Accessibility & Accommodations

Students may request accommodations:

• New accommodations at any point during the semester
• Adjustments to existing accommodations
• Temporary or short-term accommodations due to injury, illness, or changing conditions

Accessibility Services will work with students to respond to changing needs in a timely manner. Follow these steps to request any services you may need.

Step 1 – Identify Barriers in the Learning Environment and Complete Intake Application

To begin the accommodation process, students are encouraged to identify any barriers in the learning environment that may impact their ability to fully participate in courses. Barriers can vary and may relate to access to course materials, classroom activities, testing conditions, facility access, or the use of technology. Once barriers are identified, Accessibility Services can work with students to explore reasonable supports and accommodations designed to help reduce or remove these challenges. Accommodations are determined on an individual basis and are based on documented barriers rather than a specific diagnosis.

A variety of supports and adaptive resources may be available, including but not limited to:

* Test Proctoring: All students testing with accommodations are provided a safe and secure testing environment. As part of the check‑in process, students may be asked to turn off and turn in cell phones and smart watches, show that no earbuds are present, and empty pockets if requested. These procedures follow testing industry best practices and are in place to support student success. Testing practices may change over time; students are encouraged to contact the Accessibility Services Coordinator for the most current information.

Students are welcome to discuss their individual needs with Accessibility Services to determine what supports may be available to help them succeed.

Once Barriers have been identified, students should complete the Accessibility Services Initial Intake Application.

• Accessibility Services Initial Intake Application

This application is available in alternate formats upon request. Please contact Accessibility Services if you need assistance completing this form at dswackhamer@sscc.edu or 937-393-3431 ext. 2604.

Step 2 – Submitting Documentation

To begin the accommodations process, students should submit disability‑related documentation to Disability Services prior to their scheduled appointment. Documentation must be completed by a qualified professional (such as a physician, counselor, or licensed therapist) and should describe how the disability impacts the student’s access to the educational environment.

If you need a medical verification form, please contact Disability Services at dswackhamer@sscc.edu

How to Submit medical documentation

• Submit completed documentation by email only
• Email documentation to: Dana Swackhamer - dswackhamer@sscc.edu
• Faxed documentation is not accepted

Once documentation is received, Disability Services will review the information and schedule a meeting with the student to discuss reasonable accommodation options, consistent with Section 504 and the ADA.

Step 3 – Make an Appointment

Accessibility Coordinator will contact the student to schedule an appointment to have an interactive meeting with the student.

Step 4 – Discuss Special Needs

If all paperwork is in order for your scheduled appointment with Accessibility Services, discussion can proceed regarding the best method of equal access. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.

Accessing Accommodations

The student will receive an Accommodation Letter from the Accessibility Services Office at the end of the accessibility intake process. This letter confirms that the student is registered with the Accessibility Services Office at the college level, and therefore at Southern State Community College, students are responsible for sharing their accommodation letter with their professors, in order to receive reasonable accommodations. The student is responsible for following up with the Office of Accessibility Services if questions or concerns arise.

Each semester of enrollment, the student will be responsible for:

• Giving a copy of their class, quiz, and exam schedule to the Office of Accessibility Services prior to the start of every semester to reserve test proctoring space and personnel; and
• Picking up, completing and returning paperwork within two weeks after the beginning of the semester.

The Accessibility Services webpage contains all the policies and procedures pertaining to Accessibility Services at Southern State. Students are encouraged to review this webpage at their earliest convenience.

Below is Southern State's Policy for Accommodations for Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs and Practices of Students.

Policy Statement

This document will act as the policy and procedure for H.B. 353, entitled "The Testing Your Faith Act." The act requires each state institution of higher education to adopt a policy that reasonably accommodates the sincerely held religious beliefs and practices of individual students regarding exams, other academic requirements, and absences for reasons of faith or religious or spiritual belief system.

For more information about Religious Accommodations, students should contact the Learning Services and Accessibility Coordinator, Dana Swackhamer at dswackhamer@sscc.edu or 937-393-3431 x2604.

Absences and Alternative Accommodations

A student is permitted to be absent for up to three days each semester to take holidays for reasons of faith or religious or spiritual belief system or to participate in organized activities conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church, or other religious or spiritual organization. There will be no academic penalty as a result of a student's absence under the policy. However, the student is required to fulfill the required student learning outcomes.

Alternative accommodations will be provided for students who miss exams or other academic requirements as a result of such absences, if:

• The student's sincerely held religious belief or practice severely affects the student's ability to take an exam or meet an academic requirement; and
• Within the first 14 days of a course or 14 days before the dates of absence which ever comes first, the student provides the instructor with written notice of the requested dates for alternative accommodations.

Instructor Responsibilities

Under the act, an instructor must accept without question the sincerity of a student's religious or spiritual belief system and keep alternative accommodation requests confidential. An instructor also must schedule, without prejudicial effect, another reasonable time and date (either before or after scheduled dates) for the missed alternative exam or other academic requirement.

In addition, the act requires each course syllabus to include the institution's policy on requesting accommodations and the contact information of a person who can provide further information.

Grievance Procedure

Students wishing to file a complaint/ grievance to the institution regarding Religious Accommodations or policy implementation may do so by filling out the Report an Accessibility/Disability Concern form.

List of Religious Holidays/Holy Days

These resources will lead you to more information on disability services.

• Making the Transition from High School to College for Students with Disabilities
• This guide provides information to students with disabilities that are making the transition from High School to College.
• High School vs. College Checklist
• This checklist provides information for students with disabilities on the steps to be taken while still in High School and once they're in College.

The following material can assist faculty in working with students with disabilities. If you need more information or aid on a specific scenario, please contact Accessibility Services.

• Guide to Working with Deaf & Hard of Hearing Students
• This guide covers a variety of topics on working with deaf or hard of hearing students including how to successfully communicate and how to use accommodations to better the student’s experience.
• Disability Services FAQs
• This guide provides answers to frequently asked questions in working with students with disabilities.
• PepNet Tipsheet
• This guide provides tips,guidelines, and terms for working with deaf students.

This Grievance Procedure is established to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs or benefits by Southern State Community College. The College's personnel policy governs employment related complaints of disability discrimination.

The complaint should be in writing and contain information about the alleged discrimination such as name, address, phone number of complainant and location, date and description of the problem. Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or tape recordings of the complaint, will be made available for persons with disabilities, upon request. The complaint should be submitted by the grievant and/or his/her designee as soon as possible, but no later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to:

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, the Coordinator of Learning Services & Accessibility, or his/her designee, will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, the Coordinator of Learning Services & Accessibility, or his/her designee, will respond in writing, and, where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, such as large print, Braille or audio tape. The response will explain the position of the College and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.

If the response by the Coordinator of Learning Services & Accessibility, or his/her designee, does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or his/her designee may appeal the decision within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the Dean of Student Affairs or his/her designee.

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the Dean of Student Affairs or his/her designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the Dean of Student Affairs or his/her designee will respond in writing, and, where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, with a final resolution of the complaint.

All written complaints received by the Coordinator of Learning Services & Accessibility, or his/her designee, appeals to the Dean of Student Affairs, or his/her designee, and responses from these two offices, will be retained by the College for at least three years.

Southern State is committed to diversity, inclusion and accessibility in everything we do. That is why we are continuously taking steps to improve our site.

Although a variety of access technologies are available for use with the Internet, we recommend using Microsoft Edge 135 or 136, Google Chrome 135 or 136, or Firefox 137 or 138 or higher to provide you with the highest level of browser accessibility.

If you are blind or visually impaired, these pages were designed to be accessible with most industry-standard screen readers. However, we recommend JAWS for Windows version 15 or later for the best speech synthesis.

Our Current Accessibility Features

• Alternative text detail for images and other non-text elements
• Structural markup to indicate headings and lists to aid in page comprehension
• Proper labels for form fields
• Association of all data cells in a data table with their headers
• "Skip to Main Content" option viewable/selectable through keyboard navigation
• Style sheets to enhance the appearance and functionality of the site (content is still properly presented and comprehendible if style sheets are not functional)
• Fluid, responsive layout to adjust the content to fit any screen resolution including mobile devices
• Contact our Office of Accessibility Services to find out more about services available to SSCC faculty, staff and students.

If you are an individual with a disability and are having difficulties with materials hosted by SSCC, please fill out the Accessibility/Disability Concern Form:

As we continue to improve our site, we will reflect any changes within our web accessibility statement.

It is the mission of Accessibility Services at Southern State:

• To provide reasonable educational adjustments and accommodations for all individuals along the learning continuum;
• To see that those who have documented a qualified physical, mental or learning disability be given equal access to participate in opportunities, programs and services offered by the college; and
• To share knowledge and access to resources which enable acceptance and increase comfort levels with diversity.

Unless, in doing so, the nature of the college's programs or services:

• Would be changed or result in undue hardship to the college; or
• Would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of that individual or others.