Rights and Responsibilities

The information below is designed to help students gain a better understanding of the parameters by which students with disabilities are served by Skidmore College and specifically to identify the rights and responsibilities of each party. 

Skidmore College  |  Students  |  Coordinator  |  Faculty

 

Skidmore College has the right to:

• request professional documentation verifying the nature of a student's disability, the academic or physical limitations the disability presents and the need for specific accommodations;
• consult with college officials in attempt to determine the student's qualifications for a degree program or course;
• discuss the documentation submitted by a student with the party who produced the documentation and/or professional sources or additional experts (omitting identifying information) as needed to determine eligibility for Accessibility Services under the ADA or section 504;
• deny a request for accommodation if a student's documentation does not verify the need for the request; and
• deny a request for accommodation if it is deemed unreasonable, compromises the essential elements of the course or program, or poses an undue financial or administrative burden on the college.

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 Students with disabilities have the right to:

• equal access to Skidmore's courses, programs, activities, and facilities;
• individual assessment of disability and skills;
• reasonable accommodations or auxiliary aids as appropriate;
• confidentiality of disability related information;
• control the release of disability related information except as otherwise required by law; and
• appeal the Coordinator's decisions concerning reasonable accommodations by following the grievance procedures outlined in this document.

 Students with disabilities have the responsibility to:

• meet the qualifications essential for participation in academic courses and programs;
• if seeking accommodation, identify him/herself as a student with a disability and follow the procedures for applying for academic accommodations outlined in this document;
• engage in an interactive process to establish and implement reasonable accommodations;
• provide professional documentation verifying the nature of a disability, the academic or the physical limitations a disability presents and the need for specific accommodations; and
• notify their instructors that they will be using accommodations by submitting an accommodation letter to each faculty member each semester.

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The coordinator of student access services has the responsibility to:

• ensure that, with or without accommodations, students with disabilities can obtain equal access to the college's programs, activities, service and facilities;
• inform students with disabilities about the availability and range of accommodations and provide the policies and procedures necessary to obtain accommodations upon request;
• determine each student's eligibility for accommodation;
• provide individualized assessments and evaluate students based on their abilities;
• protect and maintain the integrity of the academic standards of individual courses or programs;
• ensure that eligible students are provided with approved accommodations in a fair and timely manner;
• establish through appropriate faculty members, the abilities, skills and knowledge fundamental to academic programs and courses and to evaluate each student's requested accommodations on this basis; and
• maintain confidentiality of documentation and communication concerning students with disabilities, except when otherwise specified by law or consent to release disability related information is provided by the student.

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 Skidmore faculty members have the right to:

• Establish abilities, skills, and knowledge fundamental to academic programs and courses; 
• Verify a student's eligibility for accommodations with the Coordinator of Student Access Services; 
• Expect students to participate actively in the process of establishing and acquiring accommodations;
• Expect students to abide by all College policies and procedures related to obtaining reasonable accommodations.

 Skidmore faculty members have the responsibility to:

• Work in cooperation with the Coordinator of Student Access Services to ensure that eligible students are provided with approved accommodations in a timely manner;
• Consider equal access issues for students with disabilities when establishing academic courses, course requirements and teaching methods;
• Discuss any concerns related to the provision of accommodations with the Coordinator of Student Access Services as necessary;
• Assure the confidentiality of all disability related information;
• Refer students who identify themselves as, or those suspected as, having a disability to the Coordinator of Student Access Services.