Students With Disabilities Have The Right To Expect:
- Full and equal participation in the services and activites of Columbia College and Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS). Participation by students with disabilities in DSPS shall be entirely voluntary.
- Academic adjustments, auxiliary aids and services and/or instruction in response to documented disabilities.
- Confidential information about their disability will not be shared without their prior consent unless permitted by law and then only on a "need-to-know" basis.
- Limited access to anecdotal information maintained by DSPS.
- Information about DSPS policies, procedures, academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, services and/or instruction will be readily available in alternate formats upon timely request.
Students With Disabilities Have The Responsibility To:
- Meet qualifications and maintain essential institutional standards for courses, programs, services, jobs and activities.
- Read the current Columbia College catalog section entitled Student Code of Conduct. All Columbia College students, including students with disabilities, will be held to the same standards of personal conduct, decorum, and behavior.
- Self-identify and self-advocate for academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and services in a timely manner.
- Provide DSPS verifiable documentation of disability prior to the authorization for any academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, services and/or instruction.
- Demonstrate and/or provide documentation about how their disability limits their participation in courses, programs, services, jobs and activities for the development of the Academic Accommodation Plan (AAP). Make measurable progress when enrolled in educational assistance programs.
- Follow established policies and procedures for obtaining academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, services and/or instruction.
Columbia College Has The Right To:
- Establish essential function, abilities, skills, knowledge, and standards for courses, programs, academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, services and/or instruction.
- Determine appropriate standards in developing, constructing, remodeling, maintaining physical facilities.
- Confirm disability status on a student (for academic adjustment purposes) after requesting, receiving, and reviewing current and appropriate documentation. The documentation must support any request for academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, services and/or instruction.
- Discuss and develop academic strategies for students with disabilities.
- Deny a request for an academic adjustment, auxiliary aid, service and/or instruction, if the student's documentation of disability does not corroborate the need or support the student's request.
- Select among equally effective academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, services and/or instruction.
- Deny any academic adjustment, auxiliary aid, service and/or instruction, or facility-related request resulting in an undue financial or administrative burden on the institution.
The College Has The Responsibility To:
- Generate an Academic Accommodation Plan (AAP) and maintain a record of the interactive process between each DSPS student and a DSPS certificated staff member regarding academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, services and/or instructing necessary to provide the student equal access to the educational process, given the educational limitations resulting from the student's disabilities. This applies to each student that chooses to register with DSPS. The college delegates to DSPS the responsibility for developing AAPs. The AAP will authorize certain academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, services and/or instruction that may mitigate the impact of a student's disability in the major life activity of learning.
- Provide readily accessible information to faculty, staff, students, and community agencies regarding disability policies mandated by law (state and federal) and implementing procedures available by the college and DSPS.
- Ensure that courses, programs, services, jobs, activities and facilities, when viewed in their entirety, are accessible in the most integrated and appropriate settings.
- Evaluate student performance bases on ability, not disability.
- Respond to requests for academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, services and/or instruction and access to courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities in a timely manner.
- Provide authorized academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, services in a timely manner.
- Maintain all documentation verifying disability in a secure environment that ensures confidentiality.
Subsequent To The Receipt Of Appropriate Documentation, an AAP will be developed based on the following criteria:
- Does the Student have a disability? "Disability" is defined in the Americans with Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) and ADAA (2008) as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. A physical impairment is a physiological condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss that affects one or more of the basic body systems/functions (e.g., neurological, musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, bowel, bladder, etc.). A mental impairment is a "mental or psychological disorder such as intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities."
- Does the disability substantially limit a major life activity? (e.g., walking, seeing, speaking, hearing, breathing, learning, performing manual tasks, caring for oneself, working, sitting, standing, bending, lifting, reaching, thinking, concentrating, communicating and sleeping). Is the student "otherwise qualified" for the course, program, or activity?
- Did the student initiate a request for an academic adjustment, auxiliary aid, or service? Did the request for an academic adjustment, auxiliary aid, and/or service follow established DSPS policy and procedure?
- Is the request reasonable and readily achievable? Does it result in a financial or administrative burden on the college?
- Does the requested academic adjustment, auxiliary aid and/or service fundamentally alter a course curriculum or course of study so significantly that it alters the required objectives or content of the curriculum?
YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO APPEAL:
Should DSPS not approve an accommodation or later suspend an authorization.
To initiate your right to appeal, contact:
Vice President of Student Services 11600 Columbia College Drive Sonora, CA 95370 (209) 588 - 5132