Students with documented disabilities may be eligible for reasonable exam accommodations. Accommodations that may be provided to students include, but are not limited to, extended time (e.g., time and one-half or double time), a distraction-reduced exam setting, and the use of a computer with word processing. Typically, faculty provide exam accommodations as Colorado College does not have a testing center.

Information on how to provide extended time on exams and quizzes in Canvas.

Please refer to the guidelines for exam accommodations for additional information.

Having access to class notes can be integral to the learning process. All students are encouraged to actively engage in class, and taking notes is one of the many ways this occurs. However, some students with disabilities may need support in taking or accessing class notes. When this is the case, Accessibility Resources collaborates with students approved for note-taking support to explore accommodation options.

Additional information can be found below, as well as in the guidelines for note-taking support.

Recruiting a Student Volunteer to Share Notes

Below is an example of language faculty can use in an email to students when recruiting a volunteer to share notes:

I'm writing to ask for a volunteer who would be willing to share a copy of notes with a classmate. The volunteer will not need to do anything beyond sharing the notes already being taken in class. If multiple students volunteer, I will select a student to serve in this role.

Class notes can be provided to the student in several ways: 1) provide a photocopy of the notes; 2) provide notes taken on carbonless paper that makes a duplicate set of notes (Accessibility Resources will provide the paper); or 3) email notes taken on a computer to the student.

Please let me know if you're interested in serving in this role. I'll share the name of the selected volunteer with Accessibility Resources, who will reach out to the volunteer to coordinate the details.

Accessibility Resources will thank the volunteer with a $50.00 gift card at the end of the block.

Audio Recorded Class Sessions

Students who have disabilities that impact their ability to take notes may be approved to audio record class sessions. Students using this accommodation must let you know if they plan to record your classes prior to using recording devices. Students typically record classes using smartphones, laptops, or smartpens (www.livescribe.com).

Students approved for this accommodation sign an agreement with the following stipulations:

1. Audio recordings of class sessions are only for the student's personal use in study and preparation related to the class and may not be distributed in any form, including no distribution or display in any manner on the internet.
2. The student may not share these audio recordings with any other person, whether or not that person is in the student's class.
3. The student will inform professors when the student is audio recording the class session as an approved accommodation.
4. Upon request, the student will cease recording of the class session when audio recording may violate others' right to privacy.
5. The student agrees to delete and/or destroy any audio recordings that were made when they are no longer needed for the student's academic work.
6. A student's failure to abide by all provisions of this agreement may be considered a violation of the Colorado College Student Honor and Community Standards and could result in disciplinary action.
7. The student agrees that Colorado College owns all copyright, license, and intellectual property rights inherent in the audio recordings.
8. Students who have been granted permission to audio record class sessions as an accommodation must agree via electronic signature to abide by these provisions.

Accessibility Resources recognizes that some faculty are not comfortable having their classes recorded. If this is the case, please do not deny the accommodation before consulting with Accessibility Resources.

Copies of PowerPoint slides, etc.

At times, students may experience difficulty keeping up with the pace of a lecture when taking notes, including copying information from PowerPoint or other electronic presentations. Therefore, depending on the nature of the course, it may be appropriate for faculty who use PowerPoint or other electronic means of delivering information to provide copies of slides or other materials to students. Please consult with Accessibility Resources if you have concerns about this accommodation, as we can help to determine if another accommodation is appropriate.

Use of a Computer for Note Taking

The use of a computer with word processing is a note-taking accommodation used by students whose writing is in some way impacted by their disability (e.g., dyslexia and dysgraphia). Students are advised to be considerate when using this accommodation, especially when other students in the class are not allowed to use computers. For example, we ask students to keyboard as quietly as possible and to avoid surfing the internet, checking email, etc.

Students who have disabilities that affect their ability to read standard print materials may be eligible for accessible formats of course readings. Accessibility Resources will arrange for this accommodation using a variety of formats, including audio, E-text, large print, or Braille.

Converting textbooks and other materials into an accessible format can be a time-consuming task for the Accessibility Resources staff. Students who have difficulty reading print materials should have access to their textbooks and other course materials at the same time as others in the class. For these reasons, students or Accessibility Resources may ask professors for a reading list before a block begins. Your help in providing this information will assist us in ensuring that students receive accessible format materials in a timely manner.

You can also assist by providing accessible PDFs to students. Information on how to create accessible PDFs can be found here: Creating Text-Based PDFs. Accessible PDFs will benefit all students in your courses.

Some students with disabilities request flexibility with attendance and assignment/exam due dates as accommodation. These requests are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Accessibility Resources has developed guidelines for attendance accommodations, which are most commonly requested by students with psychological disorders or chronic health conditions. However, rather than going through the process outlined in the guidelines, most students prefer to manage attendance concerns on a case-by-case basis just like any other student who may become ill during a block. If a student is registered with Accessibility Resources, we may be able to verify that the student has a documented psychological disorder or chronic health condition that may impact attendance.

Students with a variety of disabilities may request extensions for out-of-class work. Accessibility Resources never approves this as a "blanket accommodation." Instead, extensions should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and in consultation with Accessibility Resources, when needed. Please keep in mind, though, that if you give extensions to students for reasons not related to disability (e.g., the flu, travel for athletics, death in the family), you should give the same consideration to students with disabilities.

Lions, tigers, and bears! Oh, my! Due to a fairly recent legal interpretation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA), issues related to animals on college campuses have become more prevalent. What does this mean for CC? It means that students may be allowed to have an emotional support animal living with them in residence halls when there is a nexus between a student's disability and the need for this accommodation. Therefore, we now have a variety of animals in our residence halls, including dogs, cats, bunnies, rats, birds, and more.

What does this mean for faculty? It means that emotional support animals are restricted from classrooms as they are covered by the FHA, which covers housing only. Therefore, please do not allow students to bring emotional support animals to class. Students sign an agreement that stipulates that emotional support animals may be in a student's residence or outdoors only. Violations of this and other stipulations may result in the removal of the animal from campus.

However, students are allowed to bring service animals to class, including those in training. Service animals are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act and service animals in training are covered by Colorado state law. Service animals are trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities (e.g., guide people who are blind, alert people who are deaf, or alert people in advance of low or high blood sugar events). Service animals are, by definition, dogs. Please refer to the guidelines for service animals for additional information.

Please contact Accessibility Resources if you have any questions about animals.