Policy Overview

Admitted students, enrolled students, or Continuing Education participants who believe they have a current and essential need for disability accommodations are responsible for registering with and requesting accommodations from Cummings Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health Studies (CGI). Students and Continuing Education participants must provide CGI with qualifying disability documentation, verifying the nature and extent of the disability prior to receiving any accommodations. CGI will make every effort to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified students and continuing education participants with disabilities. The purpose of this policy is to specify disability documentation requirements that will qualify CGI students or Continuing Education participants for reasonable and appropriate accommodations for their educational process, program and degree, and activity.

Eligibility: Who Qualifies?

The Americans with Disabilities Act as amended (ADAAA) 2008 provides comprehensive Civil Rights protection and is designed to remove barriers which prevent persons with disabilities from accessing the same educational and employment opportunities as persons without disabilities. The law also provides access to public accommodations, state and local government services, transportation, and telecommunications. The Americans with Disabilities Act also prohibits discrimination against a qualified individual with a disability with regard to admission to educational institutions or vocational training programs (public or private); employee compensation; job training; and other terms, conditions and privileges of employment.

Definition of a Disability

The Definition of Disability is provided in the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008, Section 4. An individual with a disability is defined in the act as someone who has "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; has a record of such an impairment; or is regarded as having such an impairment." The regulations define "physical or mental impairment" as any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more body systems, such as neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genitourinary, immune, circulatory, hemic, lymphatic, skin, and endocrine. The regulations also cover any mental or psychological disorder, such as intellectual disability (formerly termed mental retardation), organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness and specific learning disabilities.

Note: Individuals who are current illegal users of drugs are not protected under the ADA. The legal use of a controlled substance under medical perspective is permitted. Addiction is considered a disability. A person who is addicted to drugs, but is not actively using drugs, is considered a person with a disability and is protected by the law. Alcohol is not considered a controlled substance.

Reasonable Accommodation

Reasonable accommodation is the provision of an auxiliary aid, or modification to the course or program which will allow access to the job duties, the educational process, program and degree, or activity. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires an institution of higher education to provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified individual with a disability provided that accommodation does not create an undue hardship. Some examples of reasonable accommodation are making existing facilities readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities; flexible timeline for program completion; acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; appropriate adjustment or modification of examinations or policies; the provision of qualified readers, note takers, and/or sign language interpreters; provision of alternative print formats.

No Requirement for Citizenship

The Americans with Disabilities Act covers all persons with disabilities in the United States, whether or not they are citizens and without regard to racial or ethnic origin.

Policy Responsibility

Staff Responsibility

CGI is responsible for providing reasonable accommodations, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and 2008, as well as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to qualified students and participants with disabilities, to ensure continuing education content and materials are readily accessible. All accommodations provided by CGI at no cost, and information is kept strictly confidential.

For admitted and enrolled students, the Registrar and Director of the Academic Program in which the student is enrolled will ensure that CGI Faculty are informed of the disability and accommodations for any student identified in one of their courses.

For Continuing Education participants, the Director of Continuing Education and Partnerships will ensure that Continuing Education instructors are informed of the disability and accommodations for any participant identified in one of their programs.

The Registrar will ensure all proper documentation is filed and kept up-to-date if any modifications are made to the disability accommodation plan.

Faculty Responsibility

Faculty members at CGI are responsible for implementing the accommodations plan for all enrolled students and for communicating all concerns or questions about implementation of the plan with the student and Director of the academic program in which the student is enrolled.

Student Responsibility

If accommodations are needed, students must complete the Disability Notification and Accommodation Form during their initial enrollment term to provide CGI with the ability to create an accommodations plan with the student and to communicate the plan to the appropriate faculty members.

Policy Procedure

When a student requests accommodation or notifies a CGI team member that they have a disability that may impact their ability to be successful in our programs, the CGI team member should notify the Registrar and the academic program director.

The Registrar should send the student the Disability Notification and Accommodation Form and request that they complete this in a timely manner. Students with disabilities are encouraged to disclose and submit this form at least a minimum of 2 weeks before the start date of classes or immediately after diagnosis. A student may choose to attempt a class without accommodations and self identify later in the process. However, if the student opts for this approach, any grades earned without the use of accommodations remain as published.

The Director of the academic program in which the student is enrolled is responsible for reviewing the request and for determining if CGI can provide a reasonable accommodation according to CGI policy, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The Director of the program notifies the student and Registrar in writing of the accommodation request status including the approved accommodations plan.

The Registrar ensures that the accommodations plan is in the student record in Populi and that it is communicated with faculty members for the student’s first term.

The Registrar is responsible for contacting the student at the end of the term to update the plan as needed and to communicate the plan to the faculty members who will work with the student each term. Each updated plan must be saved to the student’s record in Populi.

Forms

Disability Notification and Accommodation Form

Approvals/Revision History

Policy was revised on: May 15th, 2021

Policy was approved by: Amanda Harrison, Chief Operating Officer