Learn more about the Disabled Students Program and Services with these frequently asked questions from faculty.
Educational Access for Students with Disabilities
Although the following questions address the most common faculty concerns, the issue of faculty responsibility is situation-specific and, as such, can be difficult to define. Contact the Disabled Students Program and Services (DSPS) when you are in doubt about how best to meet the needs of a student with a disability.
Determination of disability and accommodations is the role and function of DSPS faculty. If you request verification of a student’s eligibility for any disability‐related accommodations, such verification will be in the form of a confidential letter written by a DSPS counselor or specialist and delivered by the student or mailed directly to you. If the student is requesting testing accommodations, they will present you with a form that states the parameters of accommodations required.
Frequently Asked Questions
A person with a disability means any person who has an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Students must provide verification of a disability from either a qualified professional or a suitable agency.
DSPS services include priority registration, academic counseling, career counseling, and test accommodations. It is likely that many students with disabilities have chosen not to be registered with DSPS or they may not have met the eligibility criteria for services. They may have chosen to speak directly with the Department of Human Resources to establish eligibility for accommodations. In either case, the student will approach the faculty to request accommodations.
Determination of disability and accommodations is the role and function of DSPS faculty. If you request verification of a student’s eligibility for any disability‐related accommodations, such verification will be in the form of a confidential letter written by a DSPS counselor or specialist and delivered by the student or mailed directly to you. If the student is requesting testing accommodations, they will present you with a form that states the parameters of accommodations required.
No; it is likely that many students with disabilities have chosen not to be registered with DSPS or they may not have met the eligibility criteria for services. Students choosing not to be affiliated with DSPS may choose to speak directly with the department of Human Resources to establish eligibility for accommodations. In either case, the student will approach the faculty to request accommodations.
Information about a student’s disability is confidential. It is the individual’s choice whether to ask for accommodation or not or how much to reveal about his/her disability. Faculty do not have the right to ask students if they have a disability. For those students with documented disabilities, faculty do not have the right to ask about the nature of the disability.
DSPS is the office on campus that determines appropriate accommodations as well as the Vice President of Human Resources in specific situations. The office bases its decision upon documentation collected from a student with a disability, the student’s functional limitations, the nature of the class or activity, and what constitutes a reasonable accommodation.
The best way is to put a statement in the syllabus and read the statement in class. Examples of such a statement are as follows:
“If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.”
or
“Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Disabled Students Program and Services on campus as soon as possible to better ensure such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.”
Talk privately with the student to discuss your observations. The student may reveal they have a disability. If this is the case and the student is registered with DSPS, suggest that the student talk to his/her counselor there. The student may also be referred to DSPS for diagnostic testing for a DSPS for further information.
In addition, DSPS recommends that instructors include a statement on their syllabi for students needing academic adjustments. A sample is provided for your convenience:
Rio Hondo College accommodates students with documented and verified disabilities in accordance with federal laws and college policy. Any student who feels they may need an academic adjustment based on the impact of a learning, psychiatric, physical, or chronic health diagnosis should contact Disabled Students Programs & Services (DSPS) at 562-908-3420 or go to their office located in the Student Services Building, Room 330 to determine if accommodations are warranted and to obtain an official letter of accommodation. For more information, please visit: Common Questions from Students
No, the standards should be the same for all students. However, some students with disabilities may exhibit their knowledge, production, and other course expectations differently than their peers. For example, a student with a learning disability in writing may produce an essay exam by using a computer or scribe rather than writing out an answer. The quality of the work should be the same.
The student with a disability has the same right to fail as anyone else. The laws mandate access to education, not guaranteed academic success. Their work should be equivalent to their peers. It may be a good idea to discuss your observations with this student just as you would with anyone else in your class who is experiencing difficulty.
Yes. Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act requires that qualified students with disabilities receive equal access to education, and this includes test accommodations.
The test accommodations are based on the student’s functional limitations and the documentation of disability that the student has provided DSPS. Some of these accommodations include, but are not limited to, extra time for tests (usually 50% to 100% extra time), a reader or scribe (a person who writes answers verbatim), a computer, a Brailled test, an enlarged test, a test scanned onto a disk and the use of a computer (student uses voice, enlargement options, or spelling/grammar check), a reduced distraction environment, image enhancements (graphs, charts, and other types of images converted into raised‐line format), and use of a closed circuit TV to enlarge the print.
Exam Proctoring
For your convenience, Disabled Student Programs & Services (DSPS) offers an alternative testing location for students with disabilities who require academic adjustments. This is to assist the instructor with the legally mandated responsibility to provide alternative testing locations and accommodations for students with disabilities.
Testing accommodations may include but are not limited to, extended time, distraction-reduced environment, assistive technology, reader, and/or scribe, as necessary. For students to take their exams in the DSPS Office, the following conditions apply:
- Students are required to schedule appointments to take their exams in the DSPS department at least 3 business days in advance. This will allow DSPS staff to provide a testing room and appropriate personnel for the proctor.
- Exams may be emailed as an attachment to dspstest@riohondo.edu, dropped off at the DSPS office by the professor, or sent through campus mail DSPS does not recommend using campus mail unless absolutely necessary due to possible delays. All tests must include a Testing-Transmittal PDF (the pdf will be fillable once is downloaded to your computer) If you are having difficulty filling out or saving the PDF, directions are available here. PDF Troubleshooting
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Faculty are required to fill out the Examination Transmittal form, to outline specific instructions for the exam to be administered. Please provide detailed information and a contact phone number in the event you need to be reached.
4. If a test arrives in the DSPS office without written instructions from the professor, DSPS staff will attempt to contact the professor by telephone or email to obtain instructions. If this is not successful, the student will be sent to locate the professor either in the classroom or in their office to obtain written instructions. If contact is not made with the instructor, proctoring the exam may not be possible until a completed examination transmittal is provided.
5. DSPS staff will proctor all exams in the DSPS Office.
6. Completed exams and quizzes will be sealed in an envelope and will either be delivered or held in the DSPS locked file cabinet until the professor picks up the exam as per the instructions on the Testing Transmittal. For Pop Quizzes please call our office to make prior arrangements so we can accommodate the student.
We appreciate your cooperation and if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to call our office at (562) 908-3420 or email us at dspstest@riohondo.edu.
7. SPECIAL SCHEDULING: In programs where the date and time of exam administration are critical, faculty may coordinate scheduling issues directly with the DSPS Director who will work with DSPS test proctors to ensure resource availability.
DSPS has developed a very systematic and secure procedure for receiving tests from faculty and returning them once the student has taken the test. There are very rigid checking-in and checking-out procedures for tests, and students are not able to take a test with accommodations without authorization. While tests are at DSPS, they are kept in a locked file during the night. When students take the test in a specifically designated room, they are monitored. All faculty are welcome to visit DSPS and review these procedures firsthand.
Yes, the laws specify that you provide the approved extended time beyond what the class is provided, during each test.
Only if you let all other students take the test home and work unsupervised. Fair treatment of students with disabilities does not mean that you compromise academic integrity.
Ideally, proctored tests are scheduled close to the time when your class is being tested if not at the same time. Sometimes a student must take the test at a different time or date. The test will only be scheduled at a different time when there is insufficient space or proctoring staff or if the student has a schedule conflict interfering with the parameters of the testing accommodation.
An instructor is typically required to allow a student to tape record the course if taping the class is determined to be an appropriate accommodation for a student’s disability. Tape recorders are specifically mentioned in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act as a means of providing full participation in educational programs and activities. Occasionally, classroom discussion reveals items of a personal nature about students. If open discussions tend to reveal personal information, it would be appropriate to ask the student with a disability to turn off the tape recorder during these discussions.
No, you are only responsible for reasonable accommodations if requested. In these types of situations, however, it would be appropriate to speak to the student privately to let the student know that you welcome the opportunity to discuss reasonable accommodations if the student is interested.
To clarify any disagreement about a requested accommodation, you can first contact DSPS. Start with the specialist who signed the accommodation request, but you are certainly free to talk to the director if you wish.
Assistive computer technologies provide students with disabilities an opportunity to compete on equal footing in the academic environment when utilizing specialized computer applications. In practical terms, this means the ability to use a word processor, email system, web browser, distance education resources, web‐based college registration system, and other computerized tools and resources used by all students.
It is a computer lab designed to provide students with disabilities training and support in the use of assistive technologies that allow them to compete as equals with their non‐disabled peers on a community college campus.
Students with disabilities are expected to conform to the same Student Code of Conduct rules as all students on campus.
Students with disabilities are expected to provide their own assistance for personal care such as toileting, eating, and other activities, which are not strictly school‐related activities.
A personal assistant or in‐class assistant is expected to adhere to the Student Code of Conduct just as any other student in the class. Personal assistants are secured through secondary community partners and provided to the student. Assistants must check in with DSPS at the beginning of each semester to sign a waiver stating they will adhere to policies and procedures in and out of the classroom while supporting the DSPS student.
