Page 46 - Smith College Student Handbook 16-17

Policies, Procedures & Guidelines
Disability Services Policy
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Smith College is both philosophically committed and legally required to enable students with documented disabilities to participate in college
programs by providing reasonable and appropriate accommodations for them. The college has an Office of Disability Services to facilitate the
provision of services to students with documented disabilities. A student may voluntarily register with the Office of Disability Services by
completing a disability identification form and providing documentation of a disability, after which proper accommodations will be
determined by the college.

Smith College is both philosophically committed and legally required to assure equal access for students with documented disabilities to
participate in all college programs. The college works proactively to remove architectural and communication barriers and has an Office of
Disability Services to facilitate the provision of reasonable and appropriate accommodations and services to individual students with
documented disabilities. A student may voluntarily register with the Office of Disability Services by completing a disability identification form
and providing documentation of a disability, after which proper accommodations will be reviewed and determined by the college.

Students with disabilities who need academic accommodations or other disability related support services must make their needs known and
file timely request forms each semester with the Office of Disability Services. The types of academic accommodations which can be made
may include additional time for timed examinations, private space for testing, use of assistive technology, additional time for written
assignments, and, in exceptional circumstances, course substitutions or a plan for a reduced course program. (This needs approval by both the
Office of Disability Services and the Administrative Board.) Students with disabilities, like all other students, should select courses that take
into account their own particular strengths and weaknesses and inform advisors of their challenges.

Support services (“auxiliary aids and services,” in the lexicon of the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA]) may include sign language
interpreters, note takers, scribes, assistive listening devices, typists, computing software and hardware, print alternatives, recording services,
and are provided based on an individual assessment. Writing counseling, peer tutoring in certain subjects, and time management/study skills
training are available to all students through the learning center. Students with disabilities may request additional or longer sessions if needed,
however, separate services designed specifically for disabled students are not provided. If peer tutors are not available, other tutorial services
may be sought at the student's expense. Individual academic or personal “coaching” services are also not provided by the College.

Support services are provided to students with documented disabilities to help them perform according to their intellectual abilities. The
College will not provide such support services if providing them would create an undue burden for the college. The College is responsible for
providing that, within certain limits, students are not denied the opportunity to participate in college programs on the basis of a disability. The
college is not required to and will not:

make accommodations or provide support for services which
fundamentally alter the academic requirements for the degree, course

requirements, or basic pedagogy;

normally alter consistently applied academic policies which are based on
academic standards;

guarantee success or bear responsibility for making students succeed in
their courses.

The College is not responsible for and will not provide personal care assistance, personal purchases, personal adaptive equipment, formal
educational assessment or clinical disability evaluation, and services or educational supplies used by all students (pens, paper, personal
computers, software, or computer supplies, etc.). These are the responsibility of the student.

The College will provide support services to students for whom the college has evaluations and documentation that support the
accommodation request. Students are expected to participate responsibly in using accommodations they have requested and which have been
approved by the College and to seek out assistance from Disability Services and other programs on campus as needed. Students with
disabilities are bound, like all students to the Smith Honor Code. Students who may have a disability and need accommodations or support
services should contact or be referred to the Office of Disability Services for consultation and advice. The required documentation and
requests for accommodation must be timely. The College cannot make retroactive accommodations.

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