Student disability services at ASA College

ASA College believes in the inclusion of persons from a wide variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, persons of varying ages, and persons who have disabilities. With the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA in 1990, increasing numbers of individuals with disabilities are graduating from college, becoming employed, and fulfilling their career goals. The college is committed to making each student’s time at ASA College a successful and rewarding experience.

ASA College complies with all federal laws related to disability access and does not discriminate in service or employment. The president of the college has assigned authority to the Student Disability Service Department for reviewing student’s documentation and determining what, if any, reasonable, appropriate accommodations will be provided by the college to ensure equal access for all students.

The Office of Students Disability Services serves all students who provide current documentation of a disability that substantially impacts them in an educational setting. Students with a verifiable disability, visible or hidden, qualify for services. Categories of disabilities include, but are not limited to, the following: Learning Disability Attention Deficit disorder; Mobility/Orthopedic disability; Blind/Visual impairments; Deaf hearings impairments; Head injuries; Psychological disability; chronic health related disability.

Student Disability Services Mission Statement:

The Office of Student Disability Services will provide students, faculty and staff with assistance and information on issues of access and participation for people with disabilities at ASA College. The Office of Student Disability Services will provide services and support that promote educational equity for students with disabilities. Assistance includes arranging accommodations that are necessary for students with disabilities to pursue their education.

The Office of Student Disability Services will offer the following services:

• Extended time to take examinations and quizzes
• A quite room to take examinations
• Special equipment such as a word processor, magnifier, or Braille
• Reader and scribes – The Office of Student Disability Services will serve as a referral source to identify potential readers, or the students may identify their own reader.
• Alternatives formats such as oral or taped test
• Taped Text books- Student who have difficulty with printed material may receive their textbooks on tape or computer disk through the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D)
• Interpreters and Captioning Services- At the time of registration student requesting sign language or captioning services should give the Office of Student Disability Services their class schedule for which interpreting services will be needed.
• Note takers
• Assisted Computer Technology and Alternative Formats- Student who anticipated a need for assisted technology should notify the Office of Student Disability Services. Some alternative formats include, audio tapes, large print or Braille.

Students with specific learning disabilities must provide a current psycho–educational or neuro-psychological assessment administered by a licensed psychiatrist, psychologist, neurologist, educational therapist or speech language clinician. The documentation should be no older than five years.

Student with Attention Disorders (ADD, ADHD) must provide psycho educational or neuro-psychological assessments administered by a licensed psychiatrist, psychologist, or neurologist; documentation must be dated within the last three years of student’s application for services and include a case history. Psychiatric/Psychological Disabilities documentation must be dated within six months of the student’s application for services and include a case history. Autism must be dated within six months of application for services and include a case history.

ASA College
Office of Student Disability Services
The American with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Policy Statement

ASA College encourages qualified students with disabilities to fully participate in the community of ASA College. All faculty, staff, and administrators will actively support qualified students with disabilities in all the colleges’ educational programs, services, and activities. ASA College prohibits unlawful discrimination against qualified students with disabilities.

Process for Students with Disabilities to Request Reasonable accommodations:

• The student must satisfy ASA College’s admissions process; be admitted /and/or enrolled at ASA College. This does not prohibits potential students from requesting information on programs, services, and activities before they are enrolled.
• The student will meet with staff from Office of Student Disability Services for the purpose of a personal interview where she/he is given an Intake Form to review, to complete fully and to sign. The student is informed of the various forms of accommodations offered at ASA College and the documentation that is required in order to be considered as a client/student for reasonable academic accommodations.
• Academic Accommodations will be arranged after the Intake Form is completed, the student submits medical or other related documentation to support the disability stated/identified. The Coordinator of the Student of Disability Services Department will determine whether the submitted documentation verifies the student’s claim of having a disability.

Responsibilities of Student Disability Services Department:

• Assessing, on a case–by-case basis, the effect of a student’s Disability on his/her ability to access programs, services and activities based on appropriate documentation.
• To identify through documentation and discussion with the students, the academic adjustments to be provide.
• Establishing in-service training to assist faculty and staff in understanding the needs of the students with disabilities.
• To be available to Faculty, Staff, and Classified personnel for consultation.

Responsibilities of Student Requesting Academic Accommodations:

• Self-identify as a student with disability and complete an intake meeting at the Student Disability Services Office before the start of each semester.
• Request for assistive technology and books on converted to e-format must be made at least 6 weeks in advance. There may be a delay in services if less notification is given. Request for interpreting services with less than four weeks’ notice for on-going classes can result in delayed services. At least 3 business day are required for special request /one time services.
• Be available to assist faculty in further understanding your specific needs.
• Inform Student Disability Service Department in a timely manner of any interruption or failure to receive agreed upon accommodations.
• Wherever possible to schedule hospital visits, therapy sessions, and doctor’s appointments on dates and time that will not coincide or conflict with course schedule.

Documentation shall:

• Include a diagnostic statement identifying the disability, date of the current diagnostic evaluation, and the date of the original diagnosis.
• Be current, typically within the last three years. Acceptable documentation is dependent upon the disabling condition, it’s interaction with development across one’s life span, the presence or absence of significant  events( since the original diagnosis) that would impact functioning, and the current condition of the disability at the time of the request for accommodation.
• Include summary of the evaluation procedures as well as the name of diagnostic test and evaluation results used to make the diagnosis.
• Provide a description of the current functional impact or limitations of the disability on learning or other major life activities.
• When appropriate, the examiner should address the relevance of accommodation request to the diagnosed disability.
• When appropriate, the examiner should include treatment, medication, and assistive devices currently prescribe or in use.

Documentation Guidelines:

Psychiatric Disabilities:Documentation must also include the DSM-IV diagnosis and a summary of present symptoms, in a written report from a psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, certified Social worker (CSW or ACSW) or licensed professional counselor. This document must be current within the last school year.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:Documentation must include a statement of the presenting problem; history that verifies a pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity that currently affects learning; identification of DSM-IV criteria for ADHD; report summary and rationales for accommodations using evidence from the evaluation. Professionals considered acceptable for evaluating ADHD are licensed physicians, neurophysiologist, and psychologist.

Learning Disabilities:Documentation should validate the need for services based on the individual’s current functioning in the educational setting. A school plan such as an individualized education plan (IEP) or a 504 plan can be used as documentation and is subject to the discretion of the Coordinator of Student Disability Services Department; who can request a more comprehensive assessment battery. A comprehensive assessment battery and the resulting diagnostic report should include a diagnostic interview, assessment of aptitude, academic achievement, information processing, and a diagnosis. Assessment, and any resulting diagnosis, should consist of and be based on a comprehensive assessment battery, which does not rely on any one test or sub test. Individual “learning styles,” “learning differences,” “academic problems, “and “test difficulty or anxiety,” in and of themselves, do not constitute a learning disability. The test should be reliable, valid and standardized for use with an adolescent/adult population. The following professionals would generally be considered qualified to evaluate specific learning disabilities provided they have additional training and experience in the assessments of learning problems in adolescents and adults: clinical or educational psychologists, school psychologist, neurophysiologists, and medical doctors.

Confidentiality:

The Office of Student Disability Services has developed the following guidelines regarding confidentiality: All disability-related information including documentation, medical records including HIV or AIDS status, correspondence, and accommodations records are considered confidential. ASA College and the Student Disability Services Department have an obligation to maintain confidentiality on all disability–related information. Access to disability related information within the Student Disability Services Office is on a need-to-know basis and only for the purpose of assuring appropriate accommodations. Student Disability Services Department is prohibited by law from releasing any disability records or identifying information to any outside entity. This includes documentation the students provides to the Student Disability Services Office when requesting accommodations. The student may request, in writing, that information be released to specific persons or agencies by signing a “Release of information” form.

Individuals qualified to Determine Disability:

• Psychologist/Psychiatrist/Neurologist: ADD, ADHD
• Psychologist/Psychiatrist/Certified Social Worker
• Emotional Disability Psychologist/Psychiatrist/Certified Social Worker
• Ophthalmologist: Visual Impairment
• Certified Otologist, Audiologist: Hearing Impairment
• Psychologist, Neurophysiologist, School Psychologist, Learning Disabilities Specialist: Learning Disability
• Medical Doctor: Physical Disability

Direct threat to the Health or safety of Others:

An accommodation is not reasonable if it poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others. In order to establish a direct threat, ASA College must be able to document a substantial risk of significant harm. Concern about direct threat arises most frequently in relation to allied health and professional programs in which the student’s ability to provide safe and appropriate quality care is questioned. It should be noted that the mere existence of a disability does not provide evidence of direct threat. Nor does the possibility of a disability arising constitute a substantial risk of significant harm. While an institution may be able to make a case for “direct threat” in the instance of a deaf nurse or early childhood education major with limited vision, it would be a hard argument to make for these students in an English or Philosophy class. It’s important to note that under the ADA the direct threat must be someone. The individual with a disability has a right to choose to assume the risk to self in the same way that anyone else who participates chooses to assume the risk.

The Office of Student Disability Services
ASA College

Student Grievances Procedure
If an ASA College student believes that s/he has been discriminated against because of their disability by any ASA student or employee, she/he has the right to seek a review of such concerns. A student with disability has the option of pursuing either filing an informal complaint or a formal grievance. If a student’s opts to pursue an informal complaint, she/he may later pursue a formal grievance if not satisfied with the resolution of the informal process. A student who is uncertain about filing a formal grievance may consult informally with the Coordinator of Student Disability Services Department or the Director of Student Advisement Department, located in room MH-406.

Informal Procedure
Though not required, it is recommended that you speak about the concerns first with Mr. Marcus Browne, Coordinator of Student Disability Services Department to achieve a satisfactory resolution. If you are uncertain about whether to come forward with an informal complaint, or whether to file for a grievance, you may consult with the Coordinator of Student Disability Services or the Director of Student Advisement Department located in room MH-406.

Formal Procedure
If you wish to file a formal grievance, you may do so by writing a letter to the Coordinator of Student Disability Services, or if the grievance concerns is related to the Office of Student Disability Services, it recommended the complaint be filed with the Office of Student Advisement. It is recommended complaints be filed within 60 days after the student experienced the alleged violation. All grievances shall be investigate and then reviewed with the Coordinator of Student Disability Services or by the individual designate by the Coordinator of Student Disability Services.

Contact:
Marcus Browne– Coordinator Student Disability Services, mbrowne@asa.edu

Manhattan Campus
105 West 33rd Street
6th Floor Room 603
New York, NY 10001
212-672-6450 Ext. 1230

Brooklyn Campus
151 Lawrence Street
2nd Floor Room 214
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-522-9073 Ext. 2026