Mission of Student Accessibility Services  

SAS is dedicated to providing students with disabilities, and other accessibility needs, equitable opportunities to fully experience all RCC programs and services. This work is directly related to our nondiscriminatory policy. SAS works with all faculty and staff to support them in their work with ensuring services and programs are accessible by providing one on one support, training, workshops and consulting. This department is as much of a resource to faculty as it is students. This work is rooted in our obligations to ensure that RCC follows all laws and requirements related to ADA, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Our partnership and support to faculty further our mission to serving a diverse community of students and providing each person with the opportunity to use their education at RCC to open new doors.  

Students are recognized as experts in their experience and are engaged in this work as such. Each student is valued for their voice, leadership, and potential for greatness. SAS recognizes each student as a responsible partner in accessing and utilizing all the services available to them through SAS. 

Students Registered with SAS 

Students are required to formally disclose to SAS the condition in which they are requesting accommodations and are guided through the formal process. Accommodations are processed and approved by SAS. 

In order to be registered with SAS and receive accommodations, students must submit appropriate documentation from a licensed provider. This information remains confidential and SAS will not disclose any disability-related information to faculty. On the accommodation letter, the accommodations determined by SAS will be listed. Please review an example of an accommodation letter listed below.  

Teaching Students with Disabilities: 

Discussing Disability and Accommodations

• Offer assistance, do not assume  

• Lead with appreciation and not an apology (thank you for sharing vs. I am sorry to hear about this, at least….)  

• Ask a student how you can help them, do not assume you know how to  

• Questions about a person’s disability and difference can be invasive and uncomfortable  

• Give autonomy to each person to identify their own experience: resist using words such as suffer, inflicted, crippled by, challenged, limited or limitation.  

• Asking questions: hold back from asking what happened or what it is like to live with or have said disability (these experiences are very personal to many people).  

• When disability as a topic comes up in class, support the discussion and with any sensitive topic, ask for people to be respectful.  

• Follow up with a student about accommodations privately in email, office, or at the end of class.  

• If people want to share something with you, they will take the initiative  

• Grabbing someone’s assistive device (cane, walker, wheelchair, etc.) is not appropriate and can potentially harm someone  

• Unless someone requests you speak in a louder or different manner, be sure to engage with that person as you have any other friend or family member (avoid infantilization)  

• Deaf/HH individuals with interpreters should have all conversation directed towards them and not their interpreter (don’t refer to them in the third person, maintain facing contact and speak directly)  

• Service animals are working and should not be contacted or touched without permission of the handler  

• Please do not ask a student with a service animal if it is a service animal and contact SAS to assist with verifying this with the specific student. 

• Some people may have difficulty following social ques and direct, polite feedback can be helpful  

• Some students live with medical conditions that warm or cold rooms can trigger symptoms (request for certain placement can be due to this)  

Definition of Universal Design: Ideally, classes should be designed to accommodate all learners, whether or not they have a disability. A universally designed curriculum should have multiple means of engagement, multiple ways to present content, and multiple ways for students to demonstrate their knowledge.  

Elements of Universal Design:  

• Utilize strategies that reach visual, auditory and task oriented learners.  

• Utilize individual work, small group work and larger class discussions.  

• Utilize an accommodation as an opportunity for class engagement and participation; notes or a note taker can be flipped to require each student to be a note taker and provide notes to the class.  

• Reach out to SAS for suggestions on providing accommodations and meeting the needs of all students.  

What Universal Design Could Look Like in the Classroom   

• Multiple means of representation: videos, lecture, photographs/visual aids, manual involvement.  

• Multiple means of action or expression: exams, papers, projects, group presentations, online discussions, etc.  

• Multiple means of engagement: relating content to personal or professional goals, life experiences/relevance, collaboration with other classes, etc.  

And Lastly…SAS is Your Partner  

• SAS is a support to you and students  
• We are here to work with you in providing accommodations, meeting students’ needs, and ensuring access is equitable  
• We are here to ensure both faculty and students are being served appropriately  
• Upholding academic integrity and standards is essential to our work  
• Accommodations ensure students with disabilities have just as much opportunity to succeed or fail as their peers without accommodations 

Learn More about Student Accessibility Services