Procedure for Accessing Services

Procedure Number: OCPR 300-02-01

Title: Procedure for Accessing Services

Students are requested to follow these procedures for accessing services:

Student must submit documentation to the Access Services intake office and schedule an appointment with the Access Services Manager.
The Access Services Manager will assess the documentation prior to the intake appointment.
Student then meets with the Access Services Manager to discuss support services, auxiliary aids, and/or accommodations as appropriate, and provide a copy of his/her class schedule.
The Access Services Manager explains policies and procedures, accommodation plan, faculty letters, and support services, etc.
Services and/or accommodations are implemented.
Continuing students must provide the Access Services office a copy of their schedule and request services each quarter.

Faculty who are approached by students requesting accommodations are asked to refer those students to Access Services and are under no obligation to provide accommodations without appropriate correspondence from this office. Consultation with Access Services staff is encouraged in all cases. If a student offers to provide documentation of their disability directly to faculty, the faculty should again refer the student to Access Services. Documentation MUST reside in the Access Services office and not in personal faculty files.

Procedure Number: OCPR 300-02-02

Title: Procedure for Documentation of a Disability

The following guidelines for documenting a disability are provided to assist the student and evaluator in providing appropriate documentation of a disability. Documentation serves as the foundation that legitimizes a student’s request for appropriate accommodations. The professional providing this information must have first hand knowledge of the student’s condition and must be an impartial professional who is not related to the student.

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. The age of acceptable documentation is dependent upon the disabling condition, it’s interaction with development across the life span, the presence or absence of significant events (since the original diagnosis) that would impact functioning, and the current status of the student at the time of the request for accommodation.
Include a summary of the evaluation procedures as well as the diagnostic tests/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.
Address, as appropriate, the relevance of accommodation requests to the diagnosed disability.
When appropriate, include treatments, medication, and assistive devices currently prescribed or in use.
Include the credentials of the diagnosing professional(s). In addition to the requirements listed above, certain disabilities may have additional guidelines, as outlined below:

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.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Documentation must include a statement of the presenting problem; testing 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, neuropsychologists, and psychologists.

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 is insufficient documentation, but it can be included as part of 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 subtest. Individual “learning styles,” “learning differences,” “academic problems,” and “test difficulty or anxiety,” in and of themselves, do not constitute a learning disability. The tests used should be reliable, valid and standardized for use with an adolescent/adult population. The test findings should document both the nature and severity of the learning disability. The following professionals would generally be considered qualified to evaluate specific learning disabilities provided they have additional training and experience in the assessment of learning problems in adolescents and adults: clinical or educational psychologists, school psychologists, neuropsychologists, learning disabilities specialists, and medical doctors.

Additional Information Regarding Your Documentation

Recommendations from professionals with a history of working with the individual provide valuable information for the review process. They will be included in the evaluation of requests for accommodation and/or auxiliary aids. Where such recommendations are congruent with the programs, services and benefits offered by Olympic College, they would be given deference. When recommendations go beyond the services and benefits provided by the College, they may be used to suggest potential referrals to service providers outside the College.

For individuals who are or have recently been receiving services from a state rehabilitation agency, much of the requested information will be contained in your most recent eligibility evaluation and/or your vocational plan.

For individuals transferring from another college, information related to your disability will not be sent with a transcript request. You must request that information separately. Additionally, the information requested by Olympic College may or may not have been a part of your previous college’s evaluation process.

For individuals who have recently been receiving services from a public school system, the information requested would most likely be contained in the Psycho-educational evaluation from your most recent reassessment. This information must be requested separately from your high school transcripts.

The Office of Access Services shall make appropriate determination of reasonable accommodations for students based on documentation provided. The authority to make such decisions on behalf of the institution has been assigned by the President of the college.

Procedure Number: OCPR 300-02-03

Title: Procedure for Course Substitutions

Course substitution may be requested with the following procedures:

1. All requests for course substitutions shall be submitted to the Dean of Student Enrollment Services a minimum of two days prior to the Graduation Appeals Committee meeting, held once per quarter. Consult with the Admissions and Records Office regarding the date in any given quarter. The request must include the following information:

An explanation of the relationship of the student’s disability to the lack of success in completing the course;
Current relevant medical or psychological documentation which includes functional impact of the disability and its duration, when appropriate (please refer to the section on General Guidelines for Documentation of a Disability);
A description of the accommodations previously received by the student in the course or relevant subject area, if attempted;
A release signed by the student, authorizing the Committee to review the student’s documentation and to contact the evaluating professional, if necessary.

The request may also include other relevant information, such as letters from instructors and/or tutors who have first-hand knowledge of the student’s attempts in the required subject area.

2. Course substitutions will be approved only when such requests are consistent with the essential degree requirements.

3. Students may contact the Office of Admissions and Records for further details regarding specific requests.

4. The Dean of Student Enrollment Services shall respond in writing to all requests within one week of the Appeals Committee meeting. The response shall include a brief summary of the basis for the decision.

Procedure Number: OCPR 300-02-04

Title: Grievance Procedure

Olympic College has adopted an internal grievance procedure providing for the equitable resolution, within a reasonable time, of complaints by students with disabilities alleging violations of their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

All requests for access, accommodation, and academic adjustment should first be brought to the Office of Access Services. If you, the student, believe that a faculty member, an office or a program has refused to provide an accommodation in accordance with notice from Access Services, you should first request the assistance of the Access Services Manager in resolving the complaint. If the complaint cannot be resolved in this manner, or if it involves the Office of Access Services, you have the right to appeal with the following procedure:

1. Submit your written appeal to the Vice President of Student Services, which should include:

The nature of your disability, with an explanation of its current impact and functional limitations in the academic setting;
Details of the reasonable accommodation being requested; and
A description of any/all accommodations provided or offered by the college and an explanation of why these accommodations are insufficient or ineffective.

2. The Vice President of Student Services shall investigate the grievance and issue a written determination, which will specify resolution of the matter. Such written determination shall ordinarily be issued within fourteen (14) days of the filing of the grievance. Circumstances which may prolong the response of the Vice President include the intervention of a quarter break and other such circumstances which may render unavailable persons necessary to an appropriate resolution of the complaint.

In addition to the above described appeal process, any student who believes that he or she has been discriminated against on the basis of disability may file a formal discrimination complaint with the ADA Compliance Officer. Olympic College has adopted an Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy that provides for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging discrimination. A copy of the policy is published in the catalog and may also be obtained from the Office of Human Resource Services on the fifth floor of the College Service Center.

Students also have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education and/or seek other legal remedies under state and federal law. The Department of Education requires complaints of discrimination to be filed within 180 days of the last known incident of discrimination. For further information regarding external complaint mechanisms, please refer to the RCW 28B.10.910 through RCW 28B.10.914 and the Washington Law against Discrimination, RCW 49.60.