The College seeks to comply fully with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. It is the policy of the College that a good faith effort shall be made to meet the accommodation requests of persons with disabilities. Persons requesting accommodation may contact the campus Disability Services Coordinator. The 504/ADA accommodations request process for persons with disabilities is as follows:
- Disclosure of a disability is voluntary.
- All new students who attend the required Orientation course are given a copy of the ADA Fact Sheet/Accommodations Request Form and the name of the campus Coordinator and are informed of the accommodations request process.
- The accommodations request process begins when a student contacts the campus Disability Services Coordinator: Fayette Campus - Abby Parker, Ext. 5102; Hamilton Campus - Abby Parker, Ext. 5102; Jasper Campus - Sara Murray, Ext. 5901; Sumiton Campus - Sara Murray, Ext. 5901 and College Coordinator - Beth Roberts, Ext. 5385.
- The student and the Coordinator work together to determine the student’s campus-related accommodation needs. A good faith effort is made to provide appropriate accommodations and to fully comply with Section 504 and ADA guidelines.
- An Accommodations Request Form must be completed, identifying accommodations requested and other pertinent information. Forms are available from the Disability Services Coordinator, the placement test center, the Office of Student Services, in the Orientation Workbook and at www.bscc.edu.
- Accommodations will not be considered until the student has submitted the ADA Fact Sheet/Accommodations Request Form and any required documentation to the Coordinator. If accommodations are granted, they begin on or after the date of approval. Under no circumstances will accommodations be granted retroactively.
- If official documentation is required, information release forms are available from the coordinator to assist the student in obtaining official documentation of disability from physicians or other agencies.
- Once a student meets with the Disability Services Coordinator to request classroom accommodations and provides any needed documentation of disability, the Coordinator will send a Documentation of Disability Form to each of the student’s instructors to inform them of the accommodations that must be met in their classroom.
- The student must meet with the Coordinator at the beginning of each academic term for which classroom accommodations are requested so that the instructors for each term can be notified of the accommodations.
- The student will then meet with each instructor to discuss the implementation of each authorized accommodation. Instructors will not initiate accommodations without the student’s consent.
- Non-classroom accommodation requests are forwarded by the Coordinator to the appropriate College official for implementation.
- Completed Accommodations Request Forms and any documentation of disability are confidential and are stored in a locked file separate from the student’s permanent student record.