Special Needs
"The College believes it can best overcome
barriers to obtaining a higher education by respecting
and caring for students as individuals, by defining their
strengths and needs, by starting where they are ready to
begin, by providing supportive programs and services, and
by motivating and encouraging supportive programs and services,
and by motivating and encouraging them to achieve standards
of personal and academic excellence."
-from the Mission Statement of
Garrett College
Students with Special Needs and/Or Disabilities
Garrett College seeks to provide
complete and open access to higher education for all.
In this spirit, Garrett College offers support services to enable students with special needs and/or disabilities to gain from their educational experience. These services comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
Garrett College recognizes the competencies and abilities of persons with special needs and/or a disability and wants to make every effort to ensure these students complete access to higher education as well as opportunities for success. The College has established special services to assist qualifying students. To prevent discrimination, reasonable accommodations in the instructional process and in testing are offered. The College may not provide accommodations which are not requested. Students with special needs and/or a disability are encouraged to take advantage of the services available.
Reasonable, appropriate accommodations based on documentation are offered to qualified students. It is the student's responsibility to voluntarily self-identify as having a special need and/or a disability on the application for admission or with the Coordinator of Student Services as early as possible after applying to Garrett College. This is to avoid delay in the determination of appropriate services required to assist in the student's academic success. Garrett seeks to assist each student in every way possible so that each student achieves academic success and excellence. The College will provide all reasonable supportive services to achieve the philosophy of success and excellence, consistent with institutional resources. Students will be required to provide current (within the past three years), written professional documentation in order to verify eligibility for special services. Such documentation can be in the form of medical reports or psychological evaluations and must specify how learning is impacted including specific accommodations to assist in the learning process.
Records provided are kept strictly confidential, and the information is shared with College personnel who need to know for accommodation purposes only with permission of the student.
In order to provide students with all necessary services, the Coordinator of Student Services will arrange an intake appointment with each student requiring special services. All accommodations will be tailored to individual needs as determined by the student, the documentation received, the Coordinator of Student Services, and the faculty and staff involved in each student's program of study. Students with special needs and/or a disability are not exempt from examinations, nor are they expected to master less content, or given a lower level of scholastic skills. It would be the purpose of the services to enable the student to meet all academic requirements and to experience success as a student without diluting the academic program of study or reduce course requirements. Additional information may be found in Your Right to Know! available from the Student Assistance Center.
Students with special needs and/or a disability may apply for the same types
of financial assistance available to all eligible students. In addition, students
with disabilities may be eligible for tuition waivers: any retired individual
or students receiving Social Security Income (SSI) or Supplemental Security Income
(SSID). The Division of Rehabilitation Services also may be able to provide financial
assistance for eligible students (phone 800.244.4048 for more information). The
Financial Aid Office and the Coordinator of Student Services at Garrett College
are able to provide guidance on the application process for financial aid.
Students with physical disabilities have access to the designated spaces in the College's parking lots. Reserved parking spaces are identified using the familiar "handicap parking only" international symbol. With documentation from a physician, special temporary parking permits are available. Students with permanent disabilities should apply to the MVA in the State of Maryland for a permanent sticker.
The facilities of Garrett College are constantly monitored to ensure that accessibility requirements are met. All buildings are one-story and inter-connected with enclosed breezeways thereby enabling those with physical disabilities ease of access to classrooms, labs, administrative offices, cafeteria, and other services needed. An ADA remodeling plan for older facilities strives to remove or modify physical barriers throughout the buildings of the campus.
- Learning Disability
- Attention Deficit Disorder
- Mobility Impairment
- Vision Impairment
- Hearing Impairment
- Deafness
- Traumatic Head Injury
- Communication Disorder
- Tutorial Services for all classes
- Math, Writing, and Reading Labs
- Special Academic Advising
- Notification to professors for recommended accommodations
- Extended time for testing
- Alternative testing (oral, test reader, use of writer/scribe)
- Taped textbooks (arranged by student through national organization)
- Tape recorder for classroom use
- Note taker
- Accessible classrooms and campus facilities
- Interpretive services for hearing impaired
- Technological support (special computer, oversized computer monitor, zoom
text software, voice type dictation, etc.)
- Mobility assistance
- Special parking spaces
- Enlarged handouts, tests, etc.
- Referral to other agencies
- Other support services as appropriate
- ADA/504 Coordinator 301.387.3011
- Admissions 301.387.3010
- Student Assistance Center 301.387.3044
- FAX 301.387.3038
- Financial Aid 301.387.3012
- Math Lab (tutoring) 301.387.3092
- Reading Lab (tutoring) 301.387.3078
- Writing Lab (tutoring) 301.387.3008
Garrett College does not discriminate in admissions, access, treatment, or employment
in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, gender, age, national
origin, sexual orientation, religion, or disability. Garrett College subscribes
to full access to all College facilities as outlined in the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 and as amended.
The designated coordinator for the College's compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation of Act of 1973, and for the Americans with Disabilities Act is the Coordinator of Student Services. The College's Affirmative Action Officer is the Director of Personnel.
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