Office of Accessibility
About Us
The Office of Accessibility assists qualified students with academic and housing accommodations, as well as requests for assistance animals. Accommodations are available to all currently enrolled students who have a documented disability that substantially limits them in one or more of life's major activities.
The Office of Accessibility strives to provide successful access and services to qualified students with disabilities. We take pride in also providing technical assistance, consultation, and resources to students, faculty, staff, campus visitors, and for departments looking to provide improved accessibility for individuals with disabilities.
Why is access important?
In 2022-2023, nearly 20% of Champlain College undergraduate students accessed accommodations. These are students who are in our classrooms, are active in our clubs and organizations, and who are all an important part of our campus community.
When we come together as a campus community to ensure access, we help eliminate barriers and create educational environments that are equitable.
By providing access, students are able to learn, participate, and fully experience all that Champlain College has to offer.
When barriers are removed, students with disabilities have an equal chance at success and have higher retention, graduation, and employment rates.
Important Tip! Make Your Courses Accessible
You can make your courses more accessible from the start. This is a great practice, part of Universal Design for Learning, and it will save you time later. Some basic tips:
Text: Don't use highlighting or colorful text; it makes things difficult to read for people with low vision and colorblindness.
Videos: Make sure any videos you use have closed captions.
Reading Materials: Make sure any PDFs you use are screen-reader accessible. The Office of Accessibility provides a tool called SensusAccess to easily make PDFs accessible. Not sure how to use SensusAccess? Check out the CLT's guide.
Off-Campus Events: Considering a class field trip? It's important to assess the site for physical accessibility and arrange access to transportation if students in your class have challenges walking long distances. Provide your class with notice about the trip and provide all students with options to fully access and participate in the class.
Learn More
Visit our full website - https://www.champlain.edu/current-students/campus-services/student-health-and-wellness/office-of-accessibility
Contacts:
Office of Accessibility: accessibility@champlain.edu
Testing Accommodations: testingaccommodations@champlain.edu
Erin Ferrara, Director of Accessibility Services, (802) 865-5765, eferrara@champlain.edu
Maddie West, Assistant Director of Accessibility Services, (802) 865-5764, mwest@champlain.edu
Raelyn Gladstone, Accessibility Coordinator, (802) 651-5913 , rgladstone@champlain.edu
How do faculty interact with the Office of Accessibility?
Once a student is registered with the Office of Accessibility, they are eligible to receive accommodations.
The formal definition of accommodation, from the American Psychological Association, is “modifications or adjustments to the tasks, environment or to the way things are usually done that enable individuals with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to participate in an academic program”.
While some accommodations are implemented outside of the classroom, the majority of accommodations are implemented in the classroom.
Faculty will be informed of a student’s classroom accommodations through a letter of accommodation. The letter will provide a list of the accommodations and also provide a list of rules and expectations around testing accommodations, if appropriate.
It is the student's responsibility to request that their letters of accommodation be sent to their instructors every semester. In order for letters of accommodation to be sent out, students need to meet with a staff member from the Office of Accessibility. Each letter will contain a list of accommodations that the student qualifies for, based upon their disability, and that are appropriate for the specific course. It is the student's responsibility to confirm that their letter of accommodation has been received and to discuss the accommodations requested with each instructor.
Faculty Handbook
The Office of Accessibility created a Faculty Handbook to provide a resource to faculty regarding academic accommodations. The handbook is intended to provide a deeper understanding of the Office of Accessibility academic accommodation request process, the types of accommodations that are provided to students with disabilities, and the role of faculty in providing accommodations.
Due to the nature of accommodations, the information provided in the handbook is a general overview. Accommodations are provided to students on a case-by-case basis and not all academic accommodations provided to students will be included in the handbook.