Students Rights and Responsibilities
What are a Student's Rights?
Any students who have a disability have the right to timely reasonable accommodation of that disability in order to provide them with the same opportunity for success enjoyed by students who do not have disabilities.
Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (and amendments) "No otherwise qualified person with a disability in the United States...shall, solely by reason of...disability, be denied the benefits of, be excluded participation in, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."
Students with disabilities at Loyola Marymount University have the right to:
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equal access to courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities available through the University;
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reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids determined on an individualized basis;
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appropriate confidentiality in regard to their disability. Any information regarding specific diagnosis or medication information will be released only with the written permission of the student. Students can choose to disclose that information to faculty on their own if they wish, but the DSS office will only release information if the student consents for this to happen in writing;
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information reasonably available in accessible formats.
Should you feel that you have been discriminated against because of a disability, you should review the LMU Appeal and Complaint Resolution Procedure for Students with Disabilities to determine how you should go about bringing it to the attention of the University.
What are a Student's Responsibilities?
Students with disabilities are protected by privacy and confidentiality policies. Thus, no accommodations will be arranged or requested unless the student 1) requests accommodation services, and 2) provides the necessary verifying documentation. Once all the documentation has been provided, DSS will review the student's file and inform the student of the outcome of the review in writing.
To request accommodations at LMU, students must:
Once a student has been approved for accommodations, they must:
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Download and complete the top line of the Reasonable Accommodation form. One form must be completed for each class the student has registered and will need accommodations for.
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Meet with the DSS staff during the first two weeks of each new semester to review accommodations. At this time the DSS staff member will complete the rest of the Reasonable Accommodation Form for the student to submit to appropriate faculty.
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Meet with their professors – have them sign the Reasonable Accommodation form, give them the yellow copy and return the white copy to the DSS office. When giving the Reasonable Accommodation form to their professors students are encouraged to discuss with them their disability and how it affects their learning.
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Maintain the academic and institutional standards required of all LMU students.
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Attend all classes. Accommodations do not take the place of attending class.
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Plan their week for study time and homework preparation. It is recommended that students schedule three (3) hours of homework for each hour spent in class.
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Contact other agencies for services for which they may be eligible (Social Security, Vocational Rehabilitation, etc.).
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Arrange for personal attendants if needed, whether paid for by an agency or by the student (colleges and universities are not required under ADA to provide personal attendants, tutors or personal items such as hearing aids, prostheses, individually designed and fitted special extensions or wands for computer or other resource operation).
What are the Rights of the Disability Support Services Office?
The DSS Office has the right to:
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maintain the University's academic standards;
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request current documentation from a student completed by an appropriate professional source to verify the need for reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids;
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discuss a student's need for reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids with the professional source of his/her documentation with the student's signed consent authorizing such discussion;
- request additional information, with the student's permission, from appropriate professionals if initial information lacks clarity about the need for accommodations.
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select among equally effective and appropriate accommodations, adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids in consultation with students with disabilities;
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deny a request for accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids if the documentation does not identify a specific disability, the documentation fails to verify the need for the requested service(s), or the documentation is not provided in a timely manner;
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refuse to provide an accommodation, adjustment, and/or auxiliary aids that is inappropriate or unreasonable including any that:
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pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others;
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constitute a substantial change or alteration to an essential element of a course program; or
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pose undue financial or administrative burden on the University.
What are the Responsibilities of the Disability Support Services Office?
The DSS Office has the responsibility to:
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ensure that University courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities, when viewed in their entirety, are offered in the most integrated and appropriate settings;
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provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids for students with disabilities upon a timely request by a student;
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and, maintain appropriate confidentiality of records and communication concerning students with disabilities except where disclosure is required by law or authorized by the student.