Learning and Physical Disabilities Services - Frequently Asked Questions

No. Lenoir-Rhyne University does not require students to update their documentation while they are enrolled. However, if an accommodation is requested that is not supported by the students existing documentation, additional documentation will need to be submitted.

Additionally, testing agencies such as the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which administers the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and the PRAXIS (for education majors) may require that documentation meet their own criteria. For example, a student with a learning disability who submits documentation to the Disabilities Coordinator at L-R that is two years old when they enter as a freshman will in all likelihood need to be re-tested for their learning disability if they want accommodations on an ETS administered test taken during their senior year. This is because ETS requires that learning disability documentation be no older than five years old. While L-R does not require that students be re-evaluated to receive services, students may have to be re-evaluated to be eligible for accommodations in other organization’s services or programs.

Back to the Top

Does Lenoir-Rhyne provide diagnostic testing for students who may have a learning disability or for students who need to update their learning disability related documentation?

No. Lenoir-Rhyne University does not provide diagnostic testing.

Back to the Top

Will a student with a disability receive the same accommodations they received in high school?

Not necessarily. Postsecondary institutions are under very different obligations than high schools. Universitys and Universities look at how an accommodation will affect the nature of the class and can deny accommodations that fundamentally alter the nature of a class or institutional program or service. Additionally, Universitys and universities do not have to provide accommodations that will pose an undue administrative or financial burden. What is an undue administrative or financial burden will vary from institution to institution, depending upon financial and other resources.

Back to the Top

How do professors know a student is to receive disability related academic accommodations?

Each semester that a student wishes to receive academic accommodations they need to meet with the Disabilities Coordinator to request accommodations. The Disabilities Coordinator will provide the student with letters that state the accommodations the student is to receive in class. The student then gives these letters to each of their professors.

Back to the Top

If a student has a class with a professor that is already aware of the student’s disability, do they still need a modification letter at the beginning of the semester?

Yes. Don’t assume the professor will remember what types of accommodations a student is eligible to receive. Also, if the student does not present the letter to the professor and the student does not get the accommodations they need from the professor, the student will have little recourse, as they never requested a modification in that class.

The modification letter is verification that a request for a disability related modification was made by the student and approved by the Disabilities Coordinator.

Back to the Top

If a student with a disability begins a course and does not request accommodations but has difficulty later in the semester, can they request accommodations and re-take prior tests with accommodations?

No. Accommodations will never be granted retroactively. However, if the student in the above scenario is approved for accommodations they will receive them from that point forward.

Back to the Top

Are all learning disabled students allowed into the foreign language substitution courses?

No. All requests for entry into Lenoir-Rhyne’s cultural enrichment program are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Students who wish to enter the cultural enrichment program to fulfill the foreign language requirement of the core curriculum will need to provide clear documentation from an appropriate professional that illustrates that as a direct result of the diagnosed impairment they can not learn a foreign language. Merely showing the presence of a disabling condition, or that foreign language courses will be difficult or challenging, is not sufficient to enter the cultural enrichment program as foreign languages courses can be difficult or challenging for non-disabled students.

Back to the Top

Why are there differences in high school disability related accommodations and what is available at Universitys and universities?

The primary law under which services in K-12 schools are provided is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under this law schools tailor the curriculum around the student and their needs so they will be successful in the school setting. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), institutions of higher educations are only required to make reasonable accommodations that will provide the disabled student equal access to the organizations programs, services and activities. Unlike high school accommodations, the reasonable accommodations postsecondary institutions provide are not intended to ensure success or fundamentally alter classes or programs.

Back to the Top

Does L-R provide “un-timed testing” as an academic modification?

In general the answer to this question is, no. As with all accommodations, the request for additional testing time is made on a case-by-case basis. Most students who receive additional testing time as an accommodation receive time-and-a-half. This means if the in-class test or quiz is to take 50 minutes, the student approved to receive time and a half would be allowed to use up to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Students with severe disabilities may receive double time to use when taking in-class tests or quizzes if their documented disability is such that double time would be needed to ensure equal access to the test.

Remember, as with all accommodations, additional testing time is used as a reasonable accommodation to provide disabled students equal access to the test. The provision of extended testing time does not guarantee a student will be able to complete the test. This is because, in classes where tests are timed, non-disabled students may or may not be able to complete the exam.

Back to the Top

Does the Disability Services Office provide note taking services?

Yes, note taking services are available for students with learning and physical disabilities. Note takers are volunteers from within the class the disabled student is taking. Note takers can be obtained in on of two ways; either the disabled student can ask another student if they would act as a note taker for them, or the disabilities coordinator can speak to the professor of the course and ask them to assist the student in identifying a note taker. Once a note taker is found the Disability Services office can provide the student with carbonless note taking paper that can be used, or the student can bring in notes that were taken for them and the Disabilities Coordinator will make copies of the notes for the student.

Back to the Top

Can students with disabilities tape record classes?

There has never been an instance where a student wanted to tape record a class and was told they couldn’t by the professor. If however, this unlikely event would happen, and the student’s documentation supported the use of a recording device in class, the Disabilities Coordinator would contact the professor and ask that the student be allowed to tape record their classes as a reasonable modification due to the student’s disability.

Back to the Top

Are textbooks available on audiocassette?

Yes, for students with documented reading impairments textbooks are available on audiocassette. However, there are times when particular books have not yet been recorded, or because of lack of demand may not ever be available on tape. In these instances the Disability Services Office will make an effort to record the most important chapters of a book for the student, but the office will need several weeks advanced notice of when the chapter will be needed and the Office can not guarantee the recording will be completed. The best solution for students who have disabilities that require the use of textbooks on audiocassette, that find themselves without the tapes they need, is to contact Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) to see if they can provide reading services or some type of assistive reading technology. The student will need to contact VR well in advance to see if they qualify for VR services. VR is a state agency that provides services to people with disabilities to assist them in gaining employment. All states have a VR agency, although in some states the name of the agency may be different. The Disabilities Coordinator can provide additional information about Vocational Rehabilitation.

Back to the Top

Does the Disability Services Office offer tutoring?

No. All tutoring is available through the Peer Academic Support Services Tutoring Program. This program is open to all L-R students without regard to disability.

Back to the Top

What other campus resources are available for students with disabilities?

Students with disabilities have access to the same support services that are available to all students.

The Center for Communication and Learning – Uses peer Consultants to assist students in improving their writing or public speaking ability. For more information call campus extension 7436.

www.lrc.edu/writing/index.htm

The Career and Personal Development - Educates students and alumni about effective career decision-making and planning as well as dedicated to giving short-term, problem-resolution therapy for students for such as Test Anxiety, General Anxiety, Depression, Grief or Substance Abuse. For more information call campus extension 7252.

www.lrc.edu/student/career/index.html

Back to the Top