Students with Disabilities

Students with Disabilities

• CIS Guide to Access and Accommodations (student handout)

• Accommodations, Access, & Inclusion for Students with Disabilities: College in the Schools Instructor Information Guide 

Disability Resource Center (DRC)

Make students aware they have options to receive support while they are taking a U of M course through CIS.  (Policy is on the syllabus.) Students with 504 plans or those with a disability interested in taking a U of M course through CIS must work with the U of M Disability Resource Center (DRC) to have collegiate accommodations determined as soon as possible.  Instructors may also contact the DRC for assistance. 

The DRC provides accommodations for students who experience disability-related academic barriers. The services are free and confidential. A reasonable accommodation must meet four criteria: 

• • It must not compromise essential requirements of a course, program, job, activity, or facility. 

  • It must not cause an undue administrative or financial hardship.

  • It must not compromise safety of the student or others. 

  • It must not fundamentally alter a course or program. 

A prospective student begins the process by contacting the DRC to schedule an initial appointment. Appointments may be conducted by phone.  At the appointment, an Access Consultant talks with the student about how their disability impacts their academic experience and reviews the student’s disability documentation.  If reasonable accommodations are appropriate, they will be outlined in a letter for the student to share with the instructor. 

Students may be eligible for the following: test accommodations, note taking assistance, sign language interpreting or captioning support, document conversion, access assistance, and consultation on use of computers and assistive technology. Additional accommodations and services may be determined per individual need. 

A grievance process is described on the DRC website should a student believe they are not being reasonably accommodated. 

Students, parents, instructors, and faculty may contact an Access Consultant at (612) 626-1333 (V/TTY) or drc@umn.edu for additional information. For additional assistance, consult the Disability Resource Center or contact Emily Hanson.

Guiding Principles

Excerpted from Board of Regents Policy: Disability Services.

The following principles shall guide the commitment of the University of Minnesota (University) to equitable access for students, faculty, staff, and guests with disabilities: 

• • 1. The University values the richness and diversity that people with disabilities bring to the University community. 

    2. The University believes access to educational, work, co-curricular, and other opportunities for people with disabilities enriches the academic and social environment for all members and guests of the University community. 

    3. The University seeks to foster an inclusive community of faculty, staff, and students engaged in research, scholarship, artistic activity, teaching and learning, or community engagement. 

    4. The University strives to: 

       1. • develop curricula and educational materials; 

          • design buildings and other physical spaces; and 

          • select products and services that can be used by students, faculty, staff, and guests with different backgrounds, learning styles, abilities, and disabilities consistent with the concepts of universal design. 

Implementation

The University shall: 

• • 1. provide equitable access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, employment, and educational programs to people with documented disabilities; 

    2. provide reasonable accommodations to persons with documented disabilities in accordance with applicable state and federal law; and 

    3. promote and practice adopting accessible media, technology, instructional methods, building design for new and renovated facilities, and procurement practices that are inclusive to students, faculty, staff, and guests with disabilities.