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Smith College is both philosophically committed and legally required to enable students with documented disabilities to participate in college programs by providing reasonable and appropriate accommodations for them. The college has an Office of Disability Services to facilitate the provision of services to students with documented disabilities. A student may voluntarily register with the Office of Disability Services by completing a disability identification form and providing documentation of a disability, after which proper accommodations will be determined by the college.
Students with disabilities who need academic accommodations or other disability related support services must make their needs known and file timely request forms each semester with the Office of Disability Services for accommodations in course work. The types of academic accommodations which can be made include additional time allowed for examinations, private space for testing, additional time for written assignments and, in exceptional circumstances, course substitutions or a plan for a reduced course program. (This needs approval by both the Office of Disability Services and the Administrative Board.) Students with disabilities, like all other students, should select courses that take into account their own particular strengths and weaknesses and inform advisors of their challenges.
Support services (“auxiliary aids and services,” in the lexicon of the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA]) include: sign language interpreters, readers, note takers, scribes, assistive listening devices, typists, computing software and hardware, taping services, etc. Writing counseling, peer tutoring, and time management/study skills training are available to all students through the learning center. Students with disabilities may request additional or longer sessions if needed, however, separate services designed specifically for disabled students are not provided. If peer tutors are not available, other tutorial services may be sought at the student's expense.
Support services are provided to students with documented disabilities to help them perform according to their intellectual abilities. The College will not provide such support services if providing them would create an undue burden for the college. The College is responsible for providing that, within certain limits, students are not denied the opportunity to participate in college programs on the basis of a disability. The college is not required to and will not:
The College is not responsible for and will not provide personal care assistance, personal purchases, personal adaptive equipment, formal educational assessment or clinical disability evaluation, and services or educational supplies used by all students (pens, paper, personal computers, software, or computer supplies, etc.). These are the responsibility of the student.
The College will provide support services to students for whom the college has evaluations and documentation that support the accommodation request. Students are expected to participate responsibly in using accommodations they have requested and which have been approved by the College. Students with disabilities are bound, like all students to the Smith Honor Code. Students who may have a disability and need accommodations or support services should contact or be referred to the Office of Disability Services for consultation and advice. The required documentation and requests for accommodation must be timely. The College cannot make retroactive accommodations.
September 1994 (revised April 2006)
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