Nuts and Bolts

Access Nuts and Bolts for Faculty

First Step: Registration with AAS

After admission to KCC, students who want to receive disability-related services must self-identify to AAS, complete an Application for Accommodations and Services, and submit it with supporting documentation to AAS. Once sufficient information has been collected, AAS will process the application. AAS will provide each student who is approved for accommodations with literature about policies and procedures and will assign each student to a counselor. We will also provide students with copies of their Notification of Academic Accommodations to be given to their professors.

Accommodations: What they are and how they work 

Academic adjustments, more commonly known as accommodations, are defined in the Section 504 regulations at 34 C.F.R. § 104.44(a) as:

[S]uch modifications to [the] academic requirements as are necessary to ensure that such requirements do not discriminate or have the effect of discriminating, on the basis of [disability] against a qualified ... applicant or student [with a disability]…Modifications may include changes in the length of time permitted for the completion of degree requirements, substitution of specific courses required for the completion of degree requirements, and adaptation of the manner in which specific courses are conducted.

Accommodations also may include a reduced course load, extended time on tests and the provision of auxiliary aids and services. Auxiliary aids and services include note-takers, readers, recording devices, sign language interpreters, screen-readers, voice recognition and other adaptive software or hardware for computers, and other devices designed to ensure the participation of students with impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills in an institution’s programs and activities. Institutions are not required to provide personal devices and services such as attendants, individually prescribed devices such as eyeglasses or hearing aids, readers for personal use or study, or other services of a personal nature, such as tutoring or typing, except where such services are provided for all students.

In providing an academic adjustment, institutions are not required to lower or substantially modify essential requirements. In addition, colleges do not have to make adjustments that would fundamentally alter the nature of a service, program, or activity, or that would result in an undue financial or administrative burden.

Adapted from Transition of Students with Disabilities to Postsecondary Education

 http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transitionguide.html#_edn11

AAS has established procedures for students to receive reasonable accommodations. Students are responsible for knowing and following those procedures. 

Students choose whether or not they use their approved accommodations in each of their classes. If they choose to use their accommodations, it is the students’ responsibility to notify their instructors that they are registered with AAS and intend to use accommodations over the course of the semester.  Students will provide each instructor with a current letter of Notification of Academic Accommodation, which itemizes their approved accommodations. 

AAS strongly recommends that students speak with professors on the first day of each class or as soon as possible after accommodations are approved. Students concerned with privacy are advised to make appointments to meet with professors during their office hours. Faculty may not deny students accommodations that have been approved by AAS but are encouraged to bring any questions or concerns regarding a student’s accommodations to the student's assigned AAS counselor.

In-Class Accommodations

Classroom accommodations may include, but are not limited to:

  • Note-takers

  • Sign language interpreters

  • The use of an Audio recording device

  • The use of a Non-Scientific Calculator

  • The use of a laptop

  • The use of a service animal

  • Preferential seating or adjusted seating

  • Extended time on in-class writing assignments

Note-Taking Services: Notetaking services are provided if a student has registered with AAS and has provided documentation that supports this accommodation. AAS encourages students to look for a classmate to provide notes. If they are unable to find a notetaker, AAS will assist in this process by making an announcement in the class or by asking the professor to do so. In the case of a Developmental English class, AAS will send a note-taker to the class.

Student notetakers will be paid for their services. Please send anyone interested in becoming a notetaker to D-205 to sign up and to receive further instructions.

Sign Language Interpreters: If there is a student in your class who has been approved for a Sign Language Interpreter (SLI), our coordinator of interpreting services will send you notification similar to the example below:

Presently, there is a student in your [name, section and code] class who has submitted appropriate documentation to Access-Ability Services and has been approved a sign language interpreter as a reasonable accommodation. Depending on the structure of your course, two interpreters may be necessary.

Interpreters are used as primary means of communication between student, professor and peers within the college environment. However, please be aware that all communication should be directed to the student, not to the interpreter.

Interpreters are AAS staff members. They are expected to maintain professional conduct and demonstrate respect for all within your class setting.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Audio Recording: The following is a statement that is signed by all students who have the use of an audio recording device as an approved accommodation. 

Tape recording in the classroom is one of the accommodations specifically identified in Section 504, Subpart E of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as a means of ensuring full participation in educational programs or activities for students with disabilities. Accordingly, it is the College's policy to permit audio recording of course lectures for students who provide the required documentation to Access-Ability Services. Instructors, at their discretion, may disallow audio-recording during portions of classes which involve personal discussion and self-disclosure, if other students are asked not to take notes.

Students who are permitted to audio-record course lectures under this KCC policy must use the recordings for personal study use only and must not release the recordings to any other person without the express written consent of the faculty member. Students who violate this policy may be subject to discipline under the KCC Student Conduct Code.

I have read and understand the above policy and I agree to abide by the policy with regard to any lectures I record while enrolled as a student at Kingsborough Community College.

Testing Accommodations

Providing testing services is a collaborative effort between Access-Ability Services (AAS) and Faculty. AAS provides a testing service to facilitate the administration of examinations and quizzes with extended time or other testing accommodations. Students may opt not to use AAS services and instead may arrange with their professors to receive the necessary accommodations in class. Testing accommodations may include, but are not limited to:

Extended Time – In most cases, extended time amounts to time and a half. Double time or more may be provided only if there are significant barriers. Testing time is calculated based on the amount of time faculty plan for and expect students without disabilities will need to complete an exam. Under no circumstances will a student be approved for unlimited time. In some cases, extended test time may apply only to particular subjects and/or testing formats.

Reader – If approved for a reader, test material will be re-produced in audio format. Test material may be recorded onto a micro-cassette tape or scanned into a computer, converted into a text file, and read aloud to the student by a computer software program. There may be instances when a person will read the test material to the student.

Scribe – The role of the scribe is to write what is dictated. Scribes are not allowed to elaborate on what is being written. They are not allowed to answer questions or explain anything to the student. They are not to assist students in doing the work itself or to affect the outcome of an assignment or test in 
any way other than writing what is dictated. If a student is eligible for a scribe, we may also consider using a voice-to-text computer software program or allow the student to type answers on a laptop computer with the internet connection disabled.

Read Back – Someone will read back what has been written for an essay or short answer exam. The person doing the read back will not make suggestions or corrections.

Spell Check – The use of a spell checker is considered a reasonable accommodation only under very specific circumstances. With appropriate documentation, students will be allowed to use spell check only on exams where the ability to spell accurately is not considered an important part of what the exam is designed to test, as determined by the professor and/or the academic department. The spell checker could be a person or a device such as the Franklin Spell Checker.

Use of Calculator – Students will be allowed to use a non-scientific calculator if they have submitted appropriate documentation, and only on exams where the ability to add, subtract, multiply or divide accurately is not considered an important part of what the exam is designed to test, as determined by the professor and/or the academic department.

Testing Procedures for Faculty

Students who are approved for testing accommodations and who want to use their accommodations may choose to take their class tests and final exams in Access-Ability Services. AAS has established the following guidelines to facilitate the testing process:

  1. Students complete a Test Request Form from Access-Ability Services, Room D-205 for each class test and/or final exam they intend to take with AAS.
  2. The instructor and student agree on a date and time for the class tests. Final exams are administered on the same date as on KCC's published schedule.
  3. Instructor completes the appropriate section of the Test Request Form and keeps the “professor copy.”
  4. Student submits the completed Test Request Form to AAS at least 5 business days before the scheduled date of the test.
  5. Instructors are asked to deliver a copy of the class test to AAS in person, by fax (718-368-4782) or by e-mail (aas@kbcc.cuny.edu ) before the test date.
  6. AAS can obtain the final exams from D123 but would prefer if faculty give a copy of their exams directly to AAS as this gets the exam to us much more quickly and gives us more time to prepare for the student.
  7. If a class test re-scheduled, students submit a written note from the instructor indicating the new date and time of the test. Students who cannot take a final exam on the scheduled date should speak with the class professor and/or follow KCC's procedure for make-up finals.
  8. Students report on time to AAS (Room D205) on the scheduled date and time for the test. Students will be asked to get written permission from the instructor to take the test if they are:
    1. more than thirty (30) minutes late for a class test
    2. more than fifteen (15) minutes late for a final exam
  9. Students taking final exams will not be permitted to leave the testing area until one hour after KCC’s published exam start time.
  10. Extra materials/equipment will not be allowed during an exam:
    1. Unless AAS receives written approval from the instructor.
    2. If they are not related to the student’s accommodations.
    3. Unauthorized material/equipment will be taken away but the student will be allowed to finish the exam. AAS will submit an incident report to the instructor. The instructor decides the consequences, if any, to the student.
  11. All tests will be administered in accordance with the student’s approved testing accommodations.
  12. AAS test administration times may vary from start and end time of classroom administration of exams. This is due to the additional time required by students approved for extended test time and AAS hours of operation.  Students should inform professors of alternate start times in writing via Test Request Form

If you have any questions regarding the above procedures, please contact Sonia Velazquez, AAS Testing Coordinator, or Assistant Director Peter Santiago, LMHC at (718) 368-5175.

Testing Procedures for Students

Students are informed of the above procedures. The student versions are published in the AAS Student Handbook and on the reverse side of the Test Request Forms that students obtain from Room D-205.