Broward College Procedure 5.09

For Students: Procedures for Requesting Academic Accommodations and Services

How to Obtain Services

Students requesting academic accommodations, must self-identify to Broward College’s (the “College”) Accessibility Resources office, follow department procedures, and provide documentation according to the established guidelines outlined below. Students will not be approved for academic accommodations until which time an appropriate determination can be made by Accessibility Resources. The College reserves the right to require additional documentation to clarify any information supplied by the student. During the initial interview, a student responsibilities form will be provided, and explained, to the student. The student will be requested to sign the form to acknowledge understanding and agreement with Accessibility Resources policies and procedures.

Documentation Guidelines

The primary purpose of documentation is to establish a disability in order to help the College work interactively with the student to identify appropriate academic accommodations. The information provided by the student must adequately document the existence of a current disability and need for academic accommodations as a result of the disability.

The College recommends that students provide as much documentation as possible; however, follows the Association on Higher Education and Disability® guidelines for documentation, which are as follows:

Sources and Forms of Documentation

Acceptable sources of documentation for substantiating a student’s disability and request for particular accommodations can take a variety of forms:

Primary Documentation: Student’s Self-report

The student is a vital source of information regarding how he or she may be “limited by impairment.” A student’s narrative of his or her experience of disability, barriers, and effective and ineffective accommodations is an important tool which, when structured by interview or questionnaire and interpreted, may be sufficient for establishing disability and a need for accommodation.

Secondary Documentation: Observation and Interaction

The impressions and conclusions formed by higher education disability professionals during interviews and conversations with students or in evaluating the effectiveness of previously implemented or provisional accommodations are important forms of documentation. Experienced disability professionals should feel comfortable using their observations of students’ language, performance and strategies as an appropriate tool in validating student narrative and self-report.

Tertiary Documentation: Information from External or Third Parties

Documentation from external sources may include educational or medical records, reports and assessments created by health care providers, school psychologists, teachers, or the educational system. This information is inclusive of documents that reflect education and accommodation history, such as Individual Education Program (IEP), Summary of Performance (SOP), and teacher observations. External documentation will vary in its relevance and value depending on the original context, credentials of the evaluator, the level of detail provided, and the comprehensiveness of the narrative. However, all forms of documentation are meaningful and should be mined for pertinent information.

If the documentation a student submits does not meet the above requirements, Accessibility Resources will notify the student in a timely manner of what additional documentation the student needs to provide.

Provision of Accommodations

Once a student’s documentation is accepted and accommodations are determined and documented, an approved accommodation plan will be provided to the student. It is then the student’s responsibility to deliver this accommodation plan to whichever faculty they choose and discuss how accommodations will be provided for each particular class, in a manner that optimizes their privacy. Faculty have no obligation to change a grade or provide academic accommodations to a student who waits until after completing a course or activity, or receiving a poor grade, to request accommodations.

In order to assist each student in the provision of services and accommodations, Accessibility Resources will maintain a file on the student, tracking service history from the date that documentation was received, to the date services end.

Pertinent information to the individual needs of the student will be kept in the file. In addition, appropriate demographic and funding information needed for college, state, and federal compliance reports will be entered into databases by Accessibility Resources staff.

Confidentiality of Student Files

While the student file is treated as confidential, all information within is an educational record, and may be viewed by pertinent College staff as deemed necessary by Accessibility Resources. All College staff who access a student’s file will adhere to the confidentiality of the information within.

Considerations for Specific Academic Accommodations and Adjustments

Recording Lectures

Students may record class lectures without an academic accommodation, in accordance with College Policy 5.02. Such recordings do not require an approved accommodation but are subject to the limitations and definitions in Policy 5.02.

Should a student be approved to record lectures as an academic accommodation, and choose to utilize that accommodation, the student may be able to record portions of the classroom experience beyond that allowed by College Policy 5.02. If so, the student agrees, and may be asked to sign an agreement, to not share, publish, or sell the recordings. The student must inform their professor verbally that they will be recording the class. There may be parts of the course where recording is not allowed, due to confidentiality issues. In such instances the student must cease recording. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in a student code of conduct violation.