19.2 COURSE WAIVERS AND/OR CURRICULAR CHANGES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Effective: May 18, 1994

PURPOSE
To provide otherwise qualified students who are unable to complete a course due to a disability the opportunity to waive, modify or substitute the course in accordance with Federal and State Law.

AUTHORITY/SOURCE
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title ll; Federal Rehabilitation Act (34 CFP), Part 104; Section 228.2001, Chapter 760, Florida Statutes; Chapter 6A-19, Florida Administrative Code; and University policy.

POLICY
Any student with a documented disability shall be eligible for reasonable substitution, waiver and/or curricular substitution as long as the request does not fundamentally alter the nature of the program. Documentation shall be provided that the student's failure to meet the established requirements is related to the disability. The confidentiality of all medical records shall be maintained in accordance with the requirements of the ADA and other State and federal laws.

PROCEDURE
Each school/college or its departments shall have a standing committee or a school/college administrator to consider all requests for course waivers, curricular modification and/or substitution which are submitted by students with disabilities. (This may be the same committee or administrator named to consider requests for waiver or substitution of admission requirements for students with disabilities.)

No less than 8 weeks prior to the beginning of the semester in which the waiver/modification/substitution is desired, a prospective student with disabilities shall request the change by submitting the following to the Office of Disability Services for Students: a cover letter requesting specific course and/or curricular modifications, waiver and/or substitution, to include name, social security number, explanation of how existing curriculum impacts on disability and reason for the request, and recent appropriate documentation from an appropriate professional attesting to the disability and the need for modifications.

The Office of Disability Services for Students shall certify that the student has provided the required documentation and make recommendations to the school/college/department committee regarding how the disability impacts on the student's ability to meet the existing curriculum requirements. A copy of the recommendation(s) shall be sent to the ADA Coordinator.

In making its decisions, the school/college/department committee or designated administrator shall consider the student's academic record, the recommendation provided by the Office of Disability Services for Students, and the essential requirements of the program to which the student is applying or enrolled. Input shall also be sought from the student's academic advisor. Each student's request shall be considered on an individual basis.

Decisions to deny request(s) shall be forwarded to the ADA Coordinator for review prior to so notifying the student. The ADA Coordinator shall review a negative decision and shall provide a recommendation to the Provost for final decision.

Page last updated: April 17, 2002
Page Content: Kenneth Johnson