ADA Rights & Responsibilities
We are committed to helping students become engaged, self-advocating, independent learners. We seek to promote accessible learning environments where students with disabilities experience equal access and full participation.
Granite State College, in accordance with the American Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, will provide eligible students with a documented disability reasonable accommodation in order to ensure equal access to college programs and activities.
What is ADA?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
Student Rights and Responsibilities:
Every student with a documented disability has the right to:
- Equal access to courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities offered at the College.
- Reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids and services determined on a case-by-case basis.
- Appropriate confidentiality of all information regarding a disability and the choice to whom a disability is disclosed except as required or permitted by law.
- Information, reasonably available in accessible formats.
Every student with a documented disability has the responsibility to:
- Meet qualifications and essential standards as determined by the College for courses, programs, jobs, services, and facilities.
- Apply to the Office of Student Disability Services in a timely manner when seeking an accommodation.
- When seeking accommodations, provide documentation of the disability from an appropriate professional including information about the functional limitations of the disability;
- Follow specific procedures for obtaining reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids and services;
- Communicate requests for accommodations to faculty by providing the Faculty Notification Letter describing the reasonable accommodations recommended by GSC Student Disability Services prior to the start of classes.
College’s Rights and Responsibilities:
Granite State College has the right to:
- Maintain essential standards for courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities;
- Request current documentation by an appropriate professional and supplied by the student that supports the need for appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids and services;
- Deny a request for accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids and services if documentation, does not support a need for the requested service, or if the documentation is not provided or is inappropriate.
- Select among equally effective accommodations, academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids and services as determined by the College with consideration for cost and/or availability;
- Deny a request for an inappropriate or unreasonable accommodation, adjustment, and/or auxiliary aid or service that imposes a fundamental alteration to a course or program, or poses an undue financial or administrative burden on the College.
Granite State College has the responsibility to:
- Ensure that the College courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities, when viewed in their entirety, are offered in the most integrated and appropriate settings;
- Provide information regarding policies and procedures to students with disabilities in accessible formats upon request;
- Evaluate students on the basis of their abilities and not their disabilities;
- Provide or arrange reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and auxiliary aids and/or services for students with disabilities as defined by the ADA of 1990, the ADAAA of 2008, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
- Maintain appropriate confidentiality of records and communication regarding students with disabilities;
- Inform students when requested accommodations are not available or beyond the College's ability to provide
Granite State College is committed to providing appropriate accommodations and services to students with disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 including changes made by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. Contact Tina Underwood, Student Disability Coordinator, if you believe your rights have been violated.
What is Section 504?
Section 504 is part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: a Federal law that protects individuals from discrimination based on disability. Under this law, individuals with disabilities may not be excluded from or denied the opportunity to receive benefits and services from certain programs. Section 504 applies to entities that receive financial assistance from any Federal department or agency, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Who qualifies as an individual with a disability?
Section 504 defines an individual with a disability as a person with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include caring for one's self, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, working, performing manual tasks and learning.
What are considered “reasonable accommodations”?
Reasonable accommodations must be provided to eligible students with disabilities in order for them to access essential course content and essential learning activities. Types of academic coursework to which students with disabilities need access include lectures, written assignments, field or lab work, exams, class discussions, Internet research, and/or participation in class activities.
Some examples of reasonable accommodations in postsecondary settings include sign language interpreters, preferential seating, recording of lectures, flexible attendance requirements, extended time on test or assignments, and classes in accessible locations. Some students with disabilities require the same accommodations for all courses. Other students may need a range of accommodations for various lecture, lab, discussion, and fieldwork activities. Flexibility and effective communication between students, disabled student services staff, and instructors are key to implementing successful accommodations.
Application process for accommodations
How to apply for accommodations:
- Contact the Student Disability Services Office by email GSC.SDS@granite.edu or by calling 603-513-1140 and the Disability Services Coordinator can help explain the process and what kind of supporting documentation will be need to be submitted with your application.
- Download the application (button/link below). If you have any questions about the application, please call or email the Disability Services Coordinator.
- Once the student’s application is complete, the Disability Services Coordinator will schedule a meeting with the student either face to face, through email or by phone as part of the application process. This step is essential to identifying the best accommodation plan for the student, and possible resources (assistive technology, strategies, etc.).
- The Accommodation Plan will be sent to the student for approval. Once it has been signed and approved, the student receives a Faculty Notification Letter which they have the option to share with faculty. It is always the student’s choice whether or not they will utilize their accommodations in the classroom. It is strongly recommended that students requesting accommodations in a course contact the faculty well before the start of term to review how best to implement those accommodations in the course. The SDS Office can assist in obtaining the faculty's contact information.
- Students should contact the Disabilities Services Office if they experience any challenges in setting up accommodations. We will work with both the student and faculty to find the best solution.
Service Animal Policy
Granite State College is committed to creating a diverse and welcoming campus environment for all students, staff, faculty, and visitors. The College recognizes the important role of service animals in the lives of people with disabilities. For full service animal policy details, please see the student handbook.
Application for Accommodations
To get started, download and fill out an application for accommodations. Completed forms can be sent to the Office of Disability Services:
Fax (confidential line): 603-415-1038
Email: GSC.SDS@granite.edu
Mail:
Student Disability Services
Granite State College
25 Hall St.
Concord, NH 03301
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