This document summarizes the key protections and responsibilities around disability services in postsecondary education under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. It notes that both laws prohibit discrimination based on disability and require schools to provide reasonable accommodations. However, students must self-disclose their disability, provide documentation, and request accommodations to receive services. Schools are not obligated to provide accommodations that constitute a fundamental alteration or undue burden. The document provides examples of common accommodations and distinguishes these from services schools are not required to provide.

1. Americans With Disabilities Act
(ADA) and Section 504
Reasonable Accommodations

2. What is Section 504 ?
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is
a national law that protects qualified
individuals from discrimination based on their
disability.
Section 504 forbids organizations and
employers from excluding or denying
individuals with disabilities an equal
opportunity to receive program benefits and
services. It defines the rights of individuals
with disabilities to participate in, and have
access to, program benefits and services.

3. How does the ADA affect
postsecondary schools ?
Title II of the ADA covers state funded schools
such as universities, community colleges and
vocational schools. Title III of the ADA covers
private colleges and vocational schools. If a school
receives federal dollars regardless of whether it is
private or public it is also covered by the
regulations of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
requiring schools to make their programs
accessible to qualified students with disabilities.

4. As students and their
families prepare for the
transition from
secondary school to
postsecondary options
they often find they are
less familiar with the
protections provided by
the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA)
and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act.

5. Although protections
exist in higher
education, students
have considerably
more responsibility to
request and design
their own
accommodations and
this responsibility is
ongoing.

6. At the time of admission, please do not
promise students specific accommodations.
The student MUST first meet with the
Disability Services Coordinator to discuss
application criteria and accommodations.

7. Who is Protected by ADA ?
To be protected by the ADA, one
must have a disability or have a
relationship or association with an
individual with a disability.

8. How is “Disability” Defined?
• A person who has a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits
one or more major life activities
• A person who has a history or record of
such an impairment
• A person who is perceived by others as
having such an impairment.

9. When Are Students Protected by
ADA and 504?
• Students must meet admission
or other standards determined
by the school; and,
• Students must have a disability
• SWD must demonstrate all
academic and technical skills
required to perform essential
functions.

10. What happens when Students With
Disabilities (SWD) no longer meet
academic requirements?
Postsecondary schools are not obliged
to accept or retain persons with a
disability because they are disabled.

11. What is required of the SWD?
• SWD must demonstrate all academic
and technical skills required to perform
essential functions.
• SWD must demonstrate they are
qualified for admissions to a particular
program or institution before there is
consideration of the role of
accommodations in reducing the
impact of their disabilities.

12. SWD are held to identical technical
and academic standards and must
demonstrate essential functions
SWD should NEVER assume
requirements (such as math or foreign
language) are waived because of their
disability

13. What are academic & technical
standards and essential functions?
Technical Standards – Non academic
requirements for admission or
participation in a program. Examples
include…
• Health and strength requirements
• Personal traits
• Compliance with the student code of
conduct

14. academic & technical standards and
essential functions, cont.
Academic Standards – include all academic
requirements for participation in a
program. Examples include…
• Passing all required courses
• Completing all requirements within
classes
• Participating in internships and other
service learning experiences
• Meeting GPA requirements

15. academic & technical standards and
essential functions, cont.
• Attending class
• Adhering to deadlines for degree
completion
• Remaining academically qualified from
admission to graduation even though
standards progressively increase.

16. academic & technical standards and
essential functions, cont.
Essential Functions – Elements considered
fundamental to performance of a job or
academic requirement. Examples include…
• Learning
• Demonstration of skills and personal
strategies
• Participation in the classroom environment
• Laboratory activities and fieldwork

17. academic & technical standards and
essential functions, cont.
• Basic skills required for practice and
professional certification or licensure.
• SWD who do not meet essential
functions are not otherwise “qualified”
and are not accommodated under the
law.

18. Must students disclose the existence
of their disabilities?
• To obtain services, SWD must disclose their
disabilities to the appropriate personnel
• SWD must provide all documentation
required by the institution
• If a person obviously uses a wheelchair or is
blind or deaf, no further documentation may
be necessary
• SWD must specifically request academic
accommodations

19. What is the disclosure procedure for
Baker SWD?
• SWD complete the BAKER COLLEGE
Disability Services REQUEST FORM and
submit it to the Disability Services
Coordinator
• SWD requesting services will be contacted
by the Disability Services Coordinator, if
needed, to review the students’ needs and
possible accommodations

20. Disclosure procedure for Baker
SWD, cont.
• SWD must provide formal documentation (such as
diagnosis by a medical
doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, school
psychologist) of their disability
• If no documentation is available, it is the
responsibility of the student to have new
documentation prepared. This can mean paying to
have an appropriate professional conduct a new
evaluation
• Students who choose to disclose to their
instructors that they have accommodations will
present an Accommodations Letter listing the

21. Confidentiality
Instructors
• Information regarding
students’ disabilities will
NOT be disclosed to
instructors
• Information regarding
specific approved
accommodations WILL be
disclosed to instructors at
the discretion of students
approved for services

22. Confidentiality, cont.
Parents
• No longer permitted to
register their children for
disability service
• No longer permitted to
receive reports about their
children’s academic
progress or use of
accommodations
• No longer permitted to
demand new or additional
services

23. Baker College of Flint
Volunteer Note Taker Instructions for Instructors
Date
Instructor’s Name Class Section
Student Requiring a Note Taker:
Dear Instructor,
You have received this letter because you will have a student (see above) with a disability requiring a note taker
in your class. Please recruit a volunteer note taker at the beginning of class. Volunteer note takers will receive a
gift at the end of the Quarter. Volunteer hours are beneficial for use on scholarship applications, resumes, and
public service requirements. Note takers should have very good attendance in class.
When you ask your class for a volunteer, please remember the identity of the student receiving notes is
confidential. The note taker must sign the note taker agreement (in the packet) and deliver it to the Academic
Office. You will also be given a packet of carbon note taker paper to give to the note taker. Let the note taker
know for whom s/he is note taking by showing him/her the student’s picture from your attendance roster.
If you are unable to get a note taker or do not need a note taker for your class, please check the appropriate box
below and return this form to the Academic Office.
I have recruited , UIN: to be the note taker.
□ I was unable to get a volunteer to take notes.
□ I will give the student a copy of my lecture notes.
□ This student is not in my class.
□ Other:
If you have any questions, please call or email Terry Love (810 766-4113 terry.love@baker.edu), or Lori
Crawford-Milbrot (810 766-4126 lori.crawfordmilbrot@baker.edu).
Please return this completed form to the Disability Services Coordinator, Academic Office.

24. What kinds of accommodations may
SWD receive?
Academic
• Course substitutions that meet the
goals of the requirement
• Modifications to methods of instruction
• Increased time to complete course
• Extended examination time
• Alternative testing formats
• Alternative testing arrangements

25. What kinds of accommodations may
SWD receive?
Technical
• Note taker
• Writer for Exams – dyslexia, physical
impairments
• Interpreter
• Videos (Math, Medical, & Accounting)
• Tape recorder
• Magnifying Screen
• Assistive listening systems – FM Receiver
• Textbooks on Tape
• TTY

26. What kinds of accommodations may
SWD receive in the Learning Support
Center?
Software
• PLATO
• Math Tutorials
• Chemistry
• Jaws
• Kurzweil Reader

27. What kinds of accommodations may
SWD receive in the Learning Support
Center?
• Extra tutoring time
• Academic Skills Workshops
• Testing Accommodations
• In-class orientations and workshops on
LSS services

28. What is NOT an accommodation
Postsecondary
institutions are not
obligated to provide
accommodations of a
personal nature or those
needed for personal
study or to enhance
personal competency

29. What is NOT an accommodation
Examples include:
• Psychological Evaluation
• Care attendants and coaches
• Personal computers and software
• Wheelchairs
• Readers for personal pleasure or study

30. What is NOT an accommodation,
cont.
• Monitoring academic
progress or personal
conduct
• Personal counseling
• Remediation
• Tutoring
• Typing papers
• Wake-up Calls

31. Conclusion
• There is no guarantee under the ADA and
504 that SWD will succeed in higher
education, even with accommodations
• Postsecondary accommodations are
outcome neutral – leveling the playing field
“sink or swim”
• In higher education, accommodations and
services are described as effective when they
achieve their nondiscriminatory goal &
provide access to programs and activities to
qualified SWD

32. Conclusion
• Services must be provided unless doing so
would result in a fundamental alteration of
the program or would result in undue
financial or administrative burdens
• Institutions of higher education have the
right to protect their programs and services
from lowered or substantially altered
standards

33. Questions?
If you have questions regarding Disability Services
at Baker College of Flint you may contact:
Nancy Daily, Disability Services Coordinator
at (810) 766-4137 or nancy.daily@baker.edu
or
Lori Crawford-Milbrot, Career Assessment
Coordinator at: (810) 766-4126 or
lori.crawfordmilbrot@baker.edu