2024-2025 Student Handbook 
    
    Oct 11, 2024  
2024-2025 Student Handbook

Students with Disabilities - Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)


College of the Ozarks is committed to providing equal access to educational opportunities to a qualified student with physical or mental disabilities as intended by section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Section 504 states that “no qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall be excluded from, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under” any program or activity that either receives Federal financial assistance or is conducted by any Executive agency or the United States Postal Service.

Agencies that provide Federal financial assistance also have section 504 regulations covering entities that receive Federal aid. Requirements common to these regulations include reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities; program accessibility; effective communication with people who have hearing or vision disabilities; and accessible new construction and alterations.

A disability is defined by the ADA as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.

Students interested in accommodations should contact the Accommodations Coordinator in the Dean of the College Office: Sallie Hitchcock, hitchcock@cofo.edu; 417-690-2396.

Upon submission of the appropriate documentation, the staff in the dean’s office will work with the student and coordinate with the Dean of Work, Dean of Students, and the Clinic to determine reasonable accommodations. Students are responsible for providing documentation. Documentation must be prepared by a credentialed professional, and the assessment conducted when the student was 16 years of age or older.

Assessment information must include:

  • A diagnostic statement identifying a disability
  • Assessment information: interview, intellectual testing, academic achievement levels, etc.
  • Clinical summary indicating substantial limitations to learning or other major life activities
  • Description of past accommodations
  • Recommendations and rationale for accommodations

Granted accommodations are not effective retroactively. They will not cover academic activities assigned or completed before the student asked for and received accommodations.

Examples of commonly requested academic accommodations include:

  • Preferential seating
  • Alternative testing format, location,
  • length of time for quizzes and exams
  • Alternative format of textbooks
  • Alternative methods of notetaking
  • Use of Assistive Technology

Examples of commonly requested housing accommodations include:

  • Lower bunk
  • Ground level housing

Work accommodations are based on the primary duties and responsibilities of the assigned workstation.

https://www.cofo.edu/Pillars/Workstations

All students are encouraged take advantage of programs offered to support academic success. The following learning resources are offered:

  • Career Center
  • Computer Science Lab
  • The Counseling Center
  • Engineering Tutoring
  • Foreign Language Lab
  • Lyons Memorial Library
  • Mathematics Assistance Center
  • The Writing Center

https://www.cofo.edu/Academics/Resources/Learning-Resources