[blindlaw] Seeking Information about Disability Accommodations Offered to Post-Secondary Students

Reyazuddin, Yasmin Yasmin.Reyazuddin at montgomerycountymd.gov
Tue Jan 6 13:06:48 UTC 2015


Hi Michal, 
I responded to your email to your email address. It came back as undeliverable. 
If there is a better email address, please provide it to the list. I have forwarded your inquiry to two friends and they may have to add some comments. 
Yasmin Reyazuddin 
Aging & Disability Services 
Montgomery County Government 
Department of Health & Human Services 
401 Hungerford Drive (3rd floor) 
Rockville MD 20850 
240-777-0311 (MC311) 
240-777-1556 (personal) 
240-777-1495 (fax) 
office hours 8:30 am 5:00 pm 
Languages English, Hindi, Urdu, Braille 


This message may contain protected health information or other information that is confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by return mail and destroy any copies of this material. 

Thank you.


-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Michal Nowicki via blindlaw
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2015 2:23 PM
To: 'Illinois Association of Blind Students List'; 'Blind Law Mailing List'
Subject: [blindlaw] Seeking Information about Disability Accommodations Offered to Post-Secondary Students

Dear Fellow Federationist,

 

Are you currently enrolled at (or have you recently graduated from) an institution of higher education?  If so, have you received reasonable accommodations through the school's office for students with disabilities?
Can you provide information about the quality of these services?  If you answered "Yes" to the above questions, please read on.

 

I'm sure you know that besides researching the academic programs, cost of attendance/financial aid opportunities, and the location of colleges and universities, we blind people must also look at the services for students with disabilities that are available to us.  To that end, most schools help us in this endeavor by providing policies, procedures, FAQs, and other meaningful information about requesting and receiving ADA accommodations, through their website.  Unfortunately, though, we must not forget that the same institutions may sometimes deliberately conceal negative information from prospective applicants.  After all, they want to attract qualified applicants, not discourage them from applying.

 

That being said, a visually impaired prospective law student from North Carolina is putting together a database of colleges' and universities'
accommodation record to assist students with disabilities in making informed decisions about where they want to get their degree(s), and I am helping her by gathering information.  The database will obviously not contain any confidential information; it will only explain what services students may count on at a given school, as well as warnings about potential discrimination a student may face in the event he/she chooses to enroll at a college or university that is known to exhibit such behavior.  Its content will come from student feedback, as well as from complaints on file with the U.S.  Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

 

On that note, please share with me the experiences you have had while working with the disability office at your school, both positive and negative.  Please use the following questions as a guide:

1.        How many people work for the office for students with
disabilities?  Do people specialize in specific tasks (e.g.  document conversion, setting up accommodations, exam proctoring, etc.), or does everyone assume a universal role?

2.       Does the office handle document conversion requests in a timely
manner?  In what alternate formats are textbooks and other course materials provided?  If your textbooks were scanned, were they disassembled in the process?  Does the school offer institutional Bookshare.org and LearningAlly memberships?  Is it part of the Access Text network?

3.       Is there an assistive technology specialist who is available for
training, installation, and troubleshooting purposes?

4.       Does the office arrange for human note takers as an accommodation?

5.       Is exam proctoring offered?

6.       Is the school's website, including Blackboard, webmail, class
registration, and any other online tools fully accessible?  If not, which areas are inaccessible?

 

We are also looking for information specific to accommodations for graduate and professional students.  In particular, please let us know if you believe that the school has attempted to "mold" you into a specific role against your will.  Likewise, please let us know if you feel that faculty members tried to "weed" you out of an advanced degree program, either because they didn't think you would survive, because they didn't think you would find a job or otherwise contribute to the profession, or simply because of your disability.  Please be sure to discuss the specific tactics that were employed to accomplish this.

 

Please send your evaluations to me off-list at mnowicki4 at iCloud.com <mailto:mnowicki4 at iCloud.com> , and I will pass them on.  You may send them in the message body or as attachments in Word or Rich Text Format (.RTF).  I look forward to hearing from you and, most important, to learning more about ADA accommodations offered to post-secondary students across the country.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Michal

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