Introduction

It would be impossible to address every aspect of college life affecting students with disabilities. The purpose of this information pamphlet is to highlight some of the critical issues when advising students with disabilities.

Under both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), universities cannot discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities. To ensure that discrimination does not take place, every public institution was required to self-evaluate it's programs, services and activities; and the rules, policies and procedures that guide the administration of those programs, services and activities.

Due to the nature of higher education in Florida, we have many legislative statutes that dictate how education is directed. Some of those statutes, rules, policies and procedures have the affect of discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities. Each university, in turn, then institutes its own rules to address those rules instituted at the state level. Whether a state or local rule, a review of policies and procedures should have taken place and then changes instituted when the rules or procedures were found to have a discriminatory affect.

The following information will provide administrators an opportunity to better serve those students with disabilities in the programs, services and activities sponsored by the University. It is impossible to address every aspect of campus life, however, when questions arise, the best thing to do is contact the
individuals on campus who administer disability support services. (Refer to cover for contacts.)

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In addition to this pamphlet, there are various other sources of information available to assist faculty, staff and administrators in providing support to students with disabilities. Along with the printed materials, the ADA Office and the Dean of Students Office provides information sessions each year on accommodating students with disabilities in the classroom. For more information on the publications available and the date and times of the information sessions, please contact the ADA Office at 392-7056, 846-1046 (TDD).

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Students with disabilities are not required to inform the University that they have a disability either in the admission process or while enrolled at the University. For those students with disabilities who request specific classroom accommodations or ask for individual consideration in the application process, then and only then, can the appropriate university office ask for documentation to verify the disability.

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The only office on campus authorized to maintain disability related documentation is the Dean of Students Office (P 202 Peabody Hall). Only when an accommodation is needed in the classroom or for an administrative procedure are the appropriate staff notified of the student request. Verification of the student disability and qualification for reasonable accommodation is completed by the Office for Student Services. Notification of appropriate campus officials is initiated, upon the request of the student, by the Assistant Dean for Student Services (Disability Services Office).

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Whose Responsibility is it to Seek and Provide Services

Student Responsibility
Students with disabilities are responsible for ensuring that the University is aware of their disabilities requiring accommodations in the educational process. Students with disabilities should contact the Office for Student Services (OSS), as it is the only designated campus agency responsible for classroom accommodations.

After providing appropriate documentation of the disability requiring accommodation and consulting with the Assistant Dean responsible for programs and services for students with disabilities, the student is registered with the Office for Student Services. Once disability registration is complete, the student should contact faculty members early in each semester and provide a memorandum from the Dean of Students Office informing faculty members of necessary specific accommodations. Finally, students are responsible for requesting accommodations in a timely manner so instructors or professors may plan for those accommodations.

Students with disabilities must maintain the same responsibility for their education as students who are non-disabled. This includes achieving the same academic standards, attending class, maintaining appropriate behavior and providing timely notification of individual needs.

Students who want to request classroom accommodations should register with the Dean of Students Office and:

1. Meet with the Assistant Dean to identify appropriate classroom accommodations
2. Request faculty contact memorandum
3. Deliver the memorandum to each individual instructor
4. Request memorandum update each semester
5. Notify Office of Student Services that faculty have been informed of accommodations

Faculty Responsibility
Nearly 85% of the students registered with the Dean of Students Office have disabilities that are not apparent to the untrained observer. Therefore, if a student is experiencing unexplained difficulty in class assignments or examinations, faculty are encouraged to refer students to the Office for Student Services to assist in determining appropriate support services. However, when students request specific classroom accommodations as a result of a disability, faculty are obligated to accommodate them only if the disability has been verified through the Dean of Students Office.

It is at the point where accommodations have been requested by the student, and no documentation from the Dean of Students Office has been provided, that the student should be referred by the teacher to the Assistant Dean within OSS who is responsible for disability support services. Once referred, the process of determining whether the student meets state and federal guidelines for a specific disability can be determined.

Upon receipt of the letter, each faculty member is responsible for reviewing the information in the letter. At any point that faculty members have questions or concerns about the information contained in the letter, they should immediately contact the Assistant Dean for Student Services (392-1261) responsible for disability services to discuss those issues. All questions are to be directed to the Assistant Dean for Student Services and not the student. Until the assistant dean is contacted, it can only be assumed that there are no questions with any particular student's accommodation package. Most classroom accommodations are easy to arrange and will not take much time to administer. If, however, assistance is needed, contact the Dean of Students Office. The Office for Students with Disabilities will make the accommodation process simple and effective for both student and staff.

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Accommodation Procedures During the Admission Process

Admission (lower division, transfer, upper division, graduate school and professional programs)
BOR Rule 6C-6.018 sets the foundation for disability based petitions to the admissions process. The rule states that each university shall provide an opportunity to present evidence to support the applicant's disability and an appeals process. Committee membership is generally comprised of representatives from: Director of Admissions or his/her representative; General Counsel representative; Dean/Director or representative of college or program being petitioned; expert within the field of the disability in question (from campus), director of programs and services for students with disabilities.

There are petition processes in place, at present, for most areas on the UF campus. These processes were instituted during the ADA Self-Evaluation process. At present, petition processes are in place for basic admissions (first time, transfer and upper division), Graduate School, College of Law, College of Dentistry, and College of Medicine. For any area on campus, when an issue of disability occurs, contact the ADA Office or Office for Student Services for assistance.

SUS Undergraduate Application
The SUS application provides an opportunity for students with disabilities to ask for special consideration during the admission process. When a student checks the box for special consideration, he/she is informing the University that he/she has a disability. Students should be given an opportunity to explain what unique consideration they will require in the admission process. The purpose of this section, on the application form, is to provide an opportunity for students to inform the University of circumstances in their education that may have been impacted by the disability. Many students with disabilities will need no individual consideration and have no disability related circumstances that have impacted their education. However, many do. Students should be given an opportunity to explain the link between their disability and a specific admission criteria. Many students, due to disabilities, may not have completed foreign languages, college level math and other specific courses. Their standardized test scores may be lower than the norm or may have been administered in a non-standard administration.

GPA and Standardized Test Scores
During the application review process, it is important to look at the overall student admission information. There are guidelines, set by the BOR, that dictate minimum GPA and test scores. However, setting guidelines do, in effect, discriminate against some students solely on the basis of the disability. For those students who can show that the disability in some way impacted a standardized test score, GPA or course selection, allowances should be made to accommodate them. Example: Low GPA - In reviewing the application, a graduate student has a GPA below 3.0. On the face of it, the student doesn't meet the minimum GPA set by the BOR. However, the student in the letter of application notifies the department that during the student's second term, he was in a car accident that resulted in a serious injury. The student ended up in the hospital for the semester and did not withdraw from classes, and subsequently received failing grades. His request is that the GPA be recalculated to omit the semester in question. This is a valid request, based on the disability (paraplegic due to auto accident). Example: Student with 3.6 GPA and a GRE Score of 950 (500 V, 450 M) applies to History Department. Initially the student does not appear to meet BOR minimums. This student self identifies as having a disability (LD -math) and would like individual consideration. The student does not meet GRE minimums, but presents supporting documentation that it is a result of a disability and the minimum requirement should be modified. The basis for accepting a GPA or standardized test score that is below BOR minimums is §240.152-153 and BOR Rule 6C-6.018. Graduate students with disabilities who do not meet the BOR minimums may qualify for the BOR 10% exception rule (see 97-98 Graduate Catalog, p. 8).

Substitution - admission requirements (§240.152)
It is generally accepted that there are some admission requirements for which substitutions may be made. For instance, the foreign language requirement - students who can provide documentation verifying that, as a result of a specific disability, they were unable to complete a foreign language should have the opportunity to substitute other courses. Each request must be reviewed individually and the result based on the specifics of the request.

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Program Accommodations Once Enrolled

Waiver vs. Substitution
With the exception of the CLAST exam, there are no waivers to admission or graduation requirements. Students can ask for substitutions to a requirement for admission or graduation. All substitutions for course requirements that are based on disability rationale are facilitated through the Office for Student Services. The substitution is approved only when there can be a direct link between the functional impact of the disability and the course in question.

General Education Requirements vs. Core Course Requirements
Generally speaking, substitutions to admission or graduation requirement have been made in only those areas that are considered general education and not core based. Substitutions are not required when a department or college considers the course or requirement in question to be a fundamental part of the program or essential to students in the program. Each request should be looked at individually and arguments heard for both sides. What may be approved for one student may not be approved for another.

When are substitutions or modifications not required?
When the substitution or modification to the admission or graduation requirement will result in a fundamental alteration (ADA, §240.153) in the nature of the program, then the substitution or modification is not required. Or, when the institution can demonstrate that an academic requirement is essential (Section 504) to the program of instruction being pursued by the student or to any directly related licensing requirement then it is not required. In most cases, general education requirements can be and are substituted regularly (Foreign Language, Gordon Rule computation and communication). On the other hand, courses that are considered a fundamental part of the program do not have to be changed. Example: A student receives a substitution to the Gordon Rule math requirement and now applies for upper division admission into the College of Education and asks for a substitution to the course "teaching Math in Elementary School". If the college sees the course as fundamental, the student must complete the course in order to complete the program. If the student cannot complete the course, then he/she is not otherwise qualified.

Substitution - graduation requirements (§240.153)
Under the guidelines spelled out in §240.153 and BOR Rule 6C-6.018 a student who is hearing impaired, visually impaired, or dyslexic, or who has a specific learning disability, shall be eligible for reasonable substitution for any requirement for graduation, where documentation can be provided that the person's failure to meet the requirement is related to the disability and where the failure to meet the graduation requirement does not constitute a fundamental alteration in the nature of the program. Academic requirements that the institution can demonstrate are essential to the program of instruction being pursued by the student or to any directly related licensing requirement will not be regarded as discriminatory. Each request is to be reviewed individually.

CLAST Waivers
At present, the State of Florida does not have a substitution to the CLAST exam. Until the time that a reasonable substitution is provided, then students who meet the guidelines for a substitution can petition (CLAST Disability Appeals Committee) to have a waiver to one or more sections of the CLAST.

Additional Drops
Limiting the number of drops a student with a disability can have in some circumstances may discriminate on the basis of the disability. Students with disabilities requesting a drop that is a direct result of the disability should be provided an opportunity to inform the department administering the drop procedure that they are dropping as a result of the disability. In those situations, when the drop is directly related to the disability, the student should be allowed to petition for additional drops.

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The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, is still alive and providing protection for individuals with disabilities. In fact, as a result of the ADA, it is stronger and more alive than before. Section 504 is very specific about the treatment of students in higher education. Every aspect (admissions, recruitment, academic adjustments, course examinations, auxiliary aids, housing, financial aid, employment, physical education, athletics, recreation, counseling, placement, social organizations, transportation) of college life is specifically addressed in Section 504. For example:

§104.42 Admissions and recruitment
(a) General. Qualified persons with disabilities may not, on the basis of disability, be denied admission or be subjected to discrimination in admission or recruitment.
(b) Admissions.... (2) May not make use of any test or criterion for admission that has a disproportionate, adverse effect on persons with disabilities or any class or people with disabilities... (3) Shall assure itself that (i) admissions tests are selected and administered so as best to ensure that, when a test is administered to an applicant who has a disability that impairs sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the applicant's aptitude or achievement level or whatever other factor the test purports to measure, rather than reflecting the applicant's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills.

§104.43 Treatment of students; general.
No qualified student with a disability shall, on the basis of disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any academic, research, occupational training, housing, health insurance, counseling, financial aid, physical education, athletics, recreation, transportation, other extracurricular, or other postsecondary education program.

§104.44 Academic adjustments
(a) Academic requirements - Modifications shall be made to academic requirements as are necessary to ensure that such requirements do not discriminate or have the effect of discriminating, on the basis of disability, against a qualified applicant or student with disability. Academic requirements that the institution can demonstrate are essential to the program of instruction being pursued by the student or to any directly related licensing requirement will not be regarded as discriminatory within the meaning of this section....
(c) Course examinations - In its course examinations or other procedures for evaluating students' academic achievement in its program, the institution shall provide such methods for evaluating the achievement of students who have a disability that impairs sensory, manual, or speaking skills as will best ensure that the results of the evaluation represents the student's achievement in the course, rather than reflecting the student's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills.

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The guidelines in the ADA are more general than the specific areas highlighted in the 504. As with 504, the ADA addresses treatment of persons with disabilities. ADA provides for general prohibitions against discrimination. It reads in part that: No qualified individual with a disability shall, on the basis of disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any public entity. A pubic entity, in providing any aid, benefit, or service, may not, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, on the basis of disability --

1. Deny a qualified individual with a disability the opportunity to participate in or benefit from the aid, benefit, or service;
2. Afford a qualified individual with a disability an opportunity to participate in or benefit from the aid, benefit, or service that is not equal to that afforded others;
3. Provide a qualified individual with a disability with an aid, benefit, or service that is not as effective in affording equal opportunity to obtain the same result, to gain the same benefit, or to reach the same level of achievement as that provided to others;
4. A public entity shall make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures when the modifications are necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability, unless the public entity can demonstrate that making the modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity.
5. A public entity shall not impose or apply eligibility criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or any class of individuals with disabilities from fully and equally enjoying any service, program, or activity, unless such criteria can be shown to be necessary for the provision of the service, program, or activity being offered.The following statutes and rule were instituted to ensure that students with disabilities do not experience discrimination either during the admission or graduation process.
   
   

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240.152
Impaired and learning disabled persons; admission to postsecondary institutions; substitute requirements; rules. - Any person who is hearing impaired, visually impaired, or dyslexic, or who has a specific learning disability, shall be eligible for reasonable substitution for any requirement for admission to a state university, community college, or degree career education institution where documentation can be provided that the person's failure to meet the admission requirement is related to the disability. The State Board of Education, the Board of Regents, and the State Board of Community Colleges shall adopt rules to implement this section and shall develop substitute admission requirements where appropriate.

240.153
Impaired and learning disabled persons; graduation, study program admission, and upper division entry; substitute requirements; rules. - Any student in a state university, community college, or degree career education institution who is hearing impaired, visually impaired, or dyslexic, or who has a specific learning disability, shall be eligible for reasonable substitution for any requirement for graduation, for admission into a program of study, or for entry into upper division where documentation can be provided that the person's failure to meet the requirement is related to the disability and where the failure to meet the graduation requirement or program admission requirement does not constitute a fundamental alteration in the nature of the program. The State Board of Community Colleges shall adopt rules to implement this section and shall develop substitute requirements where appropriate.

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6C-6.018
Substitution or Modification of Requirements for Program Admission, Undergraduate Transfer, and for Graduation by Students with Disabilities.

(1) A university shall provide reasonable substitution or modification for any requirement for admission into an undergraduate or graduate program of study or for entry into the upper division, or for graduation for any student who is hearing impaired, visually impaired, or dyslexic, or who has a specific learning disability where documentation can be provided that the student's failure to meet the requirement does not constitute a fundamental alteration in the nature of the program.

In determining whether to grant a substitution or modification, a university will consider pertinent documents including but not limited to, a physician's statement, vocational rehabilitation records, and school records maintained as a result of the exceptional child provisions of Public Law 91-142. The State Board of Education has prescribed in Rule 6A-10.041, FAC, the definitions of disabilities to which this Rule 6A.041, FAC, the definitions of disabilities to which this Rule 6C-6.018 applies, and each university will provide the student the opportunity to present evidence to support his or her disabilities, and an appeals process.

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Course Syllabi
There is no requirement that students with a disability self-identify their disability to any faculty or instructor. As a result, many students who would benefit from being registered as a student with a disability do not get assistance and suffer in the classroom. In an effort to be pro-active, we would like students to inform the appropriate officials at UF as to their disability status and specific needs. It is recommended that at the end of each course syllabus, the following statement be added.

Syllabus Statement
Students with disabilities are encouraged to register with the Office for Student Services to determine the appropriate classroom accommodations. For students with print related disabilities, this publication is available in alternate format. For students with hearing disabilities trying to contact an office that does not list a TDD, please contact the Florida Relay Service at (1-800-955-8771 TDD).

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Student related questions and concerns
The Dean of Students Office, P202 Peabody Hall, 392-1261, 392-3008 (TDD), http://www.ufsa.ufl.edu/oss/osd

The Dean of Students Office has a designated assistant dean responsible for the administration of programs and services for students with disabilities. Any student requesting classroom accommodations must be registered with the Dean of Students Office and have documentation on file in the Office for Student Services in order to receive classroom accommodations.

All students requesting classroom accommodations should be referred to the Dean of Students Office in order to ensure that students are provided with the support and information necessary to provide them with an equal opportunity to succeed while attending the University of Florida.

All issues other than student related questions and concerns
ADA Office, EHS Building 179 Newell Drive, 392-7056, 846-1046 (TDD), http://www.ada.ufl.edu

Document produced by the ADA Office, University of Florida, EHS Building 179 Newell Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32611.

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