Glossary of Terms

Academic Adjustments

Modifications to academic requirements or procedures that are necessary to ensure that qualified students with disabilities receive equal access to education. These modifications should not alter the academic integrity of the course. That is, essential skills should not be waived; nor should the content be watered down.

Accommodation Process

The procedures by which students establish their eligibility for disability-related accommodations (i.e., academic adjustments) and by which accommodations are decided, implemented, and revised as needed. We describe this as a five-step process in the accommodation process section.

Alternate Format Materials

The production of print materials in a format that enables a person with a vision impairment to read the materials using adaptive skills or technologies. Alternate format materials may include large print, electronic text, and Braille.

Americans with Disabilities Act, the "ADA"

The Americans with Disabilities Act is a wide-ranging legislation intended to make society more accessible to people with disabilikties. It protects fundamental rights and extends equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities to the areas of public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications.

Under the ADA, a person with a disability is defined as any person who...

has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities
has a record of such impairment
is regarded as having such an impairment

The ADA also clarifies the Section 504 phrase "otherwise qualified" individual with a disability, as one, "either...with or without reasonable modification to rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural, communication, or transportation barriers, or the provision of auxiliary aids and services, meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or the participation in programs or activities..."

Sections 504 and 508 of The Rehabilitation Act apply to colleges and universities receiving federal financial assistance. The mandates of the ADA apply to all institutions of higher education, regardless of the receipt of federal funds.

Assistive / Adaptive Technology (AT)

Equipment or software items designed or used to compensate for areas of disability or functional limitations. It allows persons with disabilities the same access to information and production as their peers.

According to Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities ACT of 1988 (Tech Act; P.L. 100, 407), and AT device refers to "any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off-the-shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities." Rasking and Bryant (1996) note that in some instances the device may assist, augment, or supplement task performance in a given area of disability; while in others, it may be used to circumvent or bypass specific deficits entirely.

Captioning

A process that allows individuals who are hard of hearing to access audio information on video or film presentations. Captions are printed scripts of the audio information that appear on the bottom of the screen. Captioning is accomplished with various technologies, including stenography and specialized software.

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)

An enlarging device, used by persons with vision impairments or learning disabilities, composed of a zoom lens and a television screen or computer monitor to enlarge print or visual materials.

Disability

"Any individual who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such an individual; any individual who has a record of such an impairment; and any individual who is regarded as having such an impairment." (ADA, 1990).

Major life activities may include, but are not limited to:

walking
hearing
seeing
learning
caring for oneself
breathing
performing manual tasks
working

Disability Service Office

At Cal Poly Humboldt, the disability service office is the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC).

Student Disability Resource Center
Learning Commons, Lower Library
Phone: 707.826.4678
TDD: 707.826.5392
Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm
Director: Kevin O'Brien
http://www.humboldt.edu/disability

Documentation

Comprehensive written validation of a person's disability and the functional limitations of the disability provided by an appropriate professional qualified to make a specific type of diagnosis. The documentation must be given to service providers before services, accommodations, and auxiliary aids can be approved. Faculty generally do not have access to this medical information.

Emergency Evacuation for Persons with Disabilities

For the purposes of these evacuation procedures, individuals should be considered as having disabilities if they are unable to evacuate the building without assistance, or if their time to exit the building would be much greater than the average building occupant. Under this policy, any situation in which building occupants are evacuated from a building will be considered an "emergency" situation for individuals with disabilities. Any situation in which an individual with a disability can communicate that a clear and present danger exists will be considered an "emergency" under this policy.

Essential Skills

Essential skills are the skills that the course is intended to teach. The concept of essential skills is important because the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that essential skills should not be waived or "watered down". Otherwise, upon graduation, students with disabilities would not be competent to the same extent as their peers without disabilities.

Hard of Hearing / Hearing Loss

A disability that affects the ability to hear. Hard of hearing as generally used denotes that there are different degrees of hearing loss, which may be mile, moderate or severe. Individuals who are hard of hearing may or may not use hearing aids. Though individuals have a hearing loss, they still use auditory means for learning and communication.

Interpreter

A trained professional who assists individuals who are deaf with a variety of communication services, including sign language, and tactile or oral interpretation of verbally expressed communication.

Non-Apparent Disabilities

Disabilities that are not readily apparent or observable. Non-apparent disabilities include learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, psychological disabilities, medical or chronic health impairments, some visual impairments, and hearing impairments.

Reasonable Accommodations

Adaptations intended to lessen the educational impact of the individual's disability without compromising the integrity of the academic program or course. Accommodations may include instructional strategies, technology, and/or aids.

Student Disability Resource Center

At Cal Poly Humboldt, the disability service office is the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC).

Syllabus Statement - Example

As per the Humboldt Policy on Content of Syllabi, the following language should be included in your syllabus:

Students with Disabilities: Persons who wish to request disability-related accommodations should contact the Student Disability Resource Center in the Learning Commons, Lower Library, 826-4678 (voice) or 826-5392 (TDD). Some accommodations may take up to several weeks to arrange.
http://www.humboldt.edu/disability/

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) refers to the process of making the course concepts and skills more accessible to students with differing learning styles or physical, sensory or linguistic abilities. UDL seeks to accommodate the widest range of students possible. For example, captioning is an absolute necessity for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. It is also a great help to students who speak English as a second language, those with learning disabilities, and others. Captioning is especially helpful if there is noise from fans, construction, or other distractions. Another example of UDL is to post outlines, lecture notes, copies of overheads and PowerPoint slides on the Web.

UDL Background

The concept of universal design originated in architectural planning. Consideration was placed on designing physical spaces built to be accessible rather than adapting existing architecture to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities at a later time. Researchers in education adapted the architectural concept of universal design to learning to support an increasingly diverse student body, including students with disabilities.

UDL Principles

UDL has been explained within a set of principles. Various authors have defined these principles differently. If interested, the following web resources have more information:

Visual Impairment

A disability that involves either total lack of sight or limited sight.

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