Students with Disabilities

Montserrat College of Art complies with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), in arranging reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. Montserrat College of Art has adopted the ADA definition of disability:

"Disability defined is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual," (ADA, 1990).

Student Initiative

At the post-secondary level, it is the responsibility of students seeking accommodations to self-identify and provide supporting documentation of their condition to the college. Obtaining reasonable accommodations is an interactive process that requires a student to contact the Director of the Writing Center, located on the 2nd floor of the Paul M. Scott Library in the Hardie Building, to disclose his or her disability and request a reasonable accommodation. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that the appropriate documentation has been received by Montserrat College of Art. Montserrat works cooperatively with individual students to determine need and provide equivalent opportunities for programs as well as physical access.

Documentation

Students should make arrangements to have documentation sent to Erin Dionne, Director of the Writing Center, Montserrat College of Art, 23 Essex Street, PO Box 26, Beverly, MA 01915. Documentation must be provided by a qualified health professional who is knowledgeable about the disability, duration (if temporary), limitations as relevant to an educational setting and recommendations for accommodations. Documentation should confirm the need for accommodation based on the student's current level of functioning in the educational setting. After receiving the appropriate documentation and meeting with the student, the Director of the Writing Center will generate an Accommodation Letter to be distributed to faculty and staff agreed upon by the Director of the Writing Center and the student. Students may choose to request accommodations for all courses, select courses, or no courses in any given semester. Students must contact the Director of the Writing Center each and every semester that they would like an accommodation. The Director of the Writing Center will not send out Accommodation Letters without the consent of the student. Students must also meet with faculty receiving Accommodation Letters, to discuss the requested accommodations and reach an understanding of how the student will successfully meet course requirements. Although academic requirements may be accommodated, they cannot be waived. If documentation provided is incomplete or outdated, Montserrat College of Art may request additional documentation and or assessment. All costs for providing required documentation rest with the student.

Confidentiality

Documentation is considered confidential information and does not become part of a student's permanent record. All documentation is kept in the Director of the Writing Center's Office and will only be released with the signed consent of the student.

Timeliness

In order to provide accommodations in a timely manner, it is recommended that students do not wait until classes are underway before requesting accommodations. If at all possible requests should be submitted in the semester prior to need (for new students - in the summer prior to enrollment). Students with mobility impairments are strongly urged to contact the Director of the Writing Center early enough to ensure accessible classrooms and programs.

Accommodation Letters may take up to a week to generate. A student may initiate the accommodation process at any point in the semester, however, accommodations are not retroactive and will only commence once all steps in the process have been fulfilled. If accommodations are not effective, students with disabilities must request modifications.

Residential Needs

Should a student need accommodations with regard to their on-campus housing, they should notify the Director of Housing, Mark Bester at 978.921.4242, x1134 or email at mbester@montserrat.edu as soon as possible.