Policies & Procedures

PUC has an institutional commitment to provide equal educational opportunities for qualified disabled students in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It is the policy that no qualified person be excluded from participating in any college program, be denied the benefits of any college program, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination with regard to any college program.

The efforts to accommodate people with disabilities must be measured against the goal of full participation and integration. Services and programs to promote these benefits for people with disabilities shall complement and support, but not duplicate, the regular services and programs.

Accessibility: The Key to Equal Opportunity

Assurance of equal educational opportunity rests upon legal foundations established by federal law, specifically the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 including Section 504, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. By federal law, a person with a disability is any person who: 1) has a physical or mental impairment; 2) has a record of such impairment; or 3) is regarded as having such an impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities such as self-care, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, or learning.

Student Rights and Responsibilities

A qualified disabled student is a disabled person who meets the academic and technical standards required for admission and participation in the educational program or activity.

Every qualified student with a documented disability has the following rights:

• Equal access to courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities available through the college.
• Reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids determined on a case-by-case basis.
• Appropriate confidentiality of all information pertaining to his/her disability with the choice of to whom to disclose their disability except as required by law.
• Information reasonably available in accessible formats.

Every student with a documented disability has the responsibility to:

• Identify themselves in a timely manner to the Access Services Director or the instructor as an individual with a disability.
• Meet the college's qualifications and essential technical, academic and institutional standards.
• Provide documentation from an appropriate professional source that verifies the extent of the disability, functional limitations, and the need for specific accommodations.
• Follow specific procedures for obtaining reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids.
• Assume personal responsibility for taking any medications.
• Comply with the Student Code of Conduct as written in the college catalog.

Institutional Rights and Responsibilities

Pacific Union College has the right to:

• Maintain the college's academic standards.
• Request current documentation from a student completed by an appropriate professional source to verify the need for reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids.
• Discuss a student's need for reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids with the professional source of his/her documentation with the student's signed consent authorizing such discussion.
• Select among equally effective and appropriate accommodations, adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids in consultation with students with disabilities.
• Deny a request for accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids if the documentation does not identify a specific disability, fails to verify the need for the requested services, or is not provided in a timely manner.
• Refuse to provide an accommodation, adjustment, and/or auxiliary aid that is inappropriate or unreasonable including any that:
  • pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others;
  • constitute a substantial change or alteration to an essential element of a course or program; or
  • pose undue financial or administrative burdens on the college.

Pacific Union College has the responsibility to:

• Provide information regarding policies and procedures to students with disabilities and assure its availability in accessible formats upon request.
• Evaluate students on their abilities, not their disabilities.
• Provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids for students with disabilities upon a timely request by a student.
• Maintain appropriate confidentiality of records and communication concerning students with disabilities except where disclosure is required by law or authorized by the student.

Student Records

Confidentiality:

The TLC is charged with the responsibility of collecting and holding disability documentation. This information is treated as medical documentation and handled under the same strict rules of confidentiality as other medical information. It is kept in a secure file with limited access. Information will be shared only on a limited basis within the institutional community and only when there is a compelling reason. Unless there is a threat to an individual's safety and/or emergency situation, consent of the student will be requested prior to releasing medical/psychological documentation to a third party. Confidentiality is not maintained in the case of child abuse, suicidal or homicidal intent. Information may also be released with the student's permission on a need-to-know basis.

Circumstances that may warrant such disclosure may include:

• Requests for a course substitution
• Concerns for the student's health
• Special circumstances in housing
• Grievance procedures
• Special financial aid considerations

Maintenance of Records:

A confidential file is maintained on each student that includes demographics, documentation of the disability, a record of each contact and action taken. Student records will be shredded five years after the last attendance.

Academic Accommodations

Responsibilities of the Access Services Director Include:

• Determining eligibility for participation of students with disabilities in the academic accommodations process based upon a review of appropriate documentation.
• Determining the appropriate accommodation for each student based on the individual's need.
• Assuring the student receives the appropriate accommodation.
• Interacting with faculty when appropriate.
• Informing students with disabilities of college policies and procedures for filing a formal grievance through the Grievance Committee as described in the Student Handbook (Grievances must be filed no later than two weeks after the end of the quarter).

Responsibilities of the Student Include:

• Contacting the Access Services Director at the beginning of each quarter so that appropriate accommodations can be made in a timely manner. Students are strongly encouraged to make this contact within the first two weeks of each quarter.
• Providing the disabilities coordinator with appropriate medical, psychological, psychoeducational, or neuropsychological documentation indicating the student's disability and suggested accommodations.
• Providing signed consent authorizing the Access Services Director to discuss his/her need for reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids with the professional source of his/her documentation.
• Provide paperwork from the ASD to the faculty member or professor at the beginning of each quarter about his/her disability, how performance may be affected, and necessary and reasonable accommodation(s).
• Testing Accommodations: Students must present the Disability Accommodations Notice paperwork to the faculty member at least 72 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) in advance of the first exam for which they request accommodations. Failure to submit paperwork in advance forfeits a student’s right for accommodations for that exam.

Responsibilities of the Faculty Members Include:

• Discussing with the disabilities coordinator any concerns related to the accommodation(s) or arrangements that have been requested by the student during their initial contacts.
• Determining the conditions under which the exam is to be administered (e.g., open book, use of notes, computer with word processing including spell check, formula sheet, calculator, scrap paper, dictionary).
• Providing appropriate accommodations.
• Assuring the timely delivery of the exam, along with all necessary instructions and materials for proper administration, if a student's exam is to be administered outside of class. The faculty member may also make arrangements with the student for the delivery and return of the exam.
• Assuring the confidentiality of information regarding students with disabilities.

Course Substitution

Recognizing that the nature and severity of the documented specific learning disability may preclude learning in the quantitative or foreign language area even with reasonable accommodations, the college may elect to permit the substitution of specific courses as an accommodation (course waivers are not granted). A petition for a course substitution is carefully considered on an individual basis. The final decision is made by the Academic Standards and General Education (ASGE) Committee in consultation with the appropriate department chairs and the Access Services Director (ASD).

Students should note that documentation of a learning disability does not guarantee that the petition will be approved. A substitution cannot be granted if the course in question is considered to be an essential part of the student’s academic program.

Procedures:

The following procedures are followed when a student requests a course substitution based on a documented specific learning disability:

• The student should attempt to complete the requirement, utilizing the accommodation services available from the college. The petition process should begin as soon as there is strong objective evidence that the student will be unable to fulfill the requirement even with reasonable accommodations.
• The student compiles a petition packet and submits it to the Access Services Director (ASD). This petition packet includes:
  • A typed letter to the ASGE Committee requesting the substitution, outlining the reasons for the request and describing the student’s prior experiences with the subject matter.
  • Letters from faculty attesting to the student's efforts and diligence in attempting to master the subject matter.
  • Current, relevant, and comprehensive documentation and assessment data from a certified professional. This documentation should substantiate a severe learning disability and its specific impact upon the student's ability in the subject area. Documentation must meet “The Guidelines for Documentation of a Specific Learning Disability”.
• The petition packet is reviewed by the ASD upon receipt. If there is evidence that a course substitution may be warranted, the ASD consults with the department chair for the student’s academic program and the department chair for the subject area of the requested course substitution. These parties locate and recommend options for an appropriate course substitute.
• The ASD forwards the petition packet to the Registrar, including the recommended course for substitution. The Registrar uses the student’s academic file to develop a case history within the subject area, including previously-attempted courses and grades from both high school and college.
• The Registrar contacts the chair of the ASGE Committee and an agenda date is set. The ASD is invited to be present at the committee during the presentation and discussion of the petition. At the appointed committee meeting, the Registrar presents the petition to the Committee, which votes on the petition after thorough discussion.
• The Registrar notifies the student in writing of the decision made by the committee. A copy of the notification is provided to the ASD, and another copy is kept in the student’s file at the Records Office.

Process for Receiving Accommodations

• Students meet with the coordinator of the Disabilities Support Services (DSS) to begin the interactive process and share information.
• Students either present "current" documentation or explore resources for an education assessment or diagnosis.
• The coordinator of the DSS evaluates documentation and either requests more more information or further testing, or gives approval. The DSS coordinator must assure that the documentation provided establishes the individual as a person with a disability and provides a rationale for reasonable accommodations.
• Once the documentation has been received, a student must request services and accommodations by meeting with the DSS coordinator. This will NOT be done automatically and must be initiated by the student.
• If the student qualifies to receive disability services they schedule an appointment with the coordinator early each quarter to discuss the student's learning needs and accommodations for the quarter. The DSS coordinator will not give accommodations without having the opportunity for discussion with the student. To process request the DSS needs at least one week although it can take up to two weeks. So the earlier the student schedules an appointment with the coordinator, the earlier services will begin. (Therefore, if a student requests accommodations for the first time in a quarter a few days before a test, it is unlikely that their needs will be met on time.)
• At the individual appointment with the DSS coordinator the student completes the necessary request forms indicating the services requested for each class. The DSS coordinator makes arrangements for all approved accommodations (i.e., note-taker, books on tape/CD, tutor, test proctoring) and completing the Disability Accommodation Notice.
• It is the student's responsibility to present the Disability Accommodations Notice and communicate their needs with their professor.
• The student is responsible for discussing with their professor if an accommodation for a particular class is not working. If a problem cannot be resolved by talking with the professor, the student should contact the DSS coordinator.
• It is the student's responsibility to contact the DSS coordinator if he or she has any questions or concerns regarding academic accommodations.