Student Access and Accommodation Services

Southside College of Health Sciences is committed to making individuals with disabilities full participants in its programs, services and activities through compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, as amended.

Faculty or other appropriate individuals at Southside College of Health Sciences may refer students for services. (Student Success Advising and New Student Orientation are required of each student.) While the responsibility for success at our College rests with the student, the College is dedicated to offering quality services to assist students in achieving their academic and career goals. All students can access resources and communications through various avenues including email, Blackboard, phone, Microsoft Teams and in person.

All College representatives, including faculty, staff, and students are responsible for the implementation of policy ADM 3.03 and adherence to the principles of equal access.

Definitions

Disability — a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits an individual from performing one or more major life activities, as defined by law.

Essential Technical Standards for the Nursing Student — the basic duties that a student must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation. (See Policy ACA 1.02)

Interactive Process — a formal or informal discussion between the student seeking an accommodation and the Assistant Director for Student Success to clarify what the individual needs and identify the appropriate reasonable accommodation.

Qualified individual — an individual who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the academic program. (See Policy ACA 1.02)

Reasonable accommodation — an adaptation to a program or service that allows a student with a disability to have equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from the program or service and to perform the essential functions, but that does not place undue hardship on the institution.

SAAS — Student Access and Accommodation Services

Undue hardship — the accommodation would be too difficult or too expensive to provide in light of the institution’s size, financial resources, or represents a fundamental alteration to the curriculum.

The College will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified students to fulfill the requirements of the program. Students, faculty, and staff are required to utilize this policy and its procedures in order to request, authorize, and/or implement reasonable accommodations.

A student’s failure to comply with the policy and supplemental procedures may result in the denial of services. Although students are encouraged to identify their needs as early as possible, students have the right to request accommodations at any time during their enrollment.

Because students with similar accommodations may not equally benefit from the same auxiliary aid or service, the College will analyze each request on a case-by-case basis within the specific context of the activity in which the student plans to participate. The College has the right to select among equally effective methods of accommodating a student with a disability. The College also has the right to refuse an accommodation based on undue hardship to the College.

Accommodation requests and services are not retroactive, and therefore requests for accommodations should be made it a timely manner.

Requesting Accommodations

In order to be eligible to receive accommodations, students must complete a three-step process of self-identification. More information about this process is on the Student Access and Accommodation Services webpage: https://www.schs.edu/student-access-and-accommodation-services-saas.

1. Complete the Online Request for Accommodation Form
This Request for Accommodation form is required in order to register with the Center for Student Success/ SAAS and should be completed by the student.

2. Provide Documentation
All students seeking accommodations must provide professional documentation of their accommodation needs. This starts with submitting the DOCUMENTATION OF DISABILITY FORM to their medical professional. This form must be completed and supplied by a licensed professional. Documentation that does not provide answers to the questions on the DOCUMENTATION OF DISABILITY FORM cannot be considered until all information is provided to the SAAS team. Documentation must also clearly explain the link between the barrier in the academic setting (classroom, clinical environment, etc.) and the disability in order to inform the process. The student is responsible for following through on their request with their medical professional.

3. Review and Registration
Once the Request Form and Documentation of Disability forms are received they will be reviewed, within one business week after receipt, to determine available services and supports. Following the review, the student will be contacted by the SAAS team to schedule a SAAS registration meeting.

These meetings are a chance for students to clarify their needs and concerns, as well as familiarize themselves with the SAAS staff, procedures, and testing center if applicable. Students can expect for their meetings to be an open and interactive dialogue related to their request form, documentation, and learning experiences. They are scheduled during regular business hours.