Disability Services

Accommodations must be requested 45 days prior to the start of the semester to ensure reasonable accommodations are secured before the start of classes. Follow these steps to request any services you may need.

Step 1 – Identify Needs

A variety of support and adaptive equipment can be made available that allows a student with a disability to participate at Southern State. These services include, but are not limited to:

Step 2 – Make an Appointment

Appointments to discuss needed accommodations should be made at least eight weeks prior to the beginning of the semester in which the student plans to enroll.

Step 3 – Submit Information

The required documentation should be submitted to Disability Services two weeks prior to your appointment in order to discuss eligibility for accommodations.

Some possible types of documentation include:

• Evaluative Team Reports (ETR) that are no more than three years old
• Doctor’s statements (signed and typed on letterhead)
• Hospital records
• Medical records (family physician, clinics, etc.)
• Psychological reports
• Letters of verification from the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation (BVR)
• Southern State accommodation request forms (found above)

• Release of Information Form

The Release of Information form will assist in obtaining documentation.

Please be sure that all information is marked as CONFIDENTIAL and mail it to:

• Disability Services
• Southern State Community College
• 100 Hobart Drive
• Hillsboro, OH 45133

Step 4 – Discuss Special Needs

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

Accessing Accommodations

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

• Giving a copy of their schedule to the Office of Disability Services prior to the semester; and
• Picking up, completing and returning paperwork within two weeks after the beginning of the semester.

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

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

• Overview of College Resources for Students with Disabilities - BestColleges.com
• This guide explains the legal rights of students with disabilities (both physical and learning disabilities) and provides links to sites, apps and software resources designed to aid students with specific types of disabilities.
• 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 Disability 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 Disability Services, 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 Disability Services, 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 Disability Services, 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 Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management or his/her designee.

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management or his/her designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management 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 Disability Services, or his/her designee, appeals to the Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, 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 Internet Explorer 9 or 10, or Firefox 41 or higher to provide you with the highest level of browser accessibility. When using programs that use Java we recommend that you use Java 7-79 or less.

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 Disability 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.