With a universally designed registration process, students with disabilities should be able to access all registration functions without accommodations. For example, web-based registration processes should be designed to be accessible to all students, including those who are blind and use screen-reader technology.
Disclosure of a disability is a personal choice. In a job interview, employers may inquire only about the prospective employee's ability to perform essential job functions. However, some individuals with obvious disabilities prefer to address the issue in the job interview to assure the potential employer of their ability to complete job functions. A request for a job accommodation can be made after the job is offered.
Talk with the student to see of you can modify your course delivery to make it accessible. For example, providing alternative text descriptions for graphic images can make the content of images accessible to a student who is blind using text-to-speech technology that translates only text. Consulting with the distance learning technical design staff on campus may be helpful for the immediate need, as well as for ensuring that future courses offered through this program are more accessible to students with disabilities.
Entry Point! is an internship program for college students with disabilities majoring in computer science, engineering, mathematics, or physical science. Entry Point! is sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). To inquire about becoming a part of this program, contact Entry Point! at 202-326-6649 (voice/TTY), 202-371-9849 (fax) or email addressed to LSummers@aaas.org.
Be sure that the library's web pages and other electronic and information resources are designed to be accessible to people with disabilities. Consider these items in ensuring accessible information technology.
There is a myth that if you have a college degree, you have a job. The fact is that approximately 53% of college graduates are unemployed or working in a job that doesn't require a bachelor's degree. It takes the average college graduate three to six months to secure employment after graduation. A student benefits from having a career-seeking strategy and previous work experiences. Otherwise, her resume might be lost in a stack of hundreds for a specific job.
Although each situation is different and the student is the best source of information regarding useful accommodations, the following accommodations are typical for a student with a health impairment:
The following functional limitations related to psychiatric disabilities may affect academic performance and may require accommodations (Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, 1997).
John has a severe learning disability that affects his ability to read. He uses a text-to-speech system to read computer screen text to him. He is attending his first semester at a small, private college. Each student at the school is given an email account for academic use. The directions for establishing and using the email account are available in printed format and on the computing services website.
John was having difficulty accessing the electronic information at the computing services website with his screen reading software.
My name is Erica. I am a college sophomore with low vision taking a multimedia and design course. I use screen magnification software to access electronic information on the computer.