Accommodations

To request academic accommodations, please take the following steps to register with the Accessibility Services Office:

  1.  Apply for Services

  2. Provide documentation of your accessibility to the coordinator of accessibility services. Documentation may come from an appropriate professional such as a medical doctor, psychologist and/or psychiatrist or a high school IEP/504 Plan. Documentation should be current and contain the following information:

    • Diagnosis of your accessibility

    • Limitations the impairments have on your learning/major life activities

    • Recommendations for academic accommodations that would enable you to compensate for those limitations with respect to the educational program

  3. Provide documentation. Print the Provider Assessment Form for your provider to complete. Documentation and accommodation requests should be made at least three weeks prior to the start of a course or event in order to allow adequate time to process your request. Requests received later than this will be considered; however, there is a risk that your request cannot be reasonably evaluated or implemented before the course or event begins.

  4. Upon receipt of documentation and the Application for Students with Disabilities form, the coordinator of accessibility services will meet with you to determine your accommodation(s).

How are academic accommodations determined?

A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a course, program, service, job, activity or facility that enables a qualified individual with a accessibility to have an equal opportunity to attain the same level of performance or to enjoy equal benefits and privileges as are available to an individual without a accessibility.

The determination of reasonable accommodations considers the following:

  • Physical barriers and the array of accommodations that might remove the barriers
  • Whether the student has access to the course, program, service, activity or facility without accommodations
  • Whether essential elements of the course, program, service, activity or facility are compromised by the accommodations

What academic accommodations are available?

The Accessibility Services Office provides access, accommodations, and advocacy for NICC students who have documented disabilities. Academic needs are determined by the documentation and a consultation with the student. The following list contains examples of accommodations. This list is not all-inclusive, as individual needs may warrant other accommodations:

  • Accessible textbooks
  • Tape recorder for a lecture
  • Closed caption for the hearing impaired
  • Sign language interpreter
  • Notetaker/scribe
  • Adjustable tables/chairs
  • Enlarged-type documents
  • Mobility assistance
  • Sound amplification
  • Assistive computer software/hardware

Test-Taking Accommodations

  • Reader
  • Scribe
  • Distraction-reduced testing area
  • Extended time
  • Use of calculator, computer or other adaptive equipment