Accessibility at BCC

The College recognizes its responsibility, under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans With Disabilities Act, to provide equal access to students with special needs.

Assistive services may be provided for students with a documented disability. Students are requested to make applications for these services in advance of the semester in which they plan to enroll. Students with special needs are also encouraged to participate in college-related activities, and special services may be provided for these functions when requested. Regular college procedures for applications and admission apply to all students. For further information, contact the Disability Services Coordinator.

Americans with Disabilities Act Policy / Non-Discrimination Policy

Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (the Disability Laws ) require that no qualified individual with a disability be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of any of Brunswick Community College s services, programs or activities on the basis of his or her disability. Individuals with disabilities may not be subjected to retaliation, intimidation, or other mistreatment on the basis of their assertion or enforcement of these rights. The College’s policy is to comply with the Disability Laws by providing reasonable modification in its rules, policies, and practices, by removing architectural, communication, and transportation barriers, and by providing auxiliary aids and services, when necessary to insure that individuals with disabilities who meet the Colleges essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or participation in College programs or activities are afforded opportunities equal to those of non-disabled individuals. College personnel have been instructed not to assume automatically that a disabled individual will need an accommodation or to quiz students and other persons unnecessarily about their disabilities. However, students and other individuals with disabilities who desire access to College services, programs or activities are encouraged to request accommodation of their disabilities as provided below.

Accommodation Requests

Brunswick Community College believes that you are in the best position to know what is needed to accommodate your disability. Some accommodation requests can and should be handled on an informal basis (i.e., asking to sit at the front of a classroom if you have a visual or hearing impairment and will be aided by being closer to the instructor). When a request for accommodation is more extensive and cannot be handled on an informal basis, you should follow these procedures:

1. 1. Giving instructor and other College personnel sufficient notice. If you think that you will need an accommodation to meet the College s eligibility requirements for, receive, or participate in a College service, program or activity, you should make this known to the College employee who is responsible for the service, program, or activity as soon as possible so that the College will have sufficient time to consider your request and to make any necessary arrangements.
   2. Information to be provided. When making an accommodation request, you should provide to the College employee with whom you are consulting any information about your disability or the requested accommodation that you think will be necessary or helpful to the College in making its determination. Any alternative ideas for accommodation also should be mentioned.
   3. Confidentiality. The College will make every effort to maintain as confidential all accommodation requests and information it receives about your disability. College instructors and other personnel have been instructed to inform only those persons who need to know of a request for accommodations and of the circumstances surrounding that request.
   4. Processing Accommodation Requests. All requests for accommodation will be forwarded to the College s ADA/Section 504 Coordinator for Student Matters, who will consult with the Vice President for Instruction, the Vice President for Administrative Services, and the President of the College in making accommodation determinations. The College s ADA/Section 504 Coordinator for Student Matters may be contacted at the following:
      Brunswick Community College
      C/O Julie Olsen, Disability Services Coordinator
      P. O. Box 30
      Supply, North Carolina 28462
      910.755-7320 Phone
      910.754.9609 Fax
   5. Accommodation Determination. The College will make every effort to provide you with your requested accommodation or with an accommodation that will be equally effective in providing access to the particular service, program, or activity, taking into consideration the nature of the service, program, or activity and the financial resources and administrative obligations of the College. Please note that although the College is required to make its services, programs, and activities accessible to persons who meet the essential eligibility requirements, the Disability Laws do not require the College to make all of its facilities accessible to such persons or to provide the student with personal equipment or services to accommodate his/her disability. The Disability Laws also permit the College to deny a requested accommodation if it would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of a service, program, or activity or if it would create undue financial and administrative burdens to the College. If the College determines that this is the case, it will explore other accommodation possibilities.
   6. Denial of an Accommodation Request. If the College determines that a requested accommodation would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of a service, program, or activity provided by the College or would create undue financial and administrative burdens for the College, it will deny the accommodation request. You will receive a written notice of any denial of an accommodation detailing the reasons for the College s determination. 7. Approval of an accommodation request. If the College determines that it is able to provide a requested accommodation, you will be contacted by the College s ADA/Section 504 Coordinator for Student Matters by the College employee who will be responsible for arranging the accommodation. Grievance Rights Student and other participants in College services, programs, and activities who feel that they have been subjected to discrimination on the basis of a disability or whose accommodation requests have been denied are entitled to submit a complaint to the College in accordance with the College s Student Appeal Procedure, which is published in the College s Student Handbook. Copies of the Student Appeal Procedure also may be obtained from the office of the Vice President for Student Services.

Summary

Because each individuals situation and each service, program and activity are different, accommodation decisions will need to be made on a case-by-case basis. The College s policy is to afford disabled persons every reasonable opportunity to receive the benefits and services provided by the College and to succeed in the College s programs and activities. The College aims to keep the lines of communication open between individuals with disabilities who will require reasonable accommodation and those instructors and other College personnel who are responsible for the services, programs, and activities which they are receiving or would like to receive or in which they are or would like to be enrolled. If you have any questions about this policy or procedures outlined above, please contact the office of the Vice President for Student Services.