Disability Services
Klump Academic Center, Rm. 148 · (570) 320-5225
Accommodations and Services
Based upon the history of the disability, current documentation, and the nature of the request, the Disability Services staff will identify appropriate accommodations and services, which may include:
Reasonable accommodation
A reasonable accommodation is any appropriate academic adjustment, auxiliary aid, and service that is necessary to afford a student with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in the school's programs.
Equal opportunity
An equal opportunity provides the means to attain the same level of performance or to enjoy benefits that are available to students without disabilities.
- Adaptive Equipment — Eligible students may borrow a piece of equipment on a semester basis.
- Assistive Technology — Disability Services maintains a variety of assistive technology to help students access materials in alternate format. Assistive technology computers are located at both the Klump Academic Center and the Madigan Library.
- Bookstore Assistance — This accommodation is provided, in conjunction with the Penn College Bookstore, for eligible students with a documented physical disability and/or mobility impairment.
- Books in Alternate Format — This accommodation is provided through Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, a non-profit organization that provides audio books in Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) format on CD. The student must have a documented print disability to be eligible for this service.
- Classroom seating — Eligible students with disabilities can request preferential front row seating and/or special chairs.
- Enlarged copies of test — Upon request, tests and course materials will be enlarged for visually impaired students.
- Note-taker assistance — This accommodation is provided for eligible students with appropriate documentation. There must be a direct relationship between the disability and the need for note-taking assistance.
- Placement Test accommodations — Testing accommodations can include extended time, test provided on cassette tape, a test scribe, and the use of a calculator, spell checker, or computer.
- Sign language interpreters — Sign language interpreters will be made available to students whose documentation supports this service.
- Testing accommodations — Testing accommodations can include extended time testing, test readers, scribes, distraction-free rooms for taking tests, and computer access.
- Textbook scanning — Using text-to-speech software, Disability Services will scan required course materials for students with disabilities whose documentation supports the use of books in alternate format.
Requests for Service
Disability Services staff can address a range of issues in addition to accommodations, including: self-advocacy development, referral to campus and community resources, and liaison with faculty in conjunction with the student-signed consent.