General Information for Students with Disabilities

• Academic accommodations are provided to students with documented disabilities in order to level the playing field, and provide students with disabilities the opportunity to show professors their true knowledge.
  
  
• Students with disabilities are held to the same academic standards and Code of Conduct as other students.

Requesting and using accommodations:

• You must request your accommodations every quarter that you wish to access them by using the myDSS student portal. Certain services (for example, alternate media format and interpreters) take considerable time to arrange and may be delayed if you fail to provide timely notification. (Please see specific procedures for further details about appropriate notice.)
  
  
• You must inform DSS, through the online myDSS student portal, of any changes to your class schedule immediately so accommodations can be modified as necessary.
  
  
• DSS will approve and email requested accommodation letters to you and your instructors after you submit your accommodation request for the quarter. Letters will be emailed to your Clark student email address.
  
  
• Accommodation letters are typically emailed one week prior to the first day of the quarter, when accommodations are requested early, (two weeks prior to the start of the quarter.)  Accommodation requests made less than two weeks prior to the quarter starting will be processed generally in 1-3 business days.
  
  
•  If you requested your accomomdations and you did NOT receive your accommodations letters within three school days of the first day of classes, you should contact the DSS Office immediately.
  
  
• Accommodation requests made less than two weeks prior to the quarter starting will be processed as time allows. Generally speaking, accommodation letters will be sent out approximately 1-3 days business days from the time of request made by student.
  
  
• If you woud like to request a change to your accommodation plan, contact the DSS Office about a re-review.  A review of your documentation will be needed, additional documentation may be required, and you will be invited to schedule a re-review meeting.
  
   
• DSS encourages all students to use all services at the beginning of each quarter, and then adjust as necessary. Accommodations are not retroactive, once an event is completed, it cannot be redone with accommodations. For example, if you take a test without accommodations, and realize you should have used accommodations, you cannot retake the test with accommodations. The decision to use or not use accommodations must be made in advance.
  
  

Informing instructors:

• You are responsible for contacting each of your instructors to discuss accommodations.
  
   
• You should have a private conversation with each instructor during the first week of classes or within a week of requesting your accommodations if classes have begun.  This conversation can be held in person or email.
  
  
• Your accommodation letters will be sent to your instructors, but you still need to have a conversation with the instructor about your accommodation plan and implementation. This conversation can be held in person or via email.
  
  
• You should inform DSS immediately if you encounter any problems or difficulty communicating with an instructor regarding your approved accommodations. DSS is available to answer questions, or address any concerns related to equal access.  When appropriate, DSS may serve as a liaison between you and your instructor regarding your accommodations.

Documentation:

• Documentation of your disability is kept separate from your academic record and not shared with your instructors. No disability notation is noted on your transcript.  Information contained in your disability documentation can be released on an educational need-to-know basis or with your signed permission.

Voter registration:

• Upon request, DSS is required to offer all students a voter registration form and assistance filling it out. If you are interested in becoming a registered voter and need assistance with the form, please contact the DSS Office.