By law, a student with a disability does not have to self-disclose or register with OSD, although we encourage them to do so. If, on the other hand, they are seeking academic accommodations or adjustments, they must contact our office to request services.

In order to determine eligibility for an academic adjustment/auxiliary aid, the student must register at OSD and provide documentation of the disability. The documentation must be current, provide a clear diagnosis by the appropriate medical professional and specify the functional limitations related to the disorder. At that point a decision of appropriate academic accommodations is made. These determinations are made on a case-by-case basis.

Once it is determined that a student is eligible to receive services, it is important to note that they still must follow established policies of OSD in regards to timeliness of requests and completing necessary request forms in order to properly coordinate accommodations. Students must request accommodations for each semester they attend SSC.

If a student with a disability is registered for your class and is requesting an accommodation, they will provide you with a confidential faculty notification letter [link- need form]. This letter will state in general terms that the student is documented with OSD and will list the appropriate accommodations required. You must sign the letter as verification of student disclosure. The original is returned to OSD.

If a student approaches you about needing accommodations, but does not have the letter, you should refer them to OSD immediately. Faculty should not provide adjustments to coursework without OSD approval. To do so would leave the College and the individual faculty member open to potential legal difficulties.

Disability-related information should be treated as medical information and handled under the same strict rules of confidentiality. A student’s documentation is filed securely at OSD. It is not kept with any other student records on campus. As such the information can only be shared on a limited ‘need-to-know’ basis within the institutional community. It may be shared only when students authorize it, or if there is a compelling reason for the individual seeking information to know some specific aspect of this confidential information.

Faculty disclosure letters contain only general information, and not specifics of the disability. A student may choose to disclose more with faculty, but are not obligated to do so.

• Prepare a detailed syllabus early and include a disability statement, giving students with disabilities some lead time to acquire accessible books and materials, to plan their study and time management strategies, etc. Syllabi should include information on course objectives and requirements; the material to be covered in class on specific dates; and exam dates, due dates, grading procedures, and textbook list. Also provide information on how to get in touch with you outside of class. Read selected portions of the syllabus to the class. Always include a statement on your syllabus that reads: “If you have a disability and feel you will need accommodations in order to complete course requirements, please contact the Office for Students with Disabilities, Meier Hall 102, at 978-542-6217.”
• Order textbooks early- during the previous semester if possible- to allow time for reformatting into alternative formats if necessary. It would be helpful to have conversations with possible publishers regarding availability of audio versions of the text, or textbooks on disc or CD rom.
• Alternate test formats. Potential formats of alternative tests: multiple choice, essay, oral, etc.
• Provide handouts and in-class exercises and examinations in accessible formats. OSD may be of service in assisting with alternative format of academic materials.
• Use multimedia approach in teaching. While all students have varying preferred learning styles, students with certain disabilities are sometimes only able to process information utilizing a specific medium. Consider enhancing the lecture experience with visual materials like videos, graphs or animations.
• Help Recruit a Notetaker. If OSD authorizes the use of a notetaker or lab assistant, it’s preferable to recruit someone already connected with the class, such as a Teacher Assistant or another student. It is important that you show support for the request, and perhaps even assist in the recruitment process when necessary.
• Cooperate with sign language interpreters. If a student who is deaf comes to class accompanied by a sign language interpreter, allow the interpreter to determine his or her best placement for most effective communication with the student. The interpreter may take focus initially, particularly if other students have not experienced this accommodation before, but the novelty should wear off shortly. When planning student meetings, allow enough lead time to arrange for an interpreter to be scheduled. The same guidelines would apply for CART (computer-aided real time) reporters.

• Determine course content and general methods of teaching.
• Make informed decisions about how best to adapt teaching and assessment methods to accommodate all students.
• Ensure that the standards in their course are not lowered or compromised.
• Ensure that a student has demonstrated mastery of the essential requirements of their course in order to obtain an appropriate grade.
• Fail any student if he/she does not demonstrate mastery of essential course requirements.
• Question a specific accommodation request if it is either inappropriate for their course, or if the nature of the request would alter the essential requirements of a course.
• Determine through consultation with knowledgeable professionals the most appropriate ways to adapt their course to the needs of a particular student.
• Be treated respectfully by all students in their class.

• Students who are OSD-registered have provided adequate and appropriate documentation of their disability from a registered health care professional. Accommodation requests are based on this documentation
• If a student requires extended time to take a test, the arrangement can either be made through the faculty member to coordinate the extra time as prescribed, or the OSD office can be asked for assistance in administering the exam, if, for example, a student requires the use of assistive technology to take the exam. If OSD is the chosen location, the Testing Accommodation Request Form [PDF 58 KB] must be completed for each test. We adhere to a five-workday notification policy in order to schedule our testing area.
• That some students with disabilities have academic or behavior problems unrelated to their disability. They are therefore not obligated to treat such problems any differently than they would for a student without a documented disability.

• The faculty will contact OSD with the reasons why the requested accommodation compromises the essential requirements of a course or program.
• OSD will attempt to resolve the issue with the faculty member.
• If unable to resolve the matter, relevant information will be presented to the ADA Compliance Officer.