SUMMARY OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Rights and Responsibilities of Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities have the right:

To participate voluntarily in DSPS
To participate in other courses, programs, or activities offered by the college
To be evaluated based on ability, not disability
To appeal a decision regarding accommodations through the academic accommodation grievance process.

Students with disabilities have the responsibility:

To provide professional documentation of disability to the college
To request accommodations in a timely way
To follow procedures for obtaining accommodations
To work cooperatively with DSPS to determine and implement accommodations
To maintain the academic and conduct standards of the college

Faculty Rights and Responsibilities

Faculty have the right:

To set academic standards
To evaluate the student based on the standards of the class and to grade accordingly
To advise the student to contact DSPS if the student requests an accommodation and the instructor has not received written notification from the DSPS office.

Faculty have the responsibility:

To work with DSPS to provide for accommodations in a fair and timely way
To adjust instruction without fundamentally altering the program
To provide handouts in a timely way for alternate media provision
To select textbooks in a timely way so that e-text can be ordered from the publisher
To respect and maintain a student's right to confidentiality about his/her disability by not announcing or discussing the student's disability in the presence of other students or staff
To contact the DSPS office if there is disagreement about the accommodation
To work with DSPS to ensure that instructional web pages are accessible to students who use assistive technology
To work with DSPS to ensure that instructional videos/DVDs are captioned
To post materials on the Blackboard or website in an accessible format for students.
To ensure that test accommodations do not impact lecture time or other course meeting requirements.

College Rights and Responsibilities

The college has the right:

To request and review documentation that supports requests for accommodation
To hold all students to the Student Rules of Conduct

The college has the responsibility:

To inform applicants and students with disabilities about the availability and range of accommodations
To insure that all of its programs are accessible
To make college materials accessible
To establish college policies and procedures for access and a process to resolve disputes
To communicate policies and procedures to college employees and students
To support an atmosphere of respect and inclusion
To adjust, substitute, or waive any requirement that has a disproportionately adverse impact on a disability and is not fundamental to the student's academic program

DSPS Rights and Responsibilities

DSPS has the right:

To request and receive current documentation that supports the need for accommodations
To deny a request for accommodations if the documentation demonstrates that the request is not warranted or if the individual fails to provide appropriate documentation
To suspend services if a student persistently violates DSPS policies and procedures regarding academic accommodations

DSPS has the responsibility:

To assist faculty in providing or arranging accommodations and/or auxiliary aids
To hold student information confidential except where permitted or required by law
To communicate to students, faculty, and staff the process to request accommodations
To verify the student's disabilities and authorize accommodations based on educational limitations caused by the disability
To direct faculty to resources available for the development of accessible web sites and/or posting of instructional materials in accessible formats.

Students' Rights to Confidentiality

Under the laws affecting higher education, students have the right to confidentiality.

When you receive an accommodation form that states a student has a disability and needs accommodations, or if the student shares that information with you verbally or in writing, that information must be kept confidential. Instructors and staff must maintain a policy of strict confidentiality about the identity of the student with a disability, the nature of the disability, and the disability-related accommodations s/he requires.

Having a disability revealed is often mentioned by students with disabilities as the situation they fear the most at school. If that information is revealed to classmates or others without the student's permission, it is a violation of the trust that the student has in the instructor, staff, and the college.

Some disabilities are obvious but there are many more disabilities that are not so apparent. These disabilities are usually revealed to you only so that the proper accommodations can be provided to give the student an equal opportunity to learn in your classroom.