Select from the following topics to jump to that topic in the policies and procedures page.
The following statement must appear on syllabi distributed by instructors teaching courses at CSU:
"If you have a documented disability as described by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504, you may be eligible to receive accommodations to assist in programmatic and/or physical accessibility. We recommend that you contact the Office of Disability Services located in Schuster Student Success Center, room 221, 706-507-8755 as soon as possible. The Office of Disability Services can assist you in formulating a reasonable accommodation plan and in providing support. Course requirements will not be waived but accommodations may be able to assist you to meet the requirements. Technical support may also be available to meet your specific need."
What faculty should know about students with disabilities:
The Office of Disability Services does not have a role in determining course attendance policies. Because attendance may be integral to the pedagogic process, faculty at the university, departmental, and individual level, sets these policies. In most cases attendance is fundamental to course objectives.
Faculty is ultimately responsible for determining the weight and importance of class attendance and participation. If a student is unable to attend classes for an extended period of time, then he/she is ultimately responsible for informing the instructor(s) of the reasons why he/she is not attending class. The faculty member determines if the attendance and participation are considered to be integral components to the learning process; and if the student is not meeting those requirements, then he or she may not be otherwise qualified to attend classes at that point in time.
For example, students may be required to interact with others in the class in order to demonstrate the ability to think and argue critically or to participate in group projects. In other instances faculty may determine that students can master content despite some or many absences. Rarely does faculty decide that students do not need to attend classes at all. Similarly, faculty also determines policies regarding make-up work and misses quizzes and exams. Faculty is not required to lower or effect substantial modifications of standards for accommodation purposes.
What the Office of Disability Services can do for
students:
The Office of Disability Services can provide students with written
verification of their disabilities and disability-related absences,
based on appropriate medical and/or psychological documentation.
This verification can address the legitimacy of accommodating
disability-related absences.
What faculty can do for students: Faculty should meet with the student at the beggining of the semester and discuss the method the instructor would like to be notified regarding disability-related absences. The instructor and student may want to discuss the number of absences the student anticipates.
Faculty should make their policies clear so that students can make informed choices about which courses to take. Faculty should also apply attendance policies consistently among classes. Faculty can choose to announce attendance/make-up policies on the first day of class and reinforce this information on the class syllabus.
If faculty intend to disallow or restrict absences, they may
choose to use wording similar to this: "Your presence is
fundamental to meeting the objectives of this course. Consequently
there will be ____(number of absences) and ____(number of makeup
quizzes and exams)".
In a recent legal decision by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR),
Case no. 09-96-2150 (OCR Region IX, 1996), attendance policies and
classroom participation were addressed. OCR noted that it accords
significant deference to a college's determination that attendance
is essential in a particular course. Several factors where
presented that OCR would consider in a given challenge to determine
that attendance was essential:
Of Note: In a session of the Learning Disabilities Association of America, Feb. 1999, ADA attorneys advised staff members of the Office of Disability Services to have faculty members document in writing why they would not allow accommodations of classroom attendance and/or make-up work. The above questions derived from the OCR judgment can be used as a guide for documentation.
Attendance and Students with Disabilities
What students with disabilities need to know about attendance (to
be included in the students' handbook).
The Office of Disability Services does not determine class attendance policies. Because attendance may be integral to the learning process, the faculty of the college, at the departmental or individual level, sets these policies. In most cases attendance is fundamental to course objectives. For example, students may be required to think and argue critically or to participate in group projects. In other instances faculty may determine that students can master course content despite some or many absences. Rarely, faculty may decide that students do not need to attend class at all. Similarly, faculty also determines policies regarding make-up work and missed quizzes and exams.
Faculty is not required to lower or effect modifications of standards for accommodation purposes.
What are the responsbility of the students:
Students are required to submit appropriate medical and/or
psychological documentation at the beginning of the semester to the
Office of Disabiity Services. Letters from the Office of Disability
Services verifying the documentation has been submitted and meets
the ADA qualifications are distributed by the students to
professors to initiate discussions concerning polices of attendance
and make-up of course work. Students who are absent from class due
to a disability related absence, should obtain verification
notices for their professors. The type of verification notices
should be discussed at the beginning of the semester with the
professor as to what is considered appropriate medical
and/or psychological verification. Students are required to
submit appropriate documentation for the period of absence. It is
the responsibility of the student to notify professors of prolonged
absences (i.e., hospitalization, prolonged treatment, etc.).
Listen closely to faculty announcements about attendance and make-up policies and procedures. Also, refer to your syllabus frequently throughout the semester for information about these issues.
Procedures for Verifying Disability-Related
Absence
The following procedure is used to verify disability-related
absences. The Office of Disability Services does not excuse
students with disabilities nor does it establish attendance
policies. Verification of disability-related absences notifies the
instructors of legitimate absences due to a student's disability.
The verification of disability-related absences does not usually
apply to routine appointments to a health-care provider.
Disability-related absences apply to hospitalizations,
illness-related to a disability, and lengthy treatment processes
(such as chemotherapy). This is determined on a case-by-case
basis.
If the student is absent from class because of a disability-related
circumstance such as those mentioned above, the student will need
to provide verification of the absence from their health care
provider to the professor or to the Office of Disability Services,
per the arrangements made previously with the professor. The
documentation should establish the reason for the absence and its
relation to the disability.
If the student encounters an unexpected disability-related circumstance, such as an emergency hospitalization or illness, he/she should notify the Office of Disability Services and his/her professors. The student will need to notify the instructors to arrange make-up work or other assignments.
The student may wish to medically withdraw if the student's health care provider, Dean of Students and/or Counseling Center psychologist advises the student to do so. See "Medical Withdrawals."
Faculty is ultimately responsible for determining the weight and importance of class attendance and participation. Faculty determines if attendance and participation are integral components to the learning process. If the student is not meeting these requirements, then the student may not be "otherwise qualified" to attend school at this point in time.
©2009 Columbus State University
Last Updated: 4/26/11
Questions/Comments?