ADA: Adjustment of Attendance

1. Attendance is an essential component of post-secondary education and students are expected to comply with the class attendance-related requirements of the course for which they are enrolled. The College realizes, however, that there may be times when a student cannot attend a class due to disability-related reasons.
2. Students who wish to request an adjustment of attendance for a course or courses must register with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator and provide documentation of a conditions from a licensed or certified professional which substantiates their need for an adjustment of attendance-related requirements.
3. An adjustment of the attendance-related requirements does not mean a relaxation of course requirements. Students will be responsible for fulfilling all course requirements, including credit hours required for licensing, and evaluation standards for a given course.
4. In order to determine the reasonableness of an accommodation concerning an adjustment of attendance, the ADA Coordinator will contact the instructor(s) to determine whether and to what extent class attendance is an essential feature of a given course. For example, the following questions will be considered:
   1. Is there interaction between the instructor and students and among the students themselves as an ongoing feature of the class?
   2. Do students’ contributions in class constitute a significant component of the learning process?
   3. Does the course rely upon student participation in discussion or related activities as an essential method for learning?
   4. To what extent does a student’s absence from the class constitute a significant loss to the educational experience of other students in the class?
   5. What do the course description and syllabus say regarding attendance-related requirements?
   6. Are attendance-related requirements an essential factor by which the final course grade is calculated?
5. If, following discussion and analysis with the instructor, an adjustment of attendance related requirements is determined to be a reasonable accommodation, an accommodation letter will be generated by the ADA Coordinator to complete the accommodation process. The student provides this letter to the appropriate instructors. Students will be required to contact instructors in advance of anticipated absences. In the case of emergency or unexpected absences, students should contact their instructors as soon as possible to verify the reason for the absence and arrange for any approved make-up work.
6. Instructors are encouraged to contact the ADA Coordinator if they believe that disability related absences have become excessive and/or when students have failed to provide reasonable notification of absences. The ADA Coordinator will contact students when so notified to discuss their class attendance.
7. Students should make every effort to maintain regular attendance and particular effort should be made to attend class for scheduled tests. Deadlines for submission of assignments or projects will not be affected due to any adjustments of attendance.
8. The College reserves the right to maintain the academic integrity of its courses. An accommodation agreement may be terminated if, in the opinion of the instructor and in consultation with the ADA Coordinator and the appropriate Program Dean, absences are found to have compromised the academic integrity of the course (the accommodated student’s learning outcomes cannot be achieved) or constitute a fundamental alteration of the course as it is offered. Such findings will be documented and the student informed of such action in writing.
9. Students who are approved for adjustment of attendance related requirements as a disability related accommodation will be provided a copy of this procedure. Their signature on the accommodation letter will signify their agreement to abide by the stipulations therein.

Approved:______________________________________________________________________
Monika Bissell, DBA
President