Section: MyVTC

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The Office of the President is holding an appreciation luncheon to thank Veterans and active-duty service members. Vermont Tech THANKS YOU with gratitude and appreciation for YOUR SERVICE.

Lunch is free for all Veterans and family members of Veterans who wish to honor our Veterans that are currently serving.

This will be a socially-distanced luncheon and all COVID-19 safety protocols will be required; socially-distanced seating and masks are required when in lines or walking around.

Luncheon Dates:

Randolph: Thursday, November 11, 11:30-1, Morey Dining Hall

Williston: Monday, November 15, 11:30-1, Williston East, 401B

Kindly RSVP by Wednesday, November 10 by using the form below.

Please join Vermont Tech’s Coordinator of Disability Services, Robin Goodall, in the fall 2021 as she holds a series of workshops designed to take a look at how we look at disability.

September 28 | 12 noon

Portrayals of Disability: Inspiration.

This workshop will explore some of the unintentional ways that people with disabilities are portrayed, and the unintentional biases that those portrayals create.

• Join Zoom Meeting

October 12 | 12 noon

Disability and Design

This workshop looks at the intersection of how our environment is designed and our capabilities as human beings.

• Join Zoom Meeting

October 26 | 12 noon

The Language of Disability

Without descending into the abyss of political correctness, this presentation will focus on the ways that our language shapes our thought and vice versa.

• Join Zoom Meeting

November 9 | 12 noon

Ableism and Nondisabled Privilege

• Join Zoom Meeting

November 20 | 12 noon

Access as a Civil Right

• Join Zoom Meeting

Please join us for an Employee Recognition Luncheon to celebrate, give thanks, and honor our employees for their unwavering hard work, dedication, and years of service to Vermont Tech.

Luncheon Dates:

Randolph: April 20, 12-2 pm
Williston: May 1, 12-2 pm

More details coming soon. In the meantime, please register below.

Vermont Tech faculty, students with disabilities, and Disability Services have certain rights and responsibilities related to the provision of reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. When we work together, we are better able to provide equal access.

Resources for Parents

• Open letter to parents of students with disabilities about to enter college
• Differences between high school and college from Department of Education
• What is a reasonable Accommodation?
• Request for accommodation on the Accuplacer test form

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.

Students’ Confidentiality and Faculty Right to Know

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:

1. The student has a disability verified by Disability Services
2. How the disability or condition limits the student
3. Recommended reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments for the student

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 Asked Questions:

How does a student become eligible to receive accommodations in my class?

• The student self identifies to the Coordinator of Disability Services. This can occur prior to acceptance or at any point during the semester. Occasionally students will wait until the semester is well underway. While this is not ideal, it is part of their journey.           ·
• The student provides documentation of the disability. Documentation should be reasonably current, and completed by a professional with the appropriate credentials.
• The student meets with the Coordinator of Disability Services to review the documentation, discuss areas of difficulty that may be related to the disability and to develop their access plan. This plan may include a description of the disability, recommendations for supports that the student should consider taking advantage of along with a list of the accommodations the student is entitled to under the law.
• All students receive a PDF copy of their accommodations memo once it is developed. The student must request this notification memo each semester. The conversation where we develop the accommodations can happen in person, over the phone or via Zoom.
• The student shares the memo with instructors in those classes where they would like to utilize their accommodations. The instructor and the student will discuss the accommodations and together determine the best application in a specific course and will coordinate as needed with the Coordinator of Disability Services. The memo is sent to students as a PDF via email. You may prefer to have the student email the plan to you. Another option is to build a space, perhaps a module with in your course where students can upload their accommodation plan.

What are my responsibilities in this process as a faculty member?

• Publicize. This can be done through a statement included on your syllabus as well as through a verbal announcement. Frequently students are reluctant to access my services because they are shy about asking, because they are not clear about what is available to them, because their experience in high school felt toxic or because they are concerned that they will somehow appear to be different or be receiving an unfair advantage over their peers. Done well, an announcement of this nature can help to normalize this process into another necessary piece of administrative detail, on a par with assignment dates and absence policies.     ·
• Refer students to the Coordinator of Disability Services if they disclose a disability or request accommodations to you without providing a memo from the Coordinator of Disability Service’s office. While instructors are certainly free to provide students with whatever academic adjustments, such as extended time, that they wish, it is important to be clear that these adjustments are part of classroom policy and not related to the disability process. Accommodating a disability without documentation can be just as dicey legally as refusing to accommodate at all. I encourage faculty to be cautious about this and make sure that you are not inadvertently obligating other faculty or further classes that you may have with the student.
• Implement pre-determined, in-class accommodations as outlined in the student’s memo, when it has been presented to you. It is not necessary, for example, for a student to leave your class to receive extended time or a quiet space for a test. If this is difficult for you to provide, then of course you and/or the student may contact the Coordinator of Disability Services for assistance. With much testing happening online, a useful skill for you to have as a faculty member is the ability to moderate your tests and quizzes so that you can adjust time on an individual basis. The Coordinator of Disability Services is available to provide that sort of instruction, as is the Instructional Technology Specialist.
• Contact the Coordinator of Disability Services if there are questions about directions or implementation of accommodations. Many accommodations are pretty easy to understand. Disability Services is committed to not developing or approving accommodations that would create a fundamental alteration in anyone’s course or program. If there is ever a question about a particular accommodation, I will reach out to you ahead of time, but if you have a question about an accommodation that appears in a students’, plan you should always feel free to reach out to me.

What are some accommodations that I would be likely to see?

• Extended Time for Testing

  • Extended time for testing works to reduce the impact of a disability by allowing additional time for symbol recognition and decoding for students with reading disorders, cognitive processing time for slower processors, or to reduce the situational stress of the testing event. Extended testing time can be provided in class or in a distraction reduced location. If a distraction reduced location is desired, then arrangements may be made with the Center for Academic Success

• Distraction Reduced Testing Environment (not applicable unless you are in FTF classes)

  • Distraction reduced testing is designed to reduce the impact of a disability by reducing extraneous stimuli that might compete with the students ability to focus on the test. Testing is offered in an environment with reduced noise, light, and activity. Depending on what the individuals find distracting, earplugs may be an appropriate intermediate step.

• Readers/Scribes/Assistive Technology for Tests

  • These accommodations are helpful in reducing the impact of a disability by providing alternative forms of information assimilation and expression. Readers, whether human or computer generated, augment the symbol recognition and decoding skills of students with visual impairments or cognitive processing disabilities. When used during a test, readers and scribes are not allowed to interpret, add to or subtract from the material being tested. They read or write verbatim what is presented to them.

• Spelling or Word Processing devices for in class written work

  • Spelling support reduces the impact of a disability by allowing a student to produce correctly spelled responses when they might not otherwise be able to do so. For longer responses, word processing is helpful.

• Notetaking Support

  • Many disabilities make notetaking a challenging task at best and nearly impossible at times. Note takers, copies of notes and the option of photographing notes from the board reduce the impact of the disabilities by reducing or eliminating latency in short term memory, decreasing the physical fatigue of extended writing, or as augmentation of student’s notes when issues of distractibility are interfering.

• Recording Lectures

  • Recording lectures supports students by providing a mechanism to review verbally presented material when short term memory, cognitive processing or visual impairments exist. Recorded lectures also provide a way for students to review the accuracy of their notes and to supplement any material they might have missed. You may see students recording with specialized software on their laptops, with digital recorders, or with a device called a Live Scribe Pen.

• Materials in Alternative Format

  • Copied material or material in alternate text format (enlarged, Brailled or electronic) provides access to written material for students with visual physical or cognitive processing issues. Overheads, Powerpoint slides, and limited access classroom materials are especially challenging for many students. The Coordinator of Disability Services can assist with copying, enlarging, scanning and brailling. When a student’s accommodation plan says all materials in alternate format, it means exactly that. All materials including tests must be accessible. If you provide a great deal of information on the board, and you have a student in your class with this accommodation, you will want to provide that information electronically as well. Similarly, if you build all of your exams into the learning management system, those exams will need to be accessible as well. There is a way to do this within Canvas, but you also have the option of reading the questions and saving the voice file to a small digital recorder that you give to the student, or connect with the student over the phone to read the text out loud. I am happy to problem solve with you as needed. This is especially important for instructors who use the lockdown browser as part of their testing environment, since it creates a fundamentally INACCESSIBLE test or quiz without that recording.

Syllabus Statements

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

Possible Statements:

• Students with disabilities, whether physical, psychological, or learning, who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Coordinator of Disability Services as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Please meet with Robin Goodall to verify your eligibility for accommodation and/or academic assistance related to your disability. She can be reached at the Center for Academic Success (Conant 202), extension 1278, or by email (rgoodall@vtc.edu).
• Students with disabilities may request accommodation as provided within federal law. All such requests should be made by first contacting Robin Goodall, Coordinator of Disability Services, in the Center for Academic Success (Conant 202). She can be reached by phone at 728-1278 or by email at rgoodall@vtc.edu. Information regarding services and supports, as well as documentation requirements, is available at the Center for Academic Success.
• Anyone who feels they may be eligible for an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me to arrange an appointment to discuss the course format and the sorts of supports that may be needed. I rely on the Learning Specialist Office for assistance in verifying the need for accommodations and developing accommodation strategies. If you have not contacted the Coordinator of Disability Services, Robin Goodall, I encourage you to do so. She is available at the Center for Academic Success (Conant 202), ext. 1278, or by email at rgoodall@vtc.edu.
• In compliance with college policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Request for accommodations should be made at the beginning of the semester, except for unusual circumstances, so arrangements can be made. Students are encouraged to contact Robin Goodall at the Center for Academic Success (Conant 202) (1278, or rgoodall@vtc.edu) for information regarding disability verification and for the determination of reasonable accommodations.

Students have the right to equal opportunities for education and participation in Vermont Tech activities. Students must meet or exceed the essential requirements of the Vermont Technical College with or without accommodations. Students can initiate the request for accommodations and/or services at any point in the semester, understanding that accommodations do not work retroactively, in partnership with the disability services coordinator, communicate with faculty regarding accommodations and work with the Disability Services Coordinator as needed.

Informational Sections:

• Requesting Accommodations

• Documenting a Disability

• Documentation Guidelines

• Disclosing a Disability

• Emotional Support Animals

Requesting Accommodations (back to top)

This is one of those places where the differences between students’ experiences in high school and their experiences in college diverge, sometimes dramatically. In high school, generally, parents serve as the advocate and driver of the special education process, and the teachers and Special Ed folks take responsibility for coordinating all of the services that a student receives. And that’s a keyword, “receives”. You, the student, are the RECIPIENT of services that are designed to teach you in a way that is suited to your particular needs. Sometimes, that means that content is changed, or assignments are reduced, or someone outside your classroom teacher organizes material for you. The experience that you have is always a bit different from the rest of your peers. And that’s the way it should be. Part of the mandate under IDEA after all is to make sure that you learn. Hopefully, along the way, you absorb some of the techniques that they are showing you…

When you come to college, the playing field changes a bit. In college, it is expected that you will deal with the same content, the same assignments, and the same LEARNING as the rest of your classmates. That can be an important distinction. You may come at the task of learning that content a bit differently (assistive technology can be really important here), but the learning itself will be the same. Remember, accommodations, when they are put together well, are curb cuts that allow you to go about the business of being a learner with independence and dignity. When you graduate with your degree, in whatever it is, you will have the same credentials and the same store of knowledge as the rest of your class.

In high school, there was probably a meeting once a year, that you may or may not have attended, where your IEP or 504 plan was developed. The Special Educator or Guidance Counselor took responsibility for making sure that all of your teachers were informed, and you and your family were notified about your rights under the process and given copies of the document. At Vermont Tech, you and I will meet together, review your documentation, and develop your plan. I will make sure that you have a copy of that plan and we will have a conversation about how you disclose. After that, it’s up to you. You get to choose which teachers you share your plan with and how your accommodations will be used. For example, perhaps you will use your testing accommodations (if you have them) on every single assessment that you are given. Or, maybe you will choose to only use them on hourly exams… Or midterms and finals… The point is, you are in charge. We can meet at ANY point during the school year to revisit those accommodations if you feel they need adjustment, or to problem solve any issues that you may be encountering. You can initiate the process at any point during the school year – there is no hard and fast rule about when you have to begin how we proceed together. As much as humanly possible, we will work it out in a way that meets YOUR needs. Always.

Resources:

• Open letter to parents of students with disabilities about to enter college
• Differences between high school and college from Department of Education
• What is a reasonable accommodation?
• Request for accommodations on the Accuplacer test form

Documenting a Disability (back to top)

Our documentation guidelines here at Vermont Tech are designed to provide information to the Coordinator of Disability Services as we work to build those curb cuts that will allow students to go about the business of learning. They are only part of the story though. Students’ self-reporting as to their  experience as a learner is just as important. The guidelines are built to be flexible for providers so that they can do their part to tell your story, but at the end of the day, it is the student’s story. Feel free to download these guidelines and share them with your provider. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

Documentation Guidelines (back to top)

Disability Services at Vermont Tech is committed to clarity of communication in our support of students. By identifying the essential dimensions of documentation, the college allows for flexibility in accepting documentation from the full range of theoretical and clinical perspectives. This approach enhances consistency and provide stakeholders (students, prospective students, parents and professionals) with the information we need to assist students in establishing eligibility for services and receiving appropriate accommodations.

1. The credentials of the evaluator(s). The best quality documentation is provided by a licensed or otherwise properly credentialed professional who has undergone appropriate and comprehensive training, has relevant experience, and has no personal relationship with the individual being evaluated. A good match between the credentials of the individual making the diagnosis and the condition being reported is expected (e.g., an orthopedic limitation might be documented by a physician, but not a licensed psychologist).
2. A diagnostic statement identifying the disability. Quality documentation includes a clear diagnostic statement that describes how the condition was diagnosed, provides information on the functional impact, and details the typical progression or prognosis of the condition. While diagnostic codes from the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM) or the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) of the World Health Organization are helpful in providing this information, a full clinical description will also convey the necessary information.
3. A description of the diagnostic methodology used. Quality documentation includes a description of the diagnostic criteria, evaluation methods, procedures, tests and dates of administration, as well as a clinical narrative, observation, and specific results. Where appropriate to the nature of the disability, having both summary data and specific test scores (with the norming population identified) within the report is recommended. Diagnostic methods that are congruent with the particular disability and current professional practices in the field are recommended. Methods may include formal instruments, medical examinations, structured interview protocols, performance observations and unstructured interviews. If results from informal, non-standardized or less common methods of evaluation are reported, an explanation of their role and significance in the diagnostic process will strengthen their value in providing useful information.
4. A description of the current functional limitations. Information on how the disabling condition(s) currently impacts the individual provides useful information for both establishing a disability and identifying possible accommodations. A combination of the results of formal evaluation procedures, clinical narrative, and the individual’s self report is the most comprehensive approach to fully documenting impact. The best quality documentation is thorough enough to demonstrate whether and how a major life activity is substantially limited by providing a clear sense of the severity, frequency and pervasiveness of the condition(s).  While relatively recent documentation is recommended in most circumstances, common sense and discretion in accepting older documentation of conditions that are permanent or non-varying is recommended. Likewise, changing conditions and/or changes in how the condition impacts the individual brought on by growth and development may warrant more frequent updates in order to provide an accurate picture. It is important to remember that documentation is not time-bound; the need for recent documentation depends on the facts and circumstances of the individual’s condition.
5. A description of the expected progression or stability of the disability. It is helpful when documentation provides information on expected changes in the functional impact of the disability over time and context. Information on the cyclical or episodic nature of the disability and known or suspected environmental triggers to episodes provides opportunities to anticipate and plan for varying functional impacts. If the condition is not stable, information on interventions (including the individual’s own strategies) for exacerbations and recommended timelines for re-evaluation are most helpful.
6. A description of current and past accommodations, services and/or medications. The most comprehensive documentation will include a description of both current and past medications, auxiliary aids, assistive devices, support services, and accommodations, including their effectiveness in ameliorating functional impacts of the disability. A discussion of any significant side effects from current medications or services that may impact physical, perceptual, behavioral or cognitive performance is helpful when included in the report. While accommodations provided in another setting are not binding on the current institution, they may provide insight in making current decisions.
7. Recommendations for accommodations, adaptive devices, assistive services, compensatory strategies, and/or collateral support services. Recommendations from professionals with a history of working with the individual provide valuable information for review and the planning process. It is most helpful when recommended accommodations and strategies are logically related to functional limitations; if connections are not obvious, a clear explanation of their relationship can be useful in decision-making. While the post-secondary institution has no obligation to provide or adopt recommendations made by outside entities, those that are congruent with the programs, services, and benefits offered by the college or program may be appropriate. When recommendations go beyond equitable and inclusive services and benefits, they may still be useful in suggesting alternative accommodations and/or services.

Adapted from the AHEAD Guidelines for Best Practices in Disability Documentation, 2006

Disclosing a Disability (back to top)

Disclosing a disability to a professor can feel awkward and uncomfortable. The decision to do this is yours, of course, but there are several things you can do to make it more comfortable and productive.

Face-to-face meetings with your instructors are an excellent way to educate instructors about disabilities and to help both of you feel at ease. You might even want to “rehearse” what you will say with the Coordinator of Disability Services or with a close friend.

Schedule your meeting as early in the semester as possible. This allows time to work out accommodations and helps your plan to be implemented as quickly as possible. You do not need to go into great detail about your disability, but you should tell your instructor about the impact it has on you as you study and do class work. Be willing to discuss what is difficult for you, but also talk about your learning strengths. Be willing to share some of the information from your documentation.

Rely on your past experiences as well. Talk with the professor about what works for you as a learner. For example, for students with auditory processing difficulties, accompanying verbal instructions with written ones (one the board perhaps) is very helpful. For students with visual processing difficulty, the use of simple fonts and sufficient white space on handouts and overheads is beneficial. Many times professors will have worked with students with issues similar to yours and will have additional ideas. Their input can be very valuable and they are the person most familiar with the demands of their course.

Discuss how your work will be evaluated, to ensure that any needs in this area are addressed. Be clear about understanding grading criteria and the format of exams. Your plan can be amended at any time, but it is better to address needs as completely as possible the first time through. It is really all about communication.

Emotional Support Animals (back to top)

Students wishing to request the presence of an emotional support animal (ESA) should follow the regular, established process for documenting a disability as outlined above under “documenting a disability”. Documentation should be submitted to the Coordinator of Disability Services, who will keep it on file. After a review and an intake conversation with the student, the Coordinator of Disability Services will make a recommendation to Residence Life as to the reasonableness of the request.

Since emotional support animals are not covered by the Americans With Disabilities Act, but by the Fair Housing Act, students then will work with Residence Life and follow their procedures before the animal is allowed to come to campus. Emotional support animals are only allowed in the Residence Halls, and not in any other campus buildings. Requests for an emotional support animal can take up to 60 days to process.

• Emotional Support Animal Form

Thank you for participating in our Student Profiles series. When prospective students are searching for colleges, it helps to show them real examples of alumni and students who have been successful at Vermont Tech.

Every member of Vermont Tech should work to ensure non-discriminatory processes and practices with faculty, staff, and students.

Qualified students are recruited for, admitted to, and participate in all college programs without discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin, age, veteran status, or disability. Vermont Tech will provide reasonable accommodations to create equal opportunities for students with documented disabilities.

Faculty, administrators, and staff are employed without discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin, age, veteran status, or disability unrelated to job requirements. Vermont Tech will make reasonable accommodations to the known disability of an otherwise qualified applicant or employee.

Additionally, the Vermont State Colleges will engage in affirmative efforts to recruit, admit, and support students and to recruit, employ, and support employees in order to achieve the diversity which advances the educational mission.