Accommodations Information

CAS works with students diagnosed with a disability, on a case by case basis to determine if an access barrier exists. If an academic barrier exists, the student will work with their access specialist to discuss reasonable college accommodations. 

Assessment Support
Students registering with CAS may qualify for assessment support accommodations that enable the student to demonstrate their subject knowledge in a way that decreases the affect of a student's diagnosis. Examples of assessment support accommodations may include but are not limited to, extended time for test taking, test taking breaks, reduced distraction and use of accessible technology (Example: text to speech software, calculator, etc.).

Note Taking Support
Taking notes is a fundamental responsibility in college coursework. Many students arrive to college having not learned note taking skills. If combined with a diagnosis that makes note taking difficult, a student may qualify for a Note Taking Support accommodation. This accommodation is to assist students in acquiring the much needed note taking ability using different note taking options to discover how the student can independently take notes using a method that works best for them.

Students, approved for Note Taking Support, are responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of a particular type of note taking support and reporting any concerns to the Center for Accessibility Services. If there are concerns regarding the type of note taking support, the student, the student’s Access Specialist, and the Note Taking Coordinator, if needed, can discuss why the current form of note taking support is not working and what the next steps might be.

Alternative Format for Textbooks
The alternate format for textbooks accommodation assists students with disabilities that significantly affect reading or comprehension. Students who qualify for this accommodation can request required textbooks and other class text materials in a format that assists in overcoming limitations caused by a disability. Some examples of alternate text formats include large print, electronic formats, audio, and braille.

Students registered with the Center for Accessibilty Services (CAS) must work with their CAS Access Specialist to determine if they qualify for the alternate format for textbooks accommodation.

Students with this accommodation often purchase textbooks in their preferred format by using many of the resoucres available, including, Learning Ally, Bookshare, Audible, VitalSource to name a few. 

Students unable to locate their preferred format for textbooks are welcome to request a format from CAS by logging into their Access CAS account and submitting an Alternate Format for Textbooks request. CAS will contact the book's publisher to request an alternative format for the book on behalf of a student with a disability. Once the publisher's file is received, CAS sends the file to the student by email. 

Students may not receive their preferred format, but will be able to work with the Coordinator for Accessible Materials to listen to the publisher's file.

Conditional Accommodations
Conditional Accommodations are approved for students on a case-by-case basis, in circumstances when a diagnosed disability may have a flare up or be episodic in nature and not in the student’s control. OCR predicates that faculty and CAS offices work to determine what is reasonable for conditional accommodations. Conditional accommodations may include amended attendance, assignment extensions, or flexibility with exam scheduling. 

Temporary Accommodations
Students experiencing a temporary disability (Example: broken arm, concussion) may contact the CAS office to register for CAS services and determine temporary accommodations.