Reasonable Accomodations and Referrals
Open to all students of the College of Technology, the a Academic Support Center provides study skills training, tutoring, academic and career advising, and a variety of services designed to enhance learning. Some disability specific services such as testing accommodations, adaptive equipment, and resource information services are also obtained at the Academic Support Center.
Academic adjustments are those changes made by the instructor that render classes accessible. Examples of academic adjustments may include extended testing times, substitute course requirements, lecture notes provided by instructors, or flexibility in attendance policy. Academic adjustments stem from agreements between the instructor and the student, with Disability Services acting as a resource for both parties.
While Disability Services does not advise students on academic matters, we do provide guidance to students on how to be smart consumers of academic advising services. Students are encouraged to meet with their Disability Services coordinator to determine strategies for addressing program accommodations or modifications with their academic advisers.
The University of Montana publishes an Access Map to provide information to students with mobility limitations. This map of the University's main campus in Missoula outlines the level of access in specific buildings or facilities. All buildings and facilities on campus are not fully accessible. The map gives an indication of access and includes such things as accessible curb cuts, accessible parking locations, and snow routes across campus. The map does not contain detailed information about each building or facility. For such information, call Disability Services. For updates on temporary changes in access, such as for construction or elevator maintenance, information is available on the Access Line at (406) 243-6666. The map is revised regularly and is published jointly by Disability Services and Facilities Services.
Residence Life on-campus dormitories and off-campus apartments in University Villages -- make accessible units available upon request. University Villages, in addition to its standard eligibility requirements, accepts students who use live-in personal assistants for independent living. Summit Independent Living Center provides information on accessible housing in the Missoula area.
Accessible parking places are located across campus and are identified on the Access Map and by the blue and white international access symbol. All parkers on campus must purchase a University parking permit from Campus Security. There are no charges for the supplemental disability parking decal. For the University disability decal, Campus Security requires appropriate verification from a physician or the Disability Services office. State authorized disability parking permits are honored. Those who have valid disability parking decals issued from any state need only purchase the standard University parking permit.
Disability Services provides assistance to applicants with the admissions process. The requirements for admission to the University are designed to measure a person's abilities and cannot under the law solely measure the limitations of a person's disability. Applicants who do not meet these requirements may request that the Admissions Committee review their individual circumstances for further consideration of eligibility. Disability Services has a representative on this committee and may provide advocacy in behalf of qualified applicants who may not meet the standard admissions criteria. To protect confidentiality, DSS recommends that applicants send documentation verifying their disability directly to the Disability Services office.
Advocacy is the most critical skill students with disabilities can develop in their pursuit of equality in education and, later, in employment and society. Disability Services staff work with students to help them understand their rights and responsibilities and to identify strategies for effective self-advocacy. This includes advocacy on a personal basis with instructors or other students, but also includes advocacy on a University-wide basis, or with non-University agencies such as Vocational Rehabilitation. Disability Services staff also take active roles in advocacy on every level.
Disability Services converts printed information into several alternate formats in order to make it accessible to students. The University of Montana's Disability Services program is among the nation's leaders in production of textbooks in electronic format, or e-text. In this format, students provide the print text, and Disability Services produces computer files on a CD. Thus students may read the book using their own computer or campus computers with the appropriate assistive technology. In addition, Disability Services produces CD's of recorded e-text using a voice synthesizer. Texts in large print and Braille are also available. Before producing alternative formats, Disability Services requires students to use resources such as the Montana Talking Books Library and Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic.
Alternative furniture may be provided to students for whom the standard desks and chairs in classrooms are inaccessible due to physical disability. Examples of alternative furniture include padded or supported seating and stand-up desks.
Auxiliary aids and services include a wide range of people and devices that ensure effective communication within the University. Communication between the University and students-course lectures, publications, and telephone services-must be just as effective for students with disabilities as for others. Disability Services honors the reasonable preferences of students in deciding which aids and services to apply. While Disability Services coordinators authorize auxiliary aids and services, management and application responsibilities rest with the student. In this way, the student controls employees and operates equipment as independently as possible.
Career Services offers a variety of services to students including:
Students with physical or health disabilities that result in mobility limitations have a civil right to choose courses on the basis of time, instructor or any other appropriate criteria regardless of where the course is initially located. DSS and the registrar coordinate classroom changes each semester to accommodate students registered in courses located in classrooms that are inaccessible to them. The only exceptions may be specifically equipped or dedicated classrooms.
The University of Montana offers training for all students in the operation of computers. Standard courses offered by the computer science department and short courses offered by Computing and Information Services provide training on a wide range of computer software and hardware. In addition to the training offered everyone, DSS coordinators authorize training on adaptive computer equipment for qualified students with disabilities. Computing and Information Services staff conduct this specialized training. As an option, some students take adaptive computer equipment training as an independent study course through the computer science department.
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provides crisis and short-term counseling. Counseling services include 24-hour emergency care and individual, couples and group counseling. CAPS also provides suicide intervention, specialty groups and off-campus agency referrals. Inquire at CAPS for additional group topic offerings.
The University of Montana will not reduce academic standards. When the student petitions for a course substitution, Disability Services will verify the functional limitations of the disability and rate the severity of need for the substitution. Petitions for substitution are considered on the merits of individual circumstances. The Graduation Committee and other academic authorities grant such substitutions, not Disability Services, since such petitions are strictly academic questions.
The University's Dining Services provides a nutritionist to assist students with nutrition and special diet planning. Contact Dining Services for assistance.
Students may request that their coordinator act as a resource for developing and implementing their own individualized approaches to learning based on the documentation that students have provided to Disability Services. Coupled with student input about their own functional limitations, the coordinator provides educational counsel so that students can make informed choices about relevant issues, such as how to manage time effectively, how to incorporate existing technologies, and how to best use auxiliary aides.
All undergraduate and graduate aid, including scholarships, grants, fee waivers, loans, and student employment, is monitored by this office. Students should request applications and further information by contacting the Financial Aid Office.
Disability Services coordinators refer students who need independent living services to a variety of agencies in Missoula. The University does not offer personal services in independent living. However, Missoula is home to Summit Independent Living Center, an agency that provides these services as well as advocacy for people with disabilities. Contact Summit at (406)728-1630 (V/TT).
Information technology refers to computers, telephones and other tools that facilitate communication at the University. Information technology must be as accessible to students with disabilities as it is for others. To ensure access to information technology, Disability Services provides a wide range of auxiliary aids and services. In addition, we provide training in the use of assistive technologies that create equal access to devices like computers and telephones. Another facet of information technology is the Internet. World Wide Web pages, Gopher and FTP sites, and other Internet utilities must be designed in such a manner as to assure program access.
Disability Services encourages students to advocate for reasonable accommodations with faculty at the start of each semester. Coordinators supply letters of verification to registered students upon request. Instructors have a legal right to request written verification that
Although students may choose to advocate independently of Disability Services, submitting letters of verification from our office may serve the student as the best protection of confidentiality.
Everyone has a legal right to information about the University's methods of compliance with civil rights laws. Notice that a variety of formats and locations must be provided by the University in such a way as to encourage people to request accommodations. Expect Access serves as one means of publishing such notice. Others include notice on the student application forms, course catalogs, recruitment media and posters displayed throughout campus. Alternative formats of these are available upon request.
The University recognizes that students with disabilities may require orientation in areas which go beyond the orientation services provided through Admissions and New Student Services. DSS supplements orientation with access and service information. Peer orientation can be obtained through the student group, the Alliance for Disability and Students at The University of Montana.
Oftentimes, the best teachers are one's peers. Peer mentors are students with disabilities who teach others about access to the University. They instruct fellow students with disabilities on such matters as best practices in academic advising, disclosure of disability and interaction with service providers. DSS coordinators may refer students to peer mentors, or students may contact the peers in the offices of the Alliance for Disability and Students of The University of Montana. Contact ADSUM at University Center, Room 205 or (406) 243-2636 (V/TT).
Priority registration allows students with disabilities the first option of enrollment in University courses for autumn and spring semesters. DSS coordinators grant priority registration to students who require advance planning to arrange accommodations. Priority registration is available only during pre-registration. Registration occurs via telephone or internet at Cyberbear and accommodations are available upon request. Although students may register any time throughout the pre-registration period, the University sets aside the first day of pre-registration for qualified students with priority. Procedures are outlined in the course schedule.
Accessible recreational opportunities are available through a variety of sources such as Campus Recreation, the ADSUM, Summit Independent Living Center, YMCA, and Western Montana Sports Fitness Center. Disability Services provides information about recreational access for the campus and the community.
Disability Services keeps a small library of disability resources available for review. Please feel free to stop in at the DSS office and examine the library on-site. A more comprehensive library is maintained by the Montana University Affiliated Rural Institute on Disabilities. The MUARID library is located in the basement of Student Health Services.
The University prioritizes snow routes through campus for snow removal to ensure access during winter months. These routes are displayed on the Access Map. Students can request added routes to be prioritized for snow removal through Disability Services. In the event that difficulties are encountered due to snow or ice, students can call either Disability Services, 243-2243 (Voice/Text) or the Facility Services Work Order Desk, 243-6091.
The University offers a study skills course, C&I 160: "Learning Strategy in Higher Education" to teach students how to study in college. Course instructors can provide individual instruction in adapting study skills to student needs. Students are encouraged to enroll in this course their first year at the University.
Students are responsible for arranging test accommodations. The process begins with a meeting with Disability Services coordinators to determine appropriate accommodations. The coordinator writes a letter of verification which, when presented by the student to an instructor, validates the need for accommodation. The student asks instructors for accommodations in a timely manner. After a request for accommodation is made, instructors and students should fully discuss and agree upon which test accommodations are needed. Instructors may either provide the accommodations independently or use the Disability Services test accommodation services. If Disability Services administers the test, students and instructors must use the Authorization for Test Modification form. In addition, Disability Services requires at least two (2) working days prior notice from the student. The student must contact the Disability Services Test Coordinator at Lommasson 154 or (406) 243-2616 (VTT) for notification.
Modifications in testing may include:
Disability Services staff can help students understand the important changes that occur when making the transition from high school to the University and, later, from the University to the next phase of their professional careers. Information about such things as how to plan for the transition and differences in legal protection are available in the New Students section of this website and in consultation with Disability Services coordinators.
The University has no intra-campus transportation system but does have access to community transportation services. Mountain Line is a fixed route city bus company with routes that run by campus. Increasingly, Mountain Line buses are equipped with wheelchair lifts. Another transportation option is the paratransit system for people with disabilities. Paratransit operates much like a cab service. Students make arrangements for rides, and the bus picks up and drops students off at locations of their choice. Students must first apply and be accepted to paratransit before they can use the service. The University covers the riders' fees for the fixed route and paratransit bus systems.
TRiO SSS is a federally-funded service that helps more than 400 students a year achieve academic success. Available services includes both individual and group tutoring, a two-credit course on improving learning strategies and study skills and individual service from one of three counselor/advisers on the staff. Three types of eligibility for TRiO are:
Disability Services informs students about tutoring services with independent providers if the student has the resources to pay for the tutoring. Oftentimes, students who are clients of Montana Vocational Rehabilitation choose this tutoring-payment option. Some departments provide walk-in tutoring programs such as Mathematics and the Writing Center.
Montana Vocational Rehabilitation comprises two divisions: Rehabilitation Services and Blind and Low Vision Services. Both divisions serve individuals whose disabilities are a substantial impediment to employment. MVR assists adults with disabilities in the achievement of vocational goals. It is within the scope of MVR to cover the costs of education when education is encompassed in the vocational goal. Included in MVR services are: vocational counseling, assistive technology purchases and training and career placement services. In addition, Blind and Low Vision Services provides orientation and mobility as well as rehabilitation instruction for the blind. (See our list of State and Local Resources for more information and links.)
Students with disabilities may have unique needs for accommodation. If an accommodation doesn't appear in this handbook, inquire at Disability Services by discussing the request with a coordinator.
Disability Services for Students encourages students with disabilities to register to vote. Voter registration cards, accommodations in completing the forms, and voter registration information is available at Disability Services.
