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Smith College School for Social Work welcomes
students with disabilities as part of its commitment to valuing diversity and strives
to meets its non-discrimination obligations through both proactive and reactive efforts
designed to meet the individual needs of qualified students with documented disabilities.
The College determines the need for accommodations that are reasonable and effective
through an interactive process with students and based on medical documentation and/or
psychoeducational testing that document a disability and substantiate the need for
accommodations. An individual plan for services and accommodations is developed for
each student who registers with the Office of Disability Services. All information
is kept confidential until released with the student's permission as necessary to
facilitate provision of accommodations. All accommodations are made in accordance
with College policies. Smith's disability policy can be viewed by clicking here.
Non-discrimination and other college policies can be viewed online at through the Office
of Institutional Diversity Web site.
Students with disabilities considering Smith
College School for Social Work (SSW) or who have already been accepted for graduate
study are encouraged to contact the Disability Services Office to discuss your need
for services and accommodations. Please note that disability is not considered in
the admissions process for the School for Social Work. The unique academic structure
and fast pace of the School for Social Work academic program can be both an asset
and pose challenges for students with disabilities. It is important to consider a
range of factors to determine the type of graduate program that best supports your
individual learning needs.
Students, who will need supports such as books
in alternative format, sign language interpreters, or captioning services, must contact
Disability Services at least 6-8 weeks prior to the start of classes. Such lead time
is necessary to evaluate your request and identify qualified service providers or
contractors. Northampton is a rural area in which there are a limited number of qualified
contractors to provide these services. The more notice you can give about your needs
the more likely they will be able to be met.
Students who have been out of school for several
years and away from the process of using disability accommodations or specialized
learning and organizational strategies are encouraged to seek consultation prior
to starting the program to determine how best to prepare for re-entry to an academic
setting. Many students find that the academic demands of graduate study require new
or enhanced strategies for learning. Making efforts to strengthen your studying,
writing, reading and organizational skills before beginning graduate study will prove
to be very beneficial.
If you have a diagnosed learning disability
or ADD/ADHD and expect to need accommodations in graduate school you must provide
the College with current testing or documentation. If you have never been diagnosed
with a disability, but suspect you might have a learning disability or ADD/ADHD you
may want to consider psychoeducational testing prior to entering the graduate program
so that you can take time to develop new coping strategies and identify possible
accommodations that would support your learning at the graduate level. Guidelines
for documenting a learning disability or ADD/ADHD are available on this Web site
by clicking here.
Students with disabilities already enrolled
in Smith College School for Social Work Masters and Doctoral programs are available
to talk to you about the program. They are willing to share their successes and struggles
in an effort to support those making decisions about coming to Smith and to help
students attending have a successful and positive experience. SSW students with disabilities
also maintain a weekly support/educational group that is open to people with disabilities
and allies. If you would like to connect with an enrolled student with a disability
please contact Disability Services for contact information. |
