Academic support services are tools used by students with disabilities to help them reach their full potential in the classroom. Students must be registered with the Lake Land College Office of Student Accommodations in order to receive academic support services. Available support services include:
As necessary, students should make an appointment with the Counselor/Coordinator of Student Accommodations to discuss academic difficulties, course registration, choosing a major, transfer information and other academic issues.
Students should request specific seating arrangements as necessary, e.g. near the front of the room, near the doorway, etc.
Students who need access to electronic versions of their course text books may request PDF versions. It is the student’s responsibility to install a PDF reader on their personal computer.
In accordance with the American’s with Disabilities Act, an attendance accommodation is appropriate when a student has a chronic disabling physical or mental condition that is cyclic in nature. The student’s condition is stable; however, there are periodic flare ups that prevent a student from attending classes and are unpredictable. Examples include, but are not limited to: Crohn’s Disease, chronic severe migraines, Sickle Cell Anemia, various autoimmune conditions, bipolar disorder, panic attacks, etc.
If a student believes s/he will miss class with some frequency due to a disability, the student must talk with the Office of Student Accommodations (OSA) before the semester, or as early in the semester as possible, about previous experiences and current semester expectations. During that conversation, the OSA will explain that determining whether an attendance accommodation is reasonable must be done on a case-by-case basis because of course differences. Once the attendance accommodation has been established, providing documentation (i.e., doctor’s note) to a professor is not required when a student is absent due to a disability flare up.
Attendance requirements vary widely from course to course: lab activity and hands-on courses usually involve a lot of in-class learning that cannot be easily made up outside of class, while lecture classes provide more flexibility. Likewise, each instructor may have a different policy for student attendance.
In determining what accommodation to a course attendance policy is reasonable, the student, and OSA if requested, will communicate with the respective course instructors to understand:
Based on the medical condition AND the nature of the class, the student and the course instructor will address the following questions and complete an Attendance Accommodation Agreement:
Important to Note: Students need to understand that even with an attendance accommodation:
If absences become excessive unexpectedly, students must talk with the OSA and instructor about whether a late drop, withdrawal, or incomplete should be explored. If a student completes a course and/or takes the final exam, drops, withdrawals and incompletes are not an option.
Once an Attendance Accommodation plan has been implemented, then the student, OSA and the course instructor will refer to it as needed as course scenarios evolve. If the student does not feel that a reasonable attendance accommodation can be agreed upon they should contact the OSA to discuss their options. Options include finding an alternative method of taking the course, finding an alternative section number, or working through the Student Concerns and Grievance procedure. When scheduling courses for upcoming semesters, it is strongly advised that students seeking attendance accommodations allow themselves ample time (6 weeks suggested) to work through any concerns.
The OSA will discuss the Attendance Accommodation with instructors upon request. Students are welcome to communicate with the professor to make arrangements on their own. OSA is available as a resource to provide guidance to students and faculty. Please don’t hesitate to call or email as soon as questions or concerns arise.
Audio books will be provided online through an off-campus company that specializes in this service. Students will receive a username and password to access learningally.org. This website will allow students to download audiobooks to a personal computer, on-campus computer or a smartphone app. In some instances, audio books may not currently be available. When this happens, the student will be issued a PDF version of the text. The student would then need to acquire a PDF reader that can read the text.
Braille materials must be requested at least 6 weeks before the beginning of each term. Materials must be returned to the Counselor/Coordinator of Student Accommodations by the end of the term.
Students are expected and encouraged to meet deadlines for assignments and tests. Faculty has a right to establish late work policies. However, if a student has a disability that may occasionally impact her/his ability to complete assignments and tests at the scheduled time, flexibility in assignment deadlines is considered an appropriate accommodation. Hopefully, a student’s disability will not interfere with timely completion of assignments; however, if the student has a disability with random or cyclical acute episodes, the accommodation allows for flexibility in assignment deadlines and make-up work. When this is the case, the student and instructor shall work together to determine how much extra time will be allotted. The number of days given for each assignment extension depends on the learning objectives, interactive or participatory nature of a course, or is based on department, college or accrediting agency rules. If special consideration in meeting deadlines is needed, students need to work with the instructor to determine the maximum extension that can be given before compromising the integrity of the course/program. Please note that unexpected illness or injury, a recent diagnosis, onset, or change in condition rarely warrants accommodations in assignment deadlines. The OSA promotes good time and project management skills as well as effective decision-making relative to personal circumstances. This accommodation does not address inefficiencies in these areas. Thus, the OSA position is that assignments with more than one week to complete can be done successfully with proper management and planning and need not warrant an accommodation except in extenuating circumstances. If the disability is confounded by poor time management skills, the OSA suggests that students enroll in Strategies for Success 101 (SFS 101).
Please note that it is the student’s responsibility to discuss testing accommodations with the instructor. After the student verifies his or her wish to take advantage of testing accommodations, this is the usual procedure. Any variations in this procedure should be agreed upon by the instructor and student.
Tutors never serve as proctors or readers for students they are tutoring; nor do tutors proctor tests in their own subject areas. Test readers will read the test exactly as written. Lake Land College test readers do not rephrase or explain test content.
Students’ instructors automatically receive an accommodation notice unless otherwise indicated by the student. This includes internet course instructors who may be employed by another institution. Instructors DO NOT receive a copy of the student’s documentation. It is the student’s responsibility to discuss requested accommodations with the instructor.
Enlarged textbooks/materials must be requested at least 6 weeks before the beginning of each term. Assignments, quizzes, exams, etc. will be enlarged as needed by the Counselor/Coordinator of Student Accommodations and instructor as requested by the student.
If a student can take notes, but not regularly, it is the responsibility of the student to provide their own note taker. If a student cannot take notes due to a physical disability, the Office of Student Accommodations will work this student to find a note taker. Students should always ask their instructor for assistance as well as the Office of Student Accommodations if needed.
The College is committed to compliance with state and federal laws regarding individuals with disabilities. Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is an animal that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to an individual’s disability. Service animals are not pets. Animals whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA. When the service animal is on College property, the service animal must be accompanied by a responsible person (i.e., owner and/or handler) who is solely responsible for the care and control of the service animal.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of work or tasks service animals may perform to assist an individual with a disability:
Reasonable behavior consistent with the above requirements is expected from service animals and their owners and/or handlers while on College property. The owners and/or handlers of disruptive and/or aggressive service animals may be asked to remove the service animal from College facilities and property. If the improper behavior happens repeatedly, the owner and/or handler may be told they are not permitted to bring the service animal into any College facility or on College property until they take significant steps to mitigate the behavior.
A service animal may be removed from College property for the following reasons:
A student or employee who has an allergy to another individual’s service animal may qualify for accommodations. To resolve these conflicts as efficiently and effectively as possible, individuals should contact the Office of Student Accommodations (for students) or the Office of Human Resources (for employees), so appropriate accommodations may be considered.
May be provided as available when notification is received at least six weeks before the beginning of each term. If an interpreter is requested less than six weeks before the term starts, one may not be available at the beginning of the semester.
Students may borrow tape recorders from the AV department in the Library for the semester. It is the student’s responsibility to tape class lectures and discussions as necessary and to return borrowed equipment to the AV department at the end of the term.
Free tutoring and access to assistive technology is available in the Tutoring & Testing Center. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the Tutoring & Testing Center to arrange tutoring.
Accommodations not listed here may be requested by the student. These requests will be evaluated based on documentation, feasibility and appropriateness for the college setting.