Common Accommodations for Students
Readers - Students with disabilities should request readers and/or scribes at the beginning of a semester or at least one week before an examination or paper.
Interpreters - Students needing interpreters should contact the Student Disability Services Specialist as soon as they are admitted to the College and when registering for ensuing semester classes.
Library Assistants - For general assistance, students with disabilities may contact the reference desk in Rolvaag Memorial Library. If more extensive help is needed, they may contact the Coordinator of Student Disability Services in advance.
Course or program modifications
Substitutions - Such accommodations are made only when it is clear that the student's disability makes completion of the requirement impossible, and that such an accommodation does not alter the integrity of the academic program. Any requests will be considered on an individual basis.
One established substitution is for foreign language study. All students must attempt a foreign language. If after strict adherence to course requirements, appropriate class attendance, and work with a tutor assigned by the Academic Support Center the student receives a D or F, he/she may petition to satisfy all or any remaining portion of the foreign language requirement by taking classes in foreign culture and civilization or literature in English translation.
A student experiencing difficulty in a language should first consult with the instructor of the course and the Coordinator of Student Disability Services. (In a limited number of cases involving students with specific learning disabilities, a faculty member or a student may initiate the procedure to request an alternative to the requirement before the student completes the course, as detailed in guidelines approved by the faculty on May 10, 1988.)
He/She must then fill out a petition available in the Registrar's office that includes a statement describing the difficulties faced in learning the language along with an unofficial transcript and an account of the effort expended in this class.
The Foreign Language Subcommittee, comprised of three language professors and the Coordinator of Student Disability Services or representative of the Academic Support Center, evaluates the request along with a statement from current and/or previous instructors in the discipline, and background information from the Coordinator of Student Disability Services concerning disability documentation, evidence of disability-related need for substitution, and justification for regarding the request as reasonable. They make a recommendation to the Curriculum and Educational Policies Committee of the College, who makes the final decision.
Those granted the substitution receive information about courses that will satisfy what remains of the foreign language requirement. Those who are denied receive study strategies and are asked to work with the Coordinator of SDS as they continue their language study. If they are still unsuccessful, they may petition again.
Other Accommodations
Document conversion (alternative print formats: Braille, large print, e-text)
Early syllabus
Examination modifications:
- Extra time on tests
- Computer or basic calculator for examinations
- Examination administered in two parts
- Private, quiet examination room
- Readers and scribes
Priority registration for the first semester
Study skills and strategies training
Time extensions
Taped lectures
