Disability Support Services

Emmanuel College is committed to the full participation of all students in its programs and activities. Although Emmanuel does not have a comprehensive academic program specifically designed for students with disabilities/impairments, we are committed to providing support services and reasonable accommodations when requested by students who qualify for them. Emmanuel College subscribes to the policies set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) and in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which mandate equal opportunity in education programs and activities for students with disabilities/impairments.

Students with disabilities/impairments may need accommodations to access aspects of the collegiate experience to allow full participation in the learning and living community that Emmanuel offers. Students seeking accommodations must provide recent documentation from a qualified, diagnosing provider.  Students will then meet with a Disability Support Services staff member to determine reasonable accommodations and how to implement them in the collegiate environment.  

DIFFERENCES IN THE LAW BETWEEN HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

• As students with disabilities move from high school to college, they and their parents should understand that the process of deciding who is eligible to receive accommodations and what those accommodations may be differs substantially. In high school, the school rather than the student or the student's family are often involved in identifying and diagnosing students with disabilities/impairments and often initiate the whole process for the student. 
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) governs the circumstances under which universities provide accommodations to students with disabilities/impairments.
• Neither Section 504 nor the ADA requires a college or university to alter a fundamental requirement of its academic program for a student with a disability/impairment.
• Furthermore, college students must self-identify themselves to Disability Support Services and formally request accommodations and services. The student must take responsibility for initiating this process. 
• In contrast to the IDEA, whose goal is to ensure student success, the goal of Section 504 and the ADA, as they apply to college students, is to ensure that students with disabilities/impairments have access to the programs and activities that the college offers and that those students are not discriminated against on the basis of their disability/impairment.