THE SCHEDULED REVIEW PERIOD FOR HOUSING ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS FOR THE FALL 2019 SEMESTER HAS PASSED

Spalding University is a residential college and the residential experience is understood to be an integral part of a Spalding education. Spalding is committed to the full participation of students with disabilities in all aspects of College life, including residential life.

Please be advised that requests for particular housing assignments based on a student’s preference, rather than need, for a particular type of living environment or location will not be honored. (e.g. A student with ADHD or a learning disability seeking a single room to serve as a quiet, undisturbed place to study represents a preference, but not a necessity.) Accordingly, single room accommodations are reserved for individuals whose documentation illustrates clear and substantial needs, and for whom a standard housing assignment with a roommate is not viable.

Students seeking a housing accommodation will need to submit the appropriate documentation to the Office of Accessibility Services (OAS).

Documentation must include:

1. Request for Accommodation Application - Students are to complete and submit this online form.

2. Disability Documentation Form for Housing Accommodation - To be completed by the student's health care provider and returned directly to OAS.

3. Documentation of the disability - Please refer to our specific guidelines for proper documentation.

Please send all disability-related information directly to OAS rather than to Resident Life.

NOTE: The presentation of documentation and/or the recommendation of a care provider does not automatically guarantee disability status or specific accommodations.

HOUSING ACCOMMODATION REQUEST DEADLINES

THE SUBMISSION DEADLINES (3/17 for returning students and 7/1 for new students) FOR THE 2019-20 ACADEMIC YEAR HAS PASSED.

These deadlines were established to provide the University with sufficient time to review requests, communicate with care providers, and for consideration to be given to specific housing-related needs before the complex housing assignment processes for all Spalding students take place. For this reason, it is critical that requests and all supporting documentation is received by the posted submission deadlines.

If you have a need for a housing accommodation which arises for the first time after a deadline, contact OAS to make it known that you will be submitting a post-deadline request. The Housing Accommodation Committee will strive to determine and, for those deemed eligible, meet newly arising needs for housing accommodations as soon as reasonably possible given the limited availability of housing options following the assignment process. If accommodated housing is granted, but unavailable, the student will be placed on a priority waitlist until such housing becomes available.

If you wish to seek a housing accommodation request for subsequent academic years, we urge you to take note of the guidance, notification information, and deadlines posted in the Accommodation Request Procedures for College Housing

Single Room

Be cautioned that single rooms are rare on campus and reserved for disability impacts that are severe and significantly limiting. For students who have trouble concentrating and studying in their room, a single room is not typically warranted and OAS refers the student to an interactive list of quiet study spaces around campus.

Service and Emotional Support Animal

A Service Animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the person’s disability. Service Animals will be permitted to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the universities facilities.

An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is an animal that provides emotional or other support that ameliorates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. Unlike service animals, support animals are not required to be trained to perform work or tasks, and they include species other than dogs. According to the Fair Housing Act (FHA) a person with a documented disability is permitted to have an Emotional Support Animal in their individual dwelling when a professional health care provider has deemed it necessary for the individual's emotional well-being.

For more information on the differences between a service and an emotional support animal, procedures for obtaining approval to use such animals, owner responsibilities, and Spalding’s Community expectations, please read carefully the Spalding University Service/ESA Policy.

For a better understanding of Service Animals and ESA's, review the ADA National Network Service Animals Booklet.

Spalding University students who are registered with the Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) may be eligible for testing accommodations if the functional impact of the student’s disability adversely affects their ability to take exams or quizzes under the same conditions as their classmates.

The guiding principle of testing accommodations is to remove or reduce barriers to the test-taking process and thus enable students with disabilities to be assessed on an equal basis with their nondisabled peers. Testing accommodations provide an opportunity for students with disabilities to demonstrate the mastery of skills and attainment of knowledge without being limited or restricted by their disability.

Testing accommodations may involve the modification of timing, the setting, the method of presentation, and/or the method of response. It essentially allows students to demonstrate their knowledge of the course content in an alternative way without undue interference from their disability.

    Examples of testing accommodations are:

• Extended test time; the extent of additional time is based on the student’s functional limitations
•  Reducing distractions in the testing environment
•  Providing the exam in an alternate text format
• Use of assistive technology, calculator, and/or spell checker
•  Providing a reader, scribe, and/or American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter
• Breaks during the test
• Others, as determined

Students who believe that, based on their disability, they need testing accommodations in one or more of their classes, meet with a member of our team by scheduling an appointment as soon as possible to engage in an interactive process to determine their individualized accommodations. Please note, this process can take several days and is best started at the beginning of each term.

Test- Taking Options

There are several options to provide testing accommodations to students who are registered with OAS and have been approved for this accommodation.

       1.)Faculty/Teaching Assistant Proctoring- Faculty members are encouraged to provide testing accommodations themselves whenever possible. Many faculty members arrange to proctor exams during office hours or have their teaching assistant(s) proctor exams. 

       2.)Accessibility Services Testing Room- Students may choose to take their exams in the Accessibility Services Testing Room (Library 314). The Accessibility Services Testing Room is monitored by OAS staff. Students should discuss this option with their instructor and the student should schedule the exam as soon as possible. Exams must be scheduled at least 72 hrs. before the start of the exam. The Accessibility Services Testing Room is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

Responsibilities for OAS, Student, and Faculty

Office of Accessibility Services:

       1.)Determine eligibility for testing accommodations.

       2.) Orient student to test-taking process and test-taking options.

       3.) Orient instructor/s to test-taking process and test-taking options.

       4.) If appropriate provide proctor, reader, scribe, or ASL interpreter.

       5.) Connect student, instructor/s, and proctor, reader, scribe, or ASL interpreter if/as needed.

Student:

1. Register with OAS.
2. Request testing accommodations from OAS in a timely manner, preferably at the beginning of each session. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive.
3. Discuss test-taking options with instructor shortly after or while presenting the accommodation notification; for example:
   1. Will I take the exam through Accessibility Services or can the instructor or department provide the accommodations?
   2. I need a distraction-reduced test environment. Can you provide this or should I take the exam through Accessibility Services
   3. The extended time conflicts with another class on my schedule and I have to schedule for another time. What times and/or days will you allow me to take the exam?
   4. I use Assistive Technology for my exams; please provide the exam electronically in an accessible format.
4.  Communicate the preferred testing location to the instructor. Contact  OAS should any issues arise.
5. If needed, schedule the exam(s) taken in the Accessibility Services Testing Room   (exams must be scheduled at least 72 hrs. before the start of the exam):

From the Library’s home page under tools and services click room reservations. Select testing space and length of the exam. (See Useful Links)

In-person in OAS (Library Rm 314)

By calling (502) 873-4161

Emailing [email protected] 

Instructor:

1. Review Accommodation Notification provided by the student; Verify that Testing Accommodations are provided
2. Discuss with the student how testing accommodations will be met; Instructors are encouraged to provide testing accommodations to eligible students themselves.
3. If/when testing accommodations cannot be provided by the instructor or teaching assistant (TA), or if the student chooses the Accessibility Services Testing Room, communicate with the student who will schedule the exams for the Accessibility Services Testing Room.
4. Communicate to the OAS if additional resources are permitted (e.g. open book exam; both sides of 3x5 notecard allowed; calculator; etc.). Feel free to check in with the student during the exam or provide contact information where you can be reached. Remember that students taking exams outside the classroom should receive the same assistance and/or instructions as students taken the exam in the classroom. Please note that students taking exams in the Accessibility  Services Testing Room do not receive additional assistance on exams outside of their approved accommodations.
5. Submit exam to OAS if the exam is taken in the Accessibility Services Testing Room.
   1.  Drop off the exam in person in the Accessibility Services Office (Library Rm  314) or Accessibility Mailbox behind the front desk on the first floor 24 hrs before the exam, or
   2. . Email exam to [email protected] at least 1 hour before the exam's intended start time.
6. Exams completed in the Accessibility Services Testing Room are kept in a locked cabinet for the instructor to pick up or can be scanned to the professors Spalding email address. Please indicate your choice.
7. Indicate if a person other than the instructor is authorized to pick up the exam.