Faculty and Staff
Accommodating Students with Disabilities for Access to Instruction
Access in instruction is critical to any student with a disability. As a faculty member,
you can increase the success of your students through the many services DPS offers.
By making information and/or technology accessible, the student can focus more attention
on the subject matter rather than obstacles.
Of course you may be concerned about how you can provide accommodations fairly, and
there is also concern about additional workload. As for the former, please visit our frequently
asked questions page for some helpful tips. As for the latter, yes there will be additional
work, but DPS wants to help. Please allow us to assist you by contacting us with your
questions and concerns.
If you would prefer to view information in a different way, we have also created two
additional ways to learn about us. We're currently working on a faculty handbook.
For more information:
Frequently Asked Questions about accommodating students with disabilities (for professionals
by professionals) FAQ page
Services
Chaffey College DPS offers robust support services to help maximize students' success in reaching their academic goals. Our goal is to give students academic support and instruction that leads to success in college and in the workforce. We offer:
Counseling Services
Academic / vocational counseling– DPS provides disability-appropriate suggestions
for class and career choices.
Educational evaluations – DPS can evaluate students for inclusion in the learning
disability program.
Liaison and referral service– DPS can assist students in making connections to campus
and community services for persons with disabilities.
Prescriptive education plans – Students enrolled in the DPS instructional programs
will have education plans created which are designed to assist the student in reaching their
goals.
Instructional Services
- Alternate Media (E-text)
- Assistive Technology
- Video Captioning Service
- Sign Language Interpreter Service– DPS will provide classroom interpreters for hearing impaired DPS students who can communicate using American Sign Language.
- Note taker service – When appropriate DPS will provide digital recorders and NCR paper for students use in classrooms.
- Priority Registration – Students with disabilities who are part of DPS can qualify for priority registration so that they can register for classes that fit best with their limitations.
- Registration Assistance– DPS will assist students is selecting classes that are most appropriate for the students’ abilities and limitations.
- Reader/Writer Service– DPS can provide readers and/or writers on test for students whose disability causes reading and/or writing difficulties.
- Taping Lectures – You are required to ask the instructor's permission before taping anything in the classroom (lecture or lab).
- Test Taking Facilitation– Students with disabilities may qualify for test accommodations which could include such things as extended time on the test, alternative test formats (Braille, etc.), reading assistance, writing assistance, etc.
Transportation Services
On-Campus Transportation (Rancho Cucamonga Campus only)
Service Suspension / Termination
Qualified students will continue to receive services as long as they adhere to their student responsibilities agreement. If a student violates the agreement, the Suspension and/or Termination of Services Procedure will be followed.
Alternate Media
Alternative Media Services
Alternative media is any instruction-related material that is converted or altered
from its original state into a different format so it is accessible and usable by
people with disabilities.
This may include, but is not limited to:
- Braille
- Large print
- Tactile graphics
- Descriptive narration
- Recorded audio
- Electronic text (e-text) formats
- Video captioning
To qualify for alternative media, you must:
- Become registered with Disability Programs and Services (DPS) as a student.
- Meet with and be referred by a DPS counselor for alternative media accommodation.
- Meet with Jason Schneck (alternative media tech specialist) and complete a request for materials.
- If you wish to qualify for alternative media as an accommodation, please make an appointment to speak with your DPS counselor.
If you have questions about alternative media services, please contact Jason Schneck,
alternative media tech specialist at jason.schneck@chaffey.edu.
What is an Alternate Media Technical Specialist?
The alternate media technical specialist works with students and faculty in the acquisition
and production of instructional materials in alternative media formats for students
with disability-related accommodations. These include, but are not limited to, books,
articles, audio-visual materials, websites, email, mobile applications, presentations,
and educational learning platform materials.
DPS Extended Assignment Accomodation
Learn more about this acccomodation in this Extended Assignment Accomodation file.
Assistive Technology
Assistive technology (AT) is any item, piece of equipment, software program or product system that is used to increase, maintain or improve the functional capabilities of people with disabilities. Assistive technology helps people who have difficulty speaking, typing, writing, remembering, pointing, seeing, hearing, learning, walking and many other things. Different disabilities require different assistive technologies.
To qualify for assistive technology, you must:
- Become registered with Disability Programs and Services (DPS) as a student.
- Meet with and be referred by a DPS counselor for assistive technology accommodation.
- Meet with Jason Schneck (alternative media tech specialist) and schedule a training session for recommended technologies.
- Assistive Technology Lab (Located in the DPS office AD-109)
Assistive Technology Labs (a.k.a. High Tech Centers) provide a campus location for students with disabilities to learn and acquire new skills for use with assistive computer technology.
The DPS Assistive Technology Lab has a large variety of assistive equipment and assistive software. We also offer an extensive array of assistive technology for checkout, including audio recorders. Our trained tech staff is available to assist students unfamiliar with the various technology, and appointments can be made for formal instruction. Some of our most used assistive equipment and software programs are listed below with a brief description. If you would like to speak with our Alt Media Tech Specialist regarding any of the items listed below please contact Jason Schneck at Jason.schneck@chaffey.edu. *Note: assistive technology will require counselor referral.
We also offer alternative media (E-text conversion) services.
ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS
FUNDAMENTAL ALTERATION AND UNDUE BURDEN
PROVIDING REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS
Chaffey College's Disability Programs and Services (DPS) is dedicated to ensuring that students with disabilities have equitable access to all programs, services, and activities offered by the college. This commitment includes making alterations and adjustments to courses or programs unless doing so would:
- a) Modify academic requirements essential to the instruction being pursued or directly related to a licensing requirement.
- b) Lower academic standards.
- c) Substantially alter the course or program, fundamentally changing its nature.
While academic accommodations that present a fundamental alteration or undue burden are not common, such situations may arise, and such defenses may only be used to deny an accommodation after thorough consideration by relevant college officials. Courts and regulatory bodies will grant deference to professional and academic judgment in denying an accommodation on these bases only when the denial is rationally justifiable and supported by a thoughtful review of the accommodation request.
THE FUNDAMENTAL ALTERATION PROCESS
Determining whether an academic accommodation would constitute a fundamental alteration is decided on a case-by-case basis and requires careful and reasoned deliberation. The college must examine the methods of instruction and assessment, consider alternative opportunities for teaching and learning, and evaluate the format of materials and demonstration of necessary skills.
Final decisions regarding fundamental alteration must be made by the head of the DPS or their designee(s) after considering all available resources for use in the course/program. Reasoned deliberation must be conducted in consultation with the DPS and documented appropriately.
In preparation for reasoned deliberation, faculty need to:
Review and identify the essential academic standards or objectives of the course/program.
Articulate the specific requirements of the course/program that are fundamental to meeting the essential academic standards or objectives.
Define the unique qualities of the specific requirements and their nexus to the essential academic standards/objectives.
Describe how the proposed accommodation would fundamentally alter essential academic standards or objectives of the course/program.
Faculty and DPS must:
Engage in reasoned deliberation as to whether modification of the specific requirements would lower academic standards, fundamentally alter learning outcomes, or require substantial (unreasonable) program alteration.
Determine whether there are available alternative means a student could demonstrate the essential academic standards or objectives of the course.
Work with their campus’ designated authority(ies) if agreement cannot be reached.
Document the deliberative process and retain records in accordance with the Chaffey College Records Retention Schedule.
While faculty need to work with students to implement approved accommodations, they should not refuse to implement an accommodation or debate its reasonableness directly with a student. These concerns should only be discussed with the DPS, who have the requisite training and experience.
