Welcome to Student Disability Services at PCCUA!
The PCCUA campus community maintains their commitment to protect the civil rights of students with disabilities through the creation of a welcoming and inclusive environment and practices to meet the needs of all students, particularly those students who choose to self-disclose their disabilities. The role of this office is to advance the educational goals of our students by eliminating curricular or programmatic barriers that may exist in the classroom setting and to provide support for students’ disability-related need for accommodation.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to a Disability Coordinator if you have any questions about our policies, or need more information on how to proceed. Students with disclosed disabilities who work with a Disability Coordinator to obtain reasonable accommodations are more likely to experience success in a positive learning environment.
Legal Policy
PCCUA accommodates students with disabilities as required by the American Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act Section 504 (173). A Disability Coordinator is available on each campus to assist students in obtaining reasonable accommodations for self-disclosed disabilities. Disability Coordinators are identified in the PCCUA College Catalog and Student Handbook. It is the student’s responsibility to self-disclose the disability to the Disability Coordinator.
Definition
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, included Section 504, forbade discrimination against persons with disabilities by programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance, which included virtually every institution of higher education, except the U.S. military academies and a few small religious schools.
A postsecondary institution must make reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities so that they can participate in programs and activities.
Colleges must make "academic accommodations" for students with disabilities so that they can participate in the academic and extra curriculum at the institution. Academic accommodations include extended time for test taking or completion of course work, tape recording of classes, substitution of specific courses to meet degree requirements, modification of test taking, and other adjustments.
Colleges do not have to provide accommodations that would "fundamentally alter" the educational program or academic requirements essential to a program of study or necessary to fulfill licensing requirements.
The rights of students with disabilities are protected under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (IDEA), and the Disabilities Education Act of 1997, Public Law 105017.
Process to Receive Services
1. Make an appointment to meet with a Disability Coordinator as early as possible during a particular semester, preferably before a semester begins. A Disability Coordinator is located on each campus and identified in the College Catalog and Student Handbook.
2. Obtain an Application for Disability Services Form
3. Submit to the Disability Coordinator (1) a completed Application for Disability Services Form and (2) medical documentation from providers, which include but are not limited to, a certified/licensed physician, psychologist, psychometrist, audiologist, speech pathologist, rehabilitation counselor, physical or occupational therapist. Medical documentation must reflect the student’s present level of functioning with respect to the major life activity affected by the disability. Diagnostic information must include specific recommendations as well as the rationale for each. The cost of obtaining professional documentation is the sole responsibility of the student.
4. The Disability Coordinator will verify eligibility and discuss with the student the medically recommended accommodations.
5. The Disability Coordinator and student will identify and agree upon reasonable accommodation(s).
6. The Disability Coordinator will complete a Faculty Notification of Services Form, which identifies recommended reasonable accommodation(s).
7. The Disability Coordinator will give the completed Faculty Notification of Services Form to the student.
8. The student will assume responsibility for taking the completed Faculty Notification of Services Form to each of the student’s instructor(s) to discuss the identified accommodation(s) on the Faculty Notification of Services Form. (The Disabilities Coordinator will e-mail instructor(s) teaching courses for which the student has requested accommodations.)
9. The instructor and student will discuss the requested reasonable accommodations.
10. The instructor will sign the Faculty Notification of Services Form indicating his or her notification to provide reasonable, accommodation services. Each instructor will keep a copy of this signed Faculty Notification of Services Form for his or her records.
11. The student will return the original Faculty Notification of Services Form to the Disability Coordinator after each of the student’s instructor(s) for a particular semester has/have signed the form.
12. The Disability Coordinator will keep a signed copy of the Application for Disability Services Form, medical documentation, and Faculty Notification of Services Form in the Disability Coordinator’s office.
13. The Disability Coordinator will send a copy of the Application for Disability Services Form, medical documentation, and Faculty Notification of Services Form in a sealed envelope to the Registrar’s Office for inclusion in the student’s permanent academic record.
14. Requests to rescind or modify any accommodation must be submitted in writing to the student’s Disability Coordinator and all instructors providing reasonable accommodations for a particular semester.
15. The REQUEST to receive accommodation services for a disclosed disability MUST BE REPEATED each and every semester the student is enrolled. However, documentation does not need to be presented to the Disabilities Coordinator each semester unless the status of a disability changes requiring a different level of accommodation.
Confidentiality
Information in the student’s disability file is confidential. Information pertaining to the student’s disability will be maintained in a sealed envelope in the student’s permanent academic record. Information about the existence and relevant limitations of a disability as well as the accommodation for which a student is eligible will be disclosed only with the student’s written permission. The student must provide written permission for disclosure to secure academic and support services (parking, library usage).
Appeal
A student may appeal a decision concerning accommodation by first requesting an informal meeting with a Disability Coordinator, the Vice Chancellor for Instruction, the Vice Chancellor for Student Services, and instructor if applicable. If the issue is not resolved, the student may activate the formal grievance process as outlined in the PCCUA Policy and Procedure Manual.
Faculty Responsibilities
The faculty is required to comply with federal and state laws requiring reasonable services to students with disabilities. Therefore, the faculty will:
- Comply with reasonable accommodations
- Identify additional accommodations which may facilitate student learning
- Inform the student's advisor of high-risk student behaviors
- Maintain confidentiality of the student’s disability
Report an Accessibility Barrier
You can click the button below to report an accessibility barrier, either curricular, programmatic, or physical, or by contacting Shawanna Wansley at swansley@pccua.edu on the DeWitt campus; Deborah Gentry at dgentry@pccua.edu on the Helena-West Helena campus; and Sylvia Boyd at sboyd@pccua.edu on the Stuttgart campus.
Faculty, staff, and students, may use this form to report a concern with disability access to the PCCUA Campus. This form is intended to manage immediate, on-campus needs. All campus emergencies should be reported to campus police at 9999 or 816-0377.
Your concern will be routed to the appropriate office depending on the nature of the concern as described below. Once the appropriate department receives and reviews your reported access issue, a staff member will contact you to discuss the concern and potential solutions. Please allow up to 2 - 3 business days to receive a response from PCCUA.