Center for Accessibility and Learning Equity

The Center for Accessibility and Learning Equity at Spalding University supports students with disabilities to fully access and engage with their learning environment. A combination of traditional “disability services” work, as well as tutoring, learning support, success coaching (open to all students, regardless of disability) provides students a foundation to excel in college level work.

Students with known disabilities are encouraged to register with the Center for Accessibility and Learning Equity prior to starting their coursework. Academic (and housing, if applicable) accommodations are made based on intake interview, documentation from licensed provider(s), and an application process.  Students who receive accommodations will have an annual accommodation letter that they are encouraged to present to each instructor at the start of each course. While students are always encouraged to utilized their approved accommodations, they may choose whether or not to do so.  However, accommodations are not retroactive.

Students are required to renew their accommodations on an annual basis. Students who have incomplete documentation may be granted a temporary accommodation letter. The expiration date is noted on the accommodation letter. 

While it is the instructor’s responsibility to ensure that the learning environment is accessible, students with disabilities must request accommodations, when needed. The Center for Accessibility and Learning Equity is a resource for Spading students and faculty to ensure that students with disabilities receive reasonable accommodations in the learning environment. 

In certain situations, reasonable accommodations may require modification of standard classroom approaches. The following are examples of accommodations that may be necessary to ensure equal access to education:

• Provide necessary accommodations for exam taking where the student can receive the accommodations needed.
• Provide alternative ways to fulfill course requirements.
• Allow assistive technology such as audio recorders, electronic note takers, and laptop computers to be used in the classroom.
• Consider alternate ways of assessing student’s knowledge of the course content which allows the student’s academic abilities to be measured.

Confidentiality in the accommodation process must be maintained by all parties. Letters of accommodation should be filed in a safe place, and faculty should refrain from discussing students’ disabilities and necessary accommodations in the presence of fellow students or others who do not have an “educational need to know.”

The Center for Accessibility and Learning Equity staff are always available to answer questions and serve as a resource for faculty seeking assistance in providing accommodations to students.