Individuals with disabilities may be eligible for accommodations during the educational process as described by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Accommodations are determined on an individual basis and are intended to provide equal access to educational experiences by all individuals.

The ADA defines a disability as "any mental or physical condition that substantially limits an individual's ability to perform one or more major life activities" as compared with the average person in the general population. Major life activities include, but are not limited to, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, performing manual tasks, caring for one's self, working and learning.

The ADA requires an institution of higher education to provide reasonable accommodation to a qualified individual with a documented disability, provided that the accommodation does not create undue hardship. An undue hardship refers to any accommodation that would be unduly costly, substantially disruptive or that would fundamentally alter the nature of the program.

Examples of accommodations include:

• Extra testing time
• Distraction-reduced testing environment
• Note-taking assistance
• Adaptive equipment (chairs, desks, etc.)
• Assisted testing

Accommodation Process

The student/prospective student initiates a request for consideration of accommodations with the WSPN Administrator. Whenever possible, it is beneficial to begin the process for accommodations 6-8 weeks before the start of the program.

The student/prospective student must have a Disability Verification Form completed by a qualified professional. Qualified professionals include; physicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists. The qualifying professional must have experience in the area for which they are rendering a diagnosis and must not be a first degree relative of the student/prospective student.

Upon receipt of the Disability Verification Form, the WSPN Administrator will review the nature of the disability and if it is determined that a student is eligible for services, and Accommodation Plan will be developed and presented to the student for review.

Accommodation Plans will be reviewed at the end of each trimester. At that time the plan will be reviewed by the student and administration and a decision will be made to continue the plan as written, revise the plan, or discontinue the plan and accommodations.

Facility

FRCC campus is physically accessible. Adequate handicapped parking is available on campus.

Please call the WSPN administration at (636) 231-2141 for further assistance.