Questions? Book an appointment with Robin today.
Robin Goodall
Coordinator of Disability Services
(802) 728-1278 | robin.goodall@vtc.edu
Vermont Technical College will join with Castleton University and Northern Vermont University to become Vermont State University on July 1, 2023. Learn more and apply for fall 2023.
Our Faculty are responsible for creating and maintaining an accessible learning environment, while at the same time maintaining academic standards. Faculty expects the student to initiate accommodation requests and will provide reasonable accommodations once the student has appropriately engaged in the process. Faculty may also refer students to Disability Services when necessary and will refrain from retaliation against individuals advocating for accessibility.
All students’ documents which Disability Services collects are regarded with strict confidentiality. Disability Services does not reveal the diagnosis of any student registered with us without express permission from the student. Faculty members have the right to know the following:
There must be a logical link between the functional limitations and the recommended accommodations or adjustments.
No documents will be released to any internal or external individual, departments or agency without the written permission of the student or the student’s guardian. Instructors are cautioned against identifying students with disabilities unnecessarily to their peers or other colleagues without the student’s consent. (For example, announcing at the beginning of an exam that all disabled students should come to the front of the class would violate the students’ right to confidentiality.)
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) requires the college to inform students with disabilities of the services available to them. While that information is certainly available to our students in a variety of other venues, OCR strongly suggests that tools such as syllabus statements are among the most effective methods of reinforcing this knowledge.
Frequently students are reluctant to access services because they have been shy about coming into my office, because they are not clear about what is available to them, or because they are concerned that they will somehow appear to be different. A well written syllabus statement can help to normalize this process into another necessary piece of administrative detail, on a par with assignment dates and absence policies. The goal would be to encourage eligible students to get in touch with the Support Service Office early in the semester, rather than later, when they may already be caught in a frustrating and unproductive cycle of behavior, or, equally awkward, keep them from waiting until exam time to raise the issue at all. Syllabus statements certainly will not eliminate this behavior completely, but may help us to support a few more students as they work at being independent learners.
To that end, I ask that you consider including one of the following statements on your syllabus for the coming semester. If you prefer, you are of course welcome to develop your own statement. It should inform your students that accommodations are available for students with disabilities, that you are willing to provide those accommodations, and how they can get the ball rolling to receive the accommodations. Make sure that it is clear that they need to provide appropriate documentation to my office and develop a plan with me, along with speaking with you personally in order to use academic or testing accommodations. This is for your protection as well as the protection of the student and the college.
Questions or comments, please contact Robin Goodall at robin.goodall@vtc.edu
Questions? Book an appointment with Robin today.
Robin Goodall
Coordinator of Disability Services
(802) 728-1278 | robin.goodall@vtc.edu
We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies.
More Info