What are reasonable accommodations?
Accommodations are modifications to the ways in which things are usually done. The purpose of effective accommodations is to provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate and benefit from college. The disability services office at each campus works with students with disabilities and other campus officials to resolve questions of ‘reasonable accommodation’ and other issues related to the institution’s compliance with disability laws. Reasonable accommodations can be provided in various ways. The following are brief descriptions and examples of the most common categories of accommodations that permit a qualified student with a disability to effectively participate in the educational process. • Changes to a classroom environment or task; examples might include: extended time for an exam, the use of a dictionary or spell checker, materials in alternative formats such as large print, audio tape or computer disk. • Removal of architectural barriers; examples might i
Reasonable Accommodations are adjustments to policy, practice, and programs that “level the playing field” for students with disabilities and provide equal access to Columbia’s programs and activities. Examples include the administration of exams, services such as note-taking, sign language interpreters, assistive technology, and coordination of accessible housing needs. Accommodation plans and services are custom designed to match the disability-related needs of each student and are determined according to documentation and the student’s program requirements.
A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a course, program, service, job, facility or activity that enables a qualified person with a disability to have an equal opportunity. Institutions are obligated to make reasonable accommodations only to know limitations of an otherwise qualified individual. Reasonable accommodations should not alter a course’s essential components or in any way “water down” the curriculum or the standards of the institution.
Reasonable accommodations are adjustments or modifications which range from making the physical work environment accessible to restructuring a job, providing assistive equipment, providing certain types of personal assistants (e.g., a reader for a person who is blind, an interpreter for a person who is deaf), transferring an employee to a different job or location, or providing flexible scheduling. Reasonable accommodations are tools provided by employers to enable employees with disabilities to do their jobs, just as the employer provides the means for all employees to accomplish their jobs. For example, employees are provided with desks, chairs, phones, and computers. An employee who is blind or who has a visual impairment might need a computer which operates by voice command or has a screen that enlarges print. This information is covered in J. J. Keller’s Americans With Disabilities Compliance Manual.
