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Office of Services to Students with Disabilities
The Office of Services to Students with Disabilities is a unit within the Academic Success Center (ASC) at DSU. The Disability Services Assistant (DSA) coordinates the disability support services provided at DSU.
Students needing accommodations for professionally documented disabilities may contact the ASC for assistance. The ASC will work to assist the student in attaining academic, career, and personal goals with the greatest degree of independence possible. Services may include test-taking accommodations, audio textbooks, and note takers.
Overview
Dickinson State University is committed to providing for the needs of enrolled or admitted students who have disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
It is the policy of Dickinson State University to make services available for any student who, through a current assessment, can document a disability.
In general, Dickinson State University calls for reasonable accommodations to be made for students with disabilities on an individualized and flexible basis. It is the responsibility of students with disabilities, however, to seek available assistance at the University and to make their needs known. The Office of Services to Students with Disabilities and the Academic Success Center help ensure equitable access for students with disabilities.
Eligibility for Disability Services is determined by the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities. All accommodations are assessed on an individual basis and must be initiated by the student each semester. Most services require advance notification to be provided within a reasonable time frame.
- Classroom and reasonable program accommodations will be arranged by the DSA among the student, staff, and faculty each semester.
- Exam accommodations can be quiet room testing, testing read by a proctor, testing with a scribe, and/or extended time testing.
- Note taking is provided to eligible students by a trained note taker.
- Audio recordings of texts may be provided to eligible students by Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D).
- A sign language interpreter and Computer-Aided Real-Time Captioning Services will be provided to deaf, hard-of-hearing, or blind students.
- Other services may be provided as needed on an individual basis.
Eligibility
To become eligible for disability services at DSU, the student with disabilities must provide the
Office of Services to Students with Disabilities the appropriate written documentation of his or her disability. A disability is a physical and/or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. A disability can be a physical, psychological, and/or a learning disability. Documentation should be from a qualified professional who has knowledge of the disability and of the specific student. Complete documentation will include a diagnosis of the disability and the functional impact the student encounters with respect to the learning environment.
Request for Documentations PDF
How to Get Documentation of Your Disability PDF
General Disability Documentation Requirements PDF
Rights and Responsibilities of Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities at the University have the right to:
- Equal access to courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities offered by the University
- An equal opportunity to work and learn and to receive reasonable accommodations and/or reasonable auxiliary aids and services
- Confidentiality of all information regarding their disability and to choose to whom, outside of the University, information about their disability will be disclosed, except as disclosures are required or permitted by law
Students with disabilities at the University have the responsibility to:
- Meet qualifications and maintain essential institutional standards for courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities
- Identify themselves in a timely manner as having a disability when an accommodation is needed and to seek information, counsel, and assistance as necessary
- Demonstrate and/or provide documents from a licensed professional on how the disability limits their participation in courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities
- Follow published procedures for obtaining reasonable accommodations and/or reasonable auxiliary aids and services
Rights and Responsibilities of Faculty and Staff
Faculty and staff have the right to:
- Maintain the academic integrity and standards of all courses and programs
- Determine the essential elements and evaluations standards of their courses and programs
- Receive timely notice from the student of the need for accommodation so that appropriate arrangements can be made
- Discuss with DSA any approved accommodation if it is believed that the accommodation causes a fundamental alteration to the essential elements or evaluation standards of a course or program
Faculty and staff have the responsibility to:
- Provide reasonable accommodations to verified students upon timely request by the student
- Maintain the legally protected confidentiality of disability-related information, except as required by law
- Ensure that disability statements are written into University publications
- Refer students who disclose a disability and request assistance to the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities
- Refrain from retaliation against students who request accommodations or individuals who advocate for accessibility
- Consult with the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities if there are any concerns or questions about a student with a disability or an accommodation request
Reasonable Accommodations
A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a course, program, service, job, activity, or facility that enables a qualified student with a disability to have an equal opportunity. An equal opportunity means an opportunity to attain the same level of performance or to enjoy equal benefits and privileges as are available to a similarly situated student without a disability. The university is obligated to make a reasonable accommodation only to the known limitations of another qualified student with a disability. To verify reasonable accommodations, the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities may seek information from appropriate University personnel regarding essential standards for courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities. Final determination of reasonable accommodations is made by the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities.
Reasonable accommodations are determined by using the following analysis:
- Does the student have a currently diagnosed disorder?
- Do the current functional limitations of that diagnosed disorder significantly limit a major life activity, thereby rising to the level of a disability?
- Is the student “otherwise qualified,” with or without accommodations, to participate in the course, program, service, job, or activity?
- Is the request reasonable? A requested accommodation is reasonable if the following standards are met:
- The accommodation is directly related to the impact or functional limitations caused by the diagnosed disorder.
- The accommodation does not lower academic or program standards.
- The accommodation does not fundamentally alter the essential elements of the course, program or activity.
- The accommodation does not present an undue financial or administrative burden to the University.
- The accommodation does not pose a threat to the health or safety of the student or others.
Testing Accommodations PDF
Confidentiality and Release of Information
The Office of Services to Students with Disabilities is committed to ensuring that all information regarding a student is kept confidential as required or permitted by law. Any information collected is used for the benefit of the student. This information may include test data, grades, biographical history, disability information, performance review, and case notes.
Disability-related information is treated as medical information is treated. For example, University faculty and staff do not have a right or a need to access diagnostic or other information regarding a student’s diagnosis; they need to know only what accommodations are necessary or appropriate to meet the student’s disability-related needs. No one has access to the student files at the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities except the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities staff. Information regarding a student's disability may be shared with a limited group of University officials on a “need to know” basis, such as when a student is appealing a disability-related decision or citing the disability as a mitigating circumstance in a course or program related issue.
Files maintained by the University will only be released in accordance with federal and state laws, which require release in the following circumstances if a student indicates or reports that (1) he or she intends to harm himself/herself or another person(s) or (2) physical abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse of children or vulnerable adults within the last three years (this includes the occurrence of abuse or neglect to the student if he/she was under the age of eighteen at the time of the abuse). Files can be released legally pursuant to a court order or subpoena.
A student may give written authorization for the release of information when he/she wishes to share it with others. Before giving such authorization, the student should understand the information is being released. Information will not be released without consent unless it is required by federal or state law. |
