This post shares information about Chemeketa’s commitment to serving all students and our responsibility to comply with legal mandates regarding students with documented disabilities.
Chemeketa must provide services to students with disabilities where the student engages in an interactive process with professionally trained staff to determine eligibility for appropriate accommodations to provide equitable access to our courses, materials, facilities, and programs. The only office that offers this service for the Chemeketa service district is Student Accessibility Services (SAS).
If a student shares that they have a disability, please refer them to SAS (studentaccess@chemeketa.edu); do not attempt to provide accommodations independently for any student who states they have a documented disability. Federal regulatory guidance and Office of Civil Rights (OCR) resolutions require all employees to follow the process outlined by the college regarding authorized accommodations for documented disabilities.
When a student with a documented disability has an authorized accommodation, faculty members and the student will receive a Letter of Accommodation (LOA). The accommodations listed in the LOA are not optional and may not be modified or adjusted. Students may not be asked if providing an altered or other accommodation is acceptable; disregarding the accommodation is also unacceptable. Any concerns about the accommodations in the LOA from a faculty member should be discussed with SAS staff.
When a student with a documented disability has an authorized accommodation for captioned media or alternatively formatted materials, SAS will request the course materials from the faculty member. All materials, including optional course content or materials captioned through means other than the SAS office, must be shared to ensure the accessibility of the materials meets minimum standards. We are out of compliance if we ask students with disabilities if materials are “good enough” or if something “meets their needs.” We will ensure compliance and accessibility by ensuring all materials are appropriately accessible as the SAS staff determines.
SAS works as quickly as possible to ensure materials are appropriately accessible for students, but it appreciates at least five (5) business days’ notice for materials to be converted/captioned.
Separate from the SAS office handling our obligations to students with disabilities, Chemeketa offers faculty resources regarding universal design for learning methods and digital accessibility tools through the Center for Academic Innovation (CAI). Although the CAI team is a tremendous resource, and we encourage you to use these services, they do not replace the work of the SAS office.
We appreciate your ongoing commitment to student access and support and wish you a successful summer term!
Sincerely,
David Hallett, Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs
Marshall Roache, Executive Dean of Career and Technical Education
Chris Kato, Executive Dean of General Education and Transfer Studies
Holly Nelson, Chief Workforce Development and Community Success Officer
Manuel Guerra, Executive Dean of Student Affairs
Ryan West, Executive Dean of Student Affairs