It is the responsibility of the student to identify himself/herself to the Disability Services Office and to provide documentation of the disability by a licensed professional.

     Students will:

• consult with the staff to determine specific accommodations that will be required while he/she is a student at Worcester State College. 
• authorize any notification of instructors of his/her required modifications and strategies. 
• be told of his/her responsibility to meet with his/her instructor at the beginning of each semester to discuss arrangements for accommodations in each course.

     Students with disabilities must maintain the same responsibility for their education as students who do not have disabilities. This includes maintaining the same academic levels, maintaining appropriate behavior and giving timely notification of any special needs.

Shared Responsibilities

     Students with disabilities have the first responsibility to report their needs to the faculty in a timely manner as faculty are not required to anticipate special students needs. Faculty/staff members should keep students in mind when making special class arrangements such as field trips. Faculty/staff should state on their course syllabi that students need to inform them of special needs as soon as possible to ensure that those needs are met in a timely manner. If a student waits until the day of an exam to ask for extended time or a separate testing area, the student has failed to make the request in a timely manner. If the students fails to ask for extended time until late in the semester, the instructor is only required to provide accommodations from that time and does not need to offer make-up exams.

     When a student discloses a disability, faculty/staff members should ask what they can do to facilitate learning. Often times it is as simple as allowing the student to sit in the front of the classroom.

     Faculty/staff members may not discourage students from specific fields of study if the student meets the admission requirements, maintains the appropriate grades and is otherwise qualified. Faculty/staff members are responsible to provide an education and the student is responsible to maintain the academic standards.