/staff to clarify accommodations. Faculty and staff members are encouraged to present questions regarding accommodations, student’s progress, and needs. The only topic that Accessibility Services cannot discuss with faculty/staff is a student’s specific diagnosis or diagnoses. There is a fine line between providing or requesting information and violating someone’s privacy. It is also the onus of Accessibility Services to work with the faculty to ensure that academic accommodations do not detract from the academic integrity of the course.

Testing Accommodations
The most used accommodations are extended testing time and private/quiet testing rooms.

• Extended testing time is calculated based on the time students in the class receive plus the additional allowed. For example, if a class has one hour for an exam, then a student who has an accommodation of 50% extended time receives 90 minutes.
• A private and quiet room is defined as one person in a room that is in a quiet area and will not be entered by anyone while the student is testing.

Faculty/staff are asked to arrange testing accommodations within their academic area. If faculty/staff need assistance with testing accommodations, Accessibility Services has testing times available that may vary each session.