Academic Accommodation Information for Prospective Students

Gettysburg College provides equal opportunities to students with disabilities admitted through the regular admissions process. Recognizing students with disabilities have the legal right and responsibility to present requests for reasonable accommodations, the College promotes self-disclosure and self-advocacy. As a residential college, this applies to reasonable accommodations related to academic, dining and housing needs. The Center for Student Success assists students with disabilities with their requests for accommodations.

Early disclosure allows our office to work with students to develop appropriate accommodations prior to the start of the semester. The determination of reasonable educational, dining and/or housing accommodations is made after meeting with the student and reviewing submitted required documentation. A diagnosis does not automatically warrant approval of requested accommodations.

Gettysburg College does not provide psychoeducational testing/diagnostic services for students who suspect they have a disability.

Reasonable Accommodations

Accommodations at the College level do not eliminate all the challenges and stress felt by many college students. Accommodations that a student had in high school may not be considered reasonable at the postsecondary level.

 “At the postsecondary level, the recipient is required to provide students with appropriate academic adjustments and auxiliary aids and services that are necessary to afford, an individual with a disability, an equal opportunity to participate in a school's program. Recipients are not required to make adjustments or provide aids or services that would result in a fundamental alteration of a recipient's program or impose an undue burden.”(US Dept of Education)

Reasonable accommodations are determined through a review of required documentation. Some requested accommodations can be met through the daily opportunities/operations of the college that are available to all students. Each accommodation request is considered, however not all requested accommodations are approved.

The Center for Student Success provides support for students with disabilities who request academic accommodations. Each request for accommodation will be considered individually based on the accommodation(s) requested and the documentation provided.

Common Accommodations

Common academic accommodations include (but are not limited to):

• Extended time for quizzes and exams
• Allow quizzes and exams to be completed in a separate, minimally distracting environment (Note: we do not have a campus testing center, so this accommodation is not guaranteed to be met with an individual, private space for each student.)
• Note taking assistance (allow use of laptop for note taking, audio recording of lectures, access to professor or classmate’s notes for study purposes)
• Accessible reading materials (electronic versions of textbooks and reading assignments for magnification or use with text-to-speech technology.

Excluded Accommodations

Academic accommodations we do not provide:

• Excused absences (see Gettysburg College’s Policy on Class Attendance and Absence)
• Flexible deadlines
• Personal assistants
• Priority registration

Academic Support

Additional Academic Support:

Students should communicate directly with their professors and advisors to discuss the best sources of academic support for individual classes. Additional opportunities include:

Peer Learning Associates:

Experienced students may be assigned to many individual courses or departments to support student learning. These Peer Learning Associates are employed by the individual departments to help either with individual classes or the department as a whole.

Writing Center:

Peer tutors to provide writing support across all disciplines. Ground Floor of Breidenbaugh Hall. Sunday - Thursday 4:00pm - 10:00 pm. Contact: Will Lane, wlane@gettysburg.edu

Peer Research Mentors:

Experienced students across various disciplines who staff the Research Help Desk at Musselman Library. Research Help Desk Hours: Monday-Thursday: 9 am-5 pm & 6-10 pm, Friday: 9 am-3 pm, Sunday: 6-10 pm. Call: 717-337-6600. Text: 717-473-4532. Contact: ask@gettysburg.edu

CalcAid:

Drop-in support for all levels of calculus-based courses in the Math department. Brogan Center for Quantitative Learning, Sunday- Thursday 7:30-9:30 pm. Contact: Catherine Frost, cfrost@gettysburg.edu

Policy on Class Attendance and Absence

The College recognizes that regular attendance at all classes is an essential part of its academic purpose and clearly is the responsibility of the individual student. Each student is accountable for all work missed because of absences from class, and instructors are under no obligation to make special arrangements for students who are absent from classes. Instructors must explain their individual or departmental attendance policy during the first class meeting and/or in their course outlines. Class absences will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis by the instructor of the course. There is no such thing as an “officially excused” absence from a class at Gettysburg College. If a student will miss class for any reason (for example, religious observances, college trips, family emergencies, or illness), students must discuss this absence with their instructor in advance whenever possible. The student will be ultimately responsible for making up any missed work; however, in some cases, it may not be possible to make up missed work. When students are seen in the Health Center, they are provided documentation of each appointment, and they can share this documentation with faculty if needed.

If you must miss class, we encourage you to notify your professors as soon as possible with as much information as you can provide about the date of your anticipated absence, the reasons, and your plan for making up any missed work. Students should ask the professor to let them know if they have any questions about the absence or any instructions to give about making up the missed work. Students should include in any written or e-mail message their campus box number, telephone number, and e-mail address.

On occasion, even if absences are due to documented medical or emergency situations, students may miss so much class that they are not able to meet the goals of the course. In these cases, students may be advised to withdraw from the course.