THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE FACULTY SENATE Senate Document Number 5096S Date of Senate Approval 3/28/96 Statement of Faculty Senate Action: APC Document 47: Catalog and Other Changes Related to Disabilities I. Revisions to Catalog 1995-96 to reflect the Americans with Disabilities Act Delete: In Catalog 1995-96, page 26, the first sentence under Orientation and Special Student Services, which reads: Specific populations served by this office are: non- traditional/students, commuter students and handicapped students. Add: In place of the deleted sentence, the following: Specific populations served by this office are: non-traditional students, commuter students and students with physical or learning disabilities. Delete: In Catalog 1995-96, page 26, the next-to-last sentence under Orientation and Special Student Services, which reads: Off-campus housing information, a "ride board," and special assistance for handicapped students are examples of the services offered. Add: In place of the deleted sentence, the following: Off-campus housing information, a "ride board," and special assistance for disabled students are examples of the services offered. Impact/Rationale: The change to the first sentence eliminates an inappropriate word and makes it clear that students with learning disabilities are included. The change to the next-to-last sentence replaces an inappropriate word. Delete: In Catalog 1995-96, page 30, under Services to Students with Disabilities, the following: Students needing individual assistance for academic services should contact the Assistant Director of Student Development at 704/251-6672. The campus ADA Coordinator is the Director of Human Resources, who may be reached at 704/251-6605. Add: In place of the deleted entry, the following: Students needing individual assistance for academic services should contact the Assistant Director of Student Development (ADSD) at 704/251-6672. The ADSD ensures that the programs and facilities of the University are generally accessible to all students. Services are designed and developed on an individual needs basis, and students may elect to use any and all of the services, appropriate to their needs, at no charge. A visit to the campus before acceptance or matriculation is recommended, at which time the applicant may meet with the ADSD to discuss questions and special concerns. Arrangements for a visit may be obtained by contacting the ADSD. Impact/Rationale: No impact. The change provides information as to the manner by which disabled student services may be more readily accessed. Delete: In Catalog 1995-96, page 46, under Other Student Responsibilities, the following: Final responsibility for scheduling and enrolling for courses required for the degree lies with the student. Add: In place of the deleted entry, the following: Final responsibility for scheduling and enrolling for courses required for the degree lies with the student. If a student with a disability needs an accommodation, that request must be received by the Assistant Director of Student Development no later than one week prior to the withdraw date of any given semester/term or as soon as the student discovers need. Impact/Rationale: No impact. The addition clarifies student responsibilities as they relate to accommodations. II. Recommended revisions to Faculty Handbook to incorporate references to the Americans with Disabilities Act Add: In Faculty Handbook, page 76, the following: 5.2.1.3 Working With Students Who Have Disabilities Each student brings unique abilities, experiences, and learning styles to your classroom. Students with disabilities who are accepted at UNCA are capable of college work and should have course requirements consistent with those for other students. However, some accommodation or modification may be needed. Whether or not a student has a disability which requires accommodation is decided by a relevant health professional rather than a faculty member in order to take advantage of the protections offered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Students with disabilities are required to file documentation of the disability with the Assistant Director of Student Development (ADSD) no later than the withdraw date for the semester/term in which the accommodation is being requested or as soon as the student discovers need. That documentation should include suggestions for needed accommodations. Once a faculty member has been notified by the ADSD that some accommodations are needed, the faculty member should meet with either the ADSD or the student or both to discuss course expectations and what accommodations might be appropriate. As faculty, you may encounter students with a variety of disabilities. For example, students may have mobility problems, hearing or vision problems, learning disabilities, or emotional disorders. University of North Carolina at Asheville has developed mechanisms to (1) identify students with disabilities and (2) link those students with services designed to foster their educational progress. Faculty can help disabled students to succeed. While there is little clarification on what the ADA may require, a special task force developed a list of general guidelines. Talk with the ADSD to clarify how individual cases fit into these guidelines: a. Students cannot be excluded from a course or from a course of study solely on the basis of a disability unless the student is unable to meet the licensing, certification, or physical requirements of that course or career. Such exclusion should be approached cautiously. b. Modifications or waivers in degree or course requirements may be necessary to meet the requirements of some students with disabilities. c. Auxiliary aids must be permitted in the classroom if they are required to ensure full participation of disabled students. For example, this may include a tape recorder, a reader, a writer, a computer, or a sign language translator. d. Prohibitive rules, such as banning tape recorders from the classroom, must be waived for some students with disabilities. e. Modified or alternative testing and evaluation methods for measuring students achievement may be necessary for students with attention deficit disorder; impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where those skills are being measured); or learning disabilities. f. Classes may have to be rescheduled or moved to permit access for students with mobility impairments. g. Special equipment or devices used in the classroom and, in some cases, teaching techniques that rely upon sight, hearing, or mobility of students, may require adaptation in individual cases. Many students first become aware of their learning disabilities because of the observation of our faculty who then contact the counseling center or suggest that the student do so. Delete: In Faculty Handbook, page 76, the following: Distribution of Information at the Beginning at Each Semester (VCAA 8-12-85) Add: In place of the deleted entry, the following: 5.2.5.1 Distribution of Information at the Beginning of Each Semester (VCAA 8-12-85) Add: In Faculty Handbook, page 77, immediately before the section 5.2.6 Textbooks, the following: 5.2.5.2 Working with Students Who Have Learning Disabilities To be diagnosed as learning disabled, a person must experience learning problems that are not the result of either a sensory impairment (like blindness or deafness), mental retardation, or being culturally disadvantaged. That means that an individual cannot be diagnosed as learning disabled without also being of at least average intelligence. If a learning disabled student has been accepted at UNCA, he or she has demonstrated the capability to study at the college level, assuming some consideration of his/her disability. A learning disability is real, although it is not as obvious as paralysis, blindness, or deafness. Learning disabled students are likely to have difficulty concentrating on a lecture while taking notes or in the presence of background noise, reading, organizing, or memorizing information, taking timed tests, and speaking or reading in front of groups. Some suggestions which seem to help those students with learning disabilities are listed below. Syllabus: Provide a detailed syllabus. Don't change the syllabus unless it can't be helped; then, provide a revised syllabus or assignment sheet. Instructional suggestions: a. Organize instructional information in a logical sequence. b. Keep oral instructions logical and concise. Reinforce oral instructions with a brief cue word. c. Repeat or re-word complicated directions. d. Provide visual reinforcement of oral instructions or lectures, using the blackboard, overheads, handouts. e. Present important points more than once. f. For a laboratory class, provide an individual orientation to the laboratory and its equipment and allow extra practice with tasks and equipment to minimize student anxiety. Clearly and legibly label equipment, tools, and materials. Color code for enhanced visual recognition. Make available cue cards or labels designating the steps of procedure to help the student master the sequence. If needed, use specialized adaptive equipment to help with exact measurements. g. If a student lacks social skills or has difficulty sustaining focused attention, either talk with the student privately or talk with the ADSD for suggestions. Sometimes the student is best served by sitting in the center of the front row as close to the instructor as possible. Testing suggestions: a. The ADSD may suggest that some students may need a separate room, oral testing, scribes, or readers. If it is difficult to transfer answers to another sheet, either allow the student to write on the exam sheet or even dictate their responses to a scribe. b. They may also benefit from shorter and more frequent tests, extended time for tests, or certain formats of a written test. Sometimes it may be recommended that a student be allowed a dictionary or thesaurus or a computer spell-checking program or, when appropriate, a calculator. c. Clearly separate items on an exam sheet. Students usually need time to assimilate information, so tests that cover recently presented material may cause difficulty. Out-of-class activities: a. Additional time may be needed to assist students with understanding projects, reading drafts of papers, or reviewing instructions. b. Sometimes alternative or supplementary assignments may be needed to evaluate the student's abilities. Taped interviews, slide presentations, photographic essays, or hand- made models may lead to more accurate evaluations Overall: The ADSD should have specific suggestions for each student from the health professional who provided the documentation. Before making changes to your course/exam material, talk with the ADSD and the student to be certain the changes are needed. If there is a question about testing, ask if there are other ways to test the mastery of your course. Naturally, some tasks are deemed essential functions of the course and may not be readily modified. When in doubt, talk with the ADSD. Students with disabilities have the right of confidentiality about the nature of the disability. Not every student will choose to have a disability revealed to the instructor. However, if the student wants accommodations, the student must provide the following to the ADSD prior to the withdraw date of that semester/term: documentation as well as permission to talk to the instructor If there's a problem: Mechanisms for student complaints should begin with talking to you, the instructor. If resolution is not reached, the student should be referred to the Faculty Conciliator in a timely fashion. The student has only 10 days from the date of the incident to talk with the Faculty Conciliator, so your response should come in time to allow for that next discussion. If the Faculty Conciliator is not able to resolve the problem, the issue is referred to the Academic Grievance Committee. 5.2.5.3 Working with Students Who Have Emotional Disorders If the ADSD advises you that a student with an emotional disorder is/will be in one of your classes, the ADSD will also advise you of appropriate accommodations. If you observe a change in a student's behavior or if you become concerned about a student, send the student to the Counseling Center. Rationale: The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1993 requires that the university accommodate disabled students. With a few years of experience and a few disabled students now on campus, we are ready to offer these guidelines and suggestions for helping students with disabilities to succeed at UNCA. Impact: Although there is no impact on the number of faculty required at UNCA, there may be impact on individual faculty members. (1) For those faculty who may be approached by a student with disabilities, the faculty member no longer has to decide whether or not the requested accommodation is appropriate. (2) For those faculty who wish to make no accommodations, the impact is the knowledge that accommodations may be required for students with documented disabilities who work through the ADSD. III. Recommended Revisions to Student Handbook to incorporate references to the Americans with Disabilities Act Delete: In Student Handbook 1995-96, page 16, under Services to Students with Disabilities, the following: Students needing individual assistance for academic services should contact the Assistant Director of Student Development at 704/251-6672. The campus ADA Coordinator is the Director of Human Resources, who may be reached at 704/251-6605. Add: In place of the deleted entry, the following: Students needing individual assistance for academic services should contact the Assistant Director of Student Development (ADSD) at 704/251-6672. It is the student's responsibility to provide the documentation of disabilities to the ADSD at least one week prior to the withdraw date of the semester/term in which the accommodation is first requested [or as soon as the student discovers need]. After that, it is the student's responsibility to advise the ADSD of the classes in which accommodation is or may be needed. The ADSD will contact relevant faculty on behalf of the student. Then, the faculty member and the student should discuss appropriate accommodations. Impact/Rationale: No impact. The changes are consistent with the changes made to Catalog 1995-96 in section I of this document.