General Disability Information

What is a Disability?

A disability is defined as a physical, mental, or emotional condition which affects one or more major life activities (such as processing information, writing, hearing, or seeing). The College is mandated by law, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the American with Disabilities Act (as amended, 2009) to ensure that: “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States…shall, solely by reason of…disability, be denied the benefits of, be excluded from the participation in, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Etiquette – Appropriate Terminology:

• Person-Centered Language – the individual is emphasized before the disability
• Disability – general term used for a functional limitation that interferes with a person’s ability, for example, to walk, lift, hear, or learn. It may refer to a physical, sensory, or mental condition. Use as descriptive noun or adjective, such as persons who are mentally and physically disabled or man with a disability.
• Handicap – (not a synonym for disability) describes a condition or barrier imposed by society, the environment, or by one’s own self. Handicap is derived from “cap in hand,” a phrase associated with beggars and begging. Handicap can be used when citing laws and situations but should not be used to describe a disability.
• Nondisabled – appropriate term for people without disabilities. Normal, able-bodied, healthy, or whole are inappropriate.

Disability Laws

What are Laws Related to Disability?

Section 504 protects the rights of qualified individuals who have disabilities; the law defines a “qualified person with a disability” as one “who meets the academic and technical standards requisite to admission or participation in the education program or activity.” Under the provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, “The College may not discriminate in the recruitment, admission, educational process, or treatment of students. Students who have self-identified, provided documentation of disability, and requested reasonable accommodations are entitled to receive approved accommodations of programs, appropriate academic adjustments, or auxiliary aids that enable them to participate in and benefit from all educational programs and activities.”

Rehabilitation Act of 1973

The purpose of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is to empower individuals with disabilities to gain employment, economic self-sufficiency, independence, inclusion, and integration into society. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was designed to ensure that any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance does not discriminate on the basis of disability for otherwise qualified persons. A person with a disability is defined as any person who (1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, (2) has record of such impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such impairment.

Major life activities include walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, caring for one’s self, and performing manual tasks.

For many years the Rehabilitation Act was seen as the cornerstone of disability rights legislation. Any post-secondary program receiving federal financial assistance has been required to provide accommodation for qualified people with disabilities since this Act. In fact, most post-secondary institutions must comply with Section 504, since almost all, even those that are private, receive federal funding of some type.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (as amended, 2008)

When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1990, many provisions of Section 504 were extended to public and private companies who do not receive federal funding. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires that people with disabilities be provided equal access to public programs and services. The ADA upholds and extends the standards for compliance set forth in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to employment practices, communications, and all policies, procedures, and practices that impact the treatment of students with disabilities. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 “no otherwise qualified individual with a disability shall, solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of a public entity.”

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

To ensure that the federal government would not perpetuate the discrimination that the vocational rehabilitation system was designed to mitigate Congress enacted civil rights protections for people with disabilities. On August 7, 1998, Congress amended Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (19 U.S.C. 794d) to expand the federal government’s responsibility to provide electronic and information technology which is accessible to, and usable by, people with disabilities. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act specifically covers federal agencies but has an impact on the greater public.

Section 508 requires Federal departments or agencies that develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, to ensure that the electronic and information technology is accessible. Section 508 requires that individuals with disabilities seeking information or services from a Federal department or agency, have access to, and use of, information and data comparable to that provided to individuals without disabilities.

Telecommunications Act

Another statute that lays out accessibility requirements and standards is the Telecommunications Act of 1996. As more and more educational opportunities require technology, telecommunications, and computers, the accessibility issues continue to change. The Act includes regulatory reform and effects on other laws including the need of Internet and Web site accessibility standards, as well as captioning and audio description of video, and access to telephone services.

Best Practices for Implementing Exam/Testing Accommodations

Students are responsible for providing each instructor with a copy of the Accommodation Memo through Accommodate as early in the semester as possible. Further, students are asked to make arrangements with their instructor(s) at least nine days in advance of the examination date to allow for logistical and proctoring arrangements. While ARC encourages faculty to administer and proctor their own exams, we recognize that locations for extended time and reduced distraction accommodations can sometimes be difficult to arrange. If an instructor is unable to proctor a student’s exam with accommodations, the student has the option to take their exam with the Accessibility Resource Center (see instructions on the Test Proctoring page). Exam accommodations that may be listed on accommodation memos are as follows:

Extended Time

• Extended Time – 1.5x (Time and One-Half) 
  Testing time equal to time-and-one-half of that granted to the class, applicable to any timed assessment (ie: quiz, pop quiz, test, exam, midterm, final).
• Extended Time – 2.0x (Double Time) 
  Testing time equal to double that granted to the class, applicable to any timed assessment (ie: quiz, pop quiz, test, exam, midterm, final).

Implementing Extended Time  

• • Option 1: Have students with extended time start the exam before the rest of the class so all students have the same end time.
  • Option 2: Have the entire class start the exam at the same time and have students with extended time stay after for their extended time. If the classroom reserved for class is not available after class time, faculty should work with their department to secure an alternate location for the remainder of the students’ exam time.
  • Option 3: Work with your academic department to reserve a separate room for students with extended time:
    • To take the exam at the same time as the rest of the class. ARC recommends assigning a designee (ie: TA, Administrator, etc.) to monitor/proctor students.
    • To take the exam at a different time than the rest of the class. ARC recommends assigning a designee (ie: TA, Administrator, etc.) to monitor/proctor students.
  • Option 4: Have the student reserve a space within the Accessibility Resource Center. Please note that there is no guarantee that a slot will be available at the same time as the exam in class. See booking expectations and procedures on the Test Proctoring page.

Take-Home/Untimed Exams

The accommodation of extended time is to be applied to timed exams only. For example, if you are giving all students two hours to complete what you consider to be a one hour exam, this would be considered “timed”. You would still need to calculate extended time accommodations based on the two hour time given to all students. Whereas, if you are giving all students a 5 day window to complete an exam, and a timer is not counting down once students begin/access the exam, this would be considered “not timed”. You would not add extended time to the 5 day window.

Reduced Distraction Test Setting

A reduced distraction test setting is a location outside the usual classroom with limited interruptions and minimal external stimuli, such as auditory and visual distractions.

Acceptable reduced distraction test settings include a classroom with a minimal number of other students taking an exam for the size of the space provided, a study/breakout room, a library space, a conference room, or an office. The number of students/seats will depend on the size of the classroom/testing space. For example, if the classroom normally accommodates 30 students, ARC recommends having 15-17 desks available.

Periodic Breaks During Exams

Students with an accommodation of “Periodic Breaks” should not receive additional time incorporated into their total testing period, unless there is also an approved accommodation for extended time.

Faculty Process for ARC-Administered Exams

ARC is available to provide proctoring Fall and Spring semesters, Monday through Friday from 9:00am-4:00pm. Students must request to take their exams with ARC at least 8 days in advance of the testing date. Due to limited space, we cannot guarantee that proctoring will be available during a preferred time slot. Students must obtain approval from their instructor before booking an exam with ARC. If approval is not obtained, the booking will be cancelled.

Faculty will receive an automated email each time a student requests to take an exam at ARC. Each automated email includes a link that will allow you to complete an Exam Instruction form and upload a copy of the exam to our secure and confidential database (i.e., Accommodate).

We rely on Faculty to provide exam instructions, a copy of the exam, and to confirm allowable exam materials. Our staff is preparing and administering exams for many students in many courses each day. To help ensure we are able to best represent you in our administration of your course exam, a copy of the exam, exam instructions, and all exam materials, including exams that require an Alternative Format (i.e.: enlarged font, a PDF-version, a hard-copy/paper version), exam passwords, scantrons, audio files, video clips, and PowerPoint slides must be provided to the Testing Center by 4:00pm (EST) one business day before the exam for ARC to proctor the exam. If the required exam materials are not provided by 4:00pm (EST) one business day before the exam, ARC will cancel the exam, and the faculty member will be responsible for proctoring the exam and providing the accommodations.

Instructions for uploading course exams can be found on page 10 of the Faculty Accommodate User Guide.

If you have any questions or need assistance uploading an exam, please contact the Accessibility Resource Center at 609-771-3199.

 

Exam Security and Academic Integrity

The ARC Testing Center employs multiple means of ensuring security of exams (e.g., the Accommodate database is a protected system, accessible only by ARC staff, exams are stored in locked file cabinets, etc.), and protecting academic integrity.  Any exceptional circumstances that may occur during an exam will be documented. Students are responsible for abiding by the College’s Academic Integrity Policy and the Instructor’s class policies while taking exams. Failure to abide by these policies may result in a report to the Office of Student Conduct.

Genio Access

Genio is an application that can be used from a computer or mobile device for recording lectures. Users can embed PDFs or PowerPoint slides to accompany the audio recording. Students can add their own text notes alongside the recording and can highlight sections of the audio for future reference. Students with an approved accommodation for the use of Genio will be required to complete an agreement that aligns with TCNJ’s Classroom Recording Policy. More information and tutorial videos can be found on Genio’s website. Instructors who are interested in learning more about Genio, can visit the Genio website or contact an Accessibility Specialist. Employees who would like to request access to Genio can complete the Genio Access Request form.