The content of this post is a copy of what Dr. Lauren C. Sebel, Director of Student Accessibility Services (SAS), sent out to all faculty on Friday, August 23, 2019.

Student Accessibility ServicesStudent Accessibility Services (SAS) welcomes you and extends our best wishes for a great semester! We hope the information shared in this letter will be helpful to you. For those of you who may not be familiar with SAS, we approve classroom and testing accommodations, and ensure that students with disabilities have equal access to ACC’s curricula, programs, and course materials. We also work closely with faculty to assist with making course materials accessible.

Notice of Approved Accommodations (Accommodation Letter): Once you receive an accommodation letter from a student, please provide the approved accommodations as outlined in the letter. Although we ask students to present their accommodation letters to instructors during the first week class, students may give you their accommodation letter at any time during the semester. Note that you are not obligated to provide accommodations retroactively. We have provided a sample accommodation letter for you [here]. If you have questions about the approved accommodations for your class, please contact your campus SAS office.

If you decide to make an academic adjustment not listed on the accommodation letter, please only do so if this is something you would offer to all students in similar situations or something you are allowing for the entire class.

If an accommodation letter has not been received:

Should a student notify you that he/she has a disability, requests accommodations, or attempts to provide you with documentation of a disability, please refer the student to SAS for assistance.

Note Taking Support:

Should you receive an accommodation letter with note taking support approved, you will also receive a memo with further information on how to provide this accommodation and determine what type of support may be needed for your class.

ACC is offering students a new note taking application called Sonocent. Students with “Note Taking Support – Sonocent” on their accommodation letters may use either a laptop or their phone in order to use the app.

SAS campus contacts are included [here] should you have any questions at any point during the semester. Please do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to support you!

Testing Accommodations Procedures

The following campuses test all SAS students, regardless of accommodation, in the academic testing centers: CYP, EVC, EGN, HLC, HYS, NRG, RRC, and SGC. These campuses do not offer testing within SAS.

The following campuses test SAS students with accommodations other than extended time and the accommodations/other materials listed in the list below within the SAS office: RVS and SAC.

Submit all testing materials to SAS if accommodations and other materials include any or all of the following:

  • Your test, quiz, or exam must be timed
  • Magnifiers (CCTV, JAWS, MAGIC, Zoom Text, etc.)
  • Kurzweil/Text to Speech
  • USB Drive
  • Live reader/scribe needed
  • Enlarged font, alternative format for printed exams
  • Use of Speech Recognition software

Students with the accommodations listed above are required to schedule appointments to test at least five (5) business days in advance. Once the student schedules their testing appointment, SAS will contact you to secure a copy of the exam and instructions for administration.

Submit all testing materials to the Testing/Assessment Center if accommodations and
other materials include any or all of the following:

  • Breaks during exams
  • Color overlays or colored paper
  • Drinks/snacks
  • Sunglasses/Colored Tinted Glasses
  • Headphones (not plugged into anything)
  • Instructor approved open book/notes/note cards
  • Medical devices (oxygen, insulin pump, etc.)
  • Computer for essay exams

Students with the accommodations listed above do not need an appointment to test. Please submit the test and testing center transmittal form indicating “SAS Test Only” and list of approved accommodations per the Notice of Approved Accommodations directly to the Testing/Assessment Center.

Extended Time as the students’ only testing accommodation:

Submit to SAS – If the students only approved testing accommodation is Extended Time – time and a half, double time, or triple time and your test must be timed, please submit all testing materials to SAS.

Submit to Testing/Assessment Center – If the students’ only approved testing accommodation is Extended Time – time and a half, double time, or triple time and your test does not need to be timed, please submit all testing materials to the Testing/Assessment Center.

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