Auxiliary Aids and/or Accommodation
Disability Services | Current Students

Students must provide appropriate and timely documentation to the DS program in order to receive any accommodation. The documentation must include the functional limitations of the disability, the life activity that is significantly impaired, how the disability impacts the educational environment and what are the recommended accommodations. To facilitate the implementation of accommodations, each student will be responsible for bringing their professors letters of verification from the DSS staff stating the accommodations and / or auxiliary aids to which the student is entitled. The following is a list of the more common accommodations utilized. However, students are not limited to the following accommodations:

1. Extended time when taking tests,
2. Tests in a separate room,
3. Use of a tape recorder in class,
4. Use of a calculator for tests / assignments,
5. Use of a scribe for tests / assignments,
6. Note-taker,
7. Use of a word processor for tests / assignments.
All requests should be made one week prior to the beginning of each semester.

Note-taker:

1. Note takers can be recruited by students, (with approval of DS staff), instructors or DS staff.
2. Notes can be photocopied in the Academic Success Center.
3. If student is not pleased with the quality of the notes, alternatives will be sought.
4. A student must be present in class to receive notes unless special arrangements are warranted.

Typists/Scribes/Readers: The request should be made at least seven business days in advance of date the service is needed. The same applies to other services such as alternate mediums, interpreters, and real-time captions.

Reader Services/Books on Tape: The request must be made as early as possible. Students requesting books on tape should first check with the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFBD). Recorded texts will be provided by RFBD free of charge. If particular texts are not available through RFBD, the DS will record texts. Live readers will be provided when appropriate. Note: RFBD and the DS need approximately three weeks to record texts not available on tape, so it is important for students to identify the texts well in advance of the first day of instruction.

It is the student’s responsibility to obtain the syllabus from the professor in order to identify the required textbooks and reading assignments for the course. If the syllabus is not available three weeks prior to the first day of instruction, the student should ask the professor to identify textbooks and reading assignments for the first three weeks of the semester.

Examination and Paper Accommodation:

1. Students with a documented disability may request an accommodation in regard to an examination or paper. The request shall be in writing and made through the DS program. After reviewing the requested examination or paper accommodation and determining the appropriate accommodation, the director of the ASC will write a letter to the professor of the course in which the accommodation is needed. The letter is provided to the student making the request. The student bears the responsibility of providing the letter to the professor. Students must contact the DS program within the first week of each semester to request that such letters be written to professors. Arrangements for test accommodations should be made no less than one week prior to the examination.

2. When an accommodation requires that a student take an exam in a DS-provided room the student must make a written request to the DS for an exam room at least seven business days prior to the date of the exam.

3. If a student requires the use of a computer, scribe, reader or other such alternatives to take an exam, he or she must request such services in writing at least seven (7) business days prior to the date the service is needed.

Request for Modification of Academic Requirement: A student with a documented disability may request a modification of certain generally applicable academic requirements, i.e., the number of units to be taken in an academic semester, substitution for otherwise required courses, course retakes, completion of courses or certain aspects of academic standing, etc., if necessary to accommodate the disability. The request must be made to the DS in writing as early as possible, that is, at least 10 business days before the beginning of the academic semester or as soon as the need arises. Modifications of academic requirement cannot be made without the consent of the instructor. A modification cannot fundamentally alter the nature of the course or program. Academic requirements that are essential to the instruction being pursued by such student or to any directly related licensing requirement are not considered discriminatory and will not be modified.