Student Information
Sections:
Disability Support Services for Students
The Director of Disability Support Services, Jean Ashmore, will assist students in establishing eligibility for disability related assistance, will notify and consult with faculty on needed accommodations for students, will provide adaptive equipment and/or resources which students may need in conjunction with courses at the university. Students registered with DSS have a wide range of disabilities - learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, physical or medical conditions, sensory losses, and psychiatric or psychological conditions.
Disability Support Services supports and implements federal guidelines included in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Rice University is committed to providing equal opportunity and access to the educational environment. To this end, Rice strives to make programs and facilities accessible to students with disabilities. A wide range of support services is available to students to provide them with equal opportunity to benefit from the educational offerings of the institution and to participate in the life of the university.
DSS works with community and state agencies such as the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) to coordinate campus services for students with disabilities. Students from other states may want to contact their state vocational rehabilitation agencies if specialized equipment or services will be needed while attending Rice. The Director of Disability Support Services will refer students to Houston area agencies if needed.
Establishing eligibility as a student with a disability
A disability, as defined by federal law, is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities such as walking, hearing, seeing or learning. A student must self-identify and provide recent documentation of his or her disability to Disability Support Services. The university must assure that the documentation provided both establishes the individual as a person with a disability and provides a rationale for reasonable accommodations.
DSS will facilitate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. New students are advised to contact the DSS office following admission to ensure eligibility is established and any needed reasonable accommodations are available at time of enrollment.
Students are encouraged to refer to the Disability Documentation Guidelines. These guidelines will help students and their families know what information will be needed to establish eligibility as a student with a disability.
For those students who wish to document an Attention Deficit Disorder, the guidelines developed by the Educational Testing Service are excellent. Refer to the ETS Resources for Test Takers with Disabilities at ETS .
Preliminary Notification of Disability-Related Needs
Newly admitted students may choose to notify Disability Support Services of their possible need for disability services in advance of arriving on campus. Complete and submit the on-line Preliminary Notification of Disability-Related Needs form. The DSS Director will then be in contact with you to discuss your particular needs. By completing the on-line preliminary notification form the student does not automatically qualify as a person with a disability having eligibility for reasonable accommodations. This form is provided to begin communication between the DSS office and incoming students with disability-related concerns.
Accommodations: What are they? How are they determined? How are they provided?
Accommodations are those academic adjustments, services or equipment that ensure that a student with a disability has equal access to his or her academic program and opportunity for full participation in the university community. Accommodations are made on an individual basis determined by documented needs.
Academic accommodations may include, but not be limited to:
- Assistive listening devices
- Sign language interpreters
- Extended time on examinations
- Alternate locations for examinations
- Braille materials
- Books on tape/e-texts
- Closed circuit television
- Note taking
- Specialized computer software
- Alternative media
- Assistance with lecture notes
- Instructor notification
- Advocacy
Accommodation Letters for professors are developed collaboratively by the Director of Disability Support Services and the student with a disability when specific academic accommodations are indicated.
Located in Fondren Library, the following adaptive technology components are available:
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Closed circuit television for magnification of printed materials
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JAWS screen reading software
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Refreshable Braille display
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Kurzweil3000 scan and read system for persons with learning disabilities
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Kurzweil1000 scan and read system for persons who are blind
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ZoomTextsoftware for screen magnification
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Braille embosser with Duxbury translation software
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High speed scanner with OCR software
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TDD/TTY
The DSS office is able to loan specialized equipment such as assistive listening devices, adapted CD players for use with custom audio books, push wheelchair, and scooters or golf carts for short term use by persons with mobility restrictions.
The DSS Adaptive Technology staff produces academic materials in alternate formats including Braille, raised graphics, and electronic versions for use with screen reading software. The Adaptive Technology specialist will train students on use of various types of technology.
A student with a disability has a responsibility to contact Disability Support Services if he or she will need any accommodations while attending Rice University. It is advised that a student with a disability make contact with the Director of DSS even if no accommodation needs are expected. Doing so will help DSS respond more quickly to future needs.
If accommodations are needed in conjunction with his or her classes, the student with a documented disability will receive an Accommodation Letter from DSS to take to each instructor. It is the student's responsibility to deliver these letters to instructors as soon as possible upon receiving them. Instructors expect to receive notification early in each semester, and students who do not deliver their notification letters early may encounter difficulties if late notification is given. Good, early communication is vital to the accommodation process.
A student who feels accommodations are not being provided in the manner needed has a responsibility to notify the Director of DSS as soon as possible so that the situation can be resolved. The same applies should the student feel that the types of accommodations established are not sufficient to afford access.
Disability Support Services staff respect the confidential nature of disability information, whether conveyed verbally or in writing. Students can authorize DSS to release pertinent information about disability needs to campus individuals when there is a legitimate educational interest to do so - this could relate to housing arrangements, academic accommodations, instructional strategies and resources, or other circumstances specific to the individual.
Documentation materials and other information about disability-related matters are housed in Disability Support Services offices. A disability designation does not appear on transcripts or other master university documents, and DSS files are not integrated with computerized university records.
Professors are regularly apprised of the confidential nature of disability information shared with them. Accommodation Letters for professors, prepared by the Director of DSS and the student with a disability, do not give diagnoses unless requested by the student. They describe the impact or impairments caused by the disability and the corresponding accommodations that are recommended.
Students with disabilities are encouraged to consider studying abroad. The Director of DSS works closely with the Study Abroad Advisors in International Programs. While the laws of foreign countries may not mirror those of the U.S., in regard to the provision of accommodations to students with disabilities, the DSS and International Programs offices will work diligently to facilitate equivalent access in international study programs. Rice students with a range of disabilities including learning disabilities, hearing loss, blindness, and health impariments, have successfully studied abroad in a variety of countries.
Mobility International USA(MIUSA) is an excellent resource for information about travel and study in foreign countries for persons with disabilities.
DSS maintains information about internships and scholarships for students with disabilities. Students with disabilities are encouraged to search out all scholarships for which they may be eligible. Rice University does not specifically offer scholarships to students with disabilities. However, students with disabilities admitted to Rice should investigate all forms of financial aid available through Student Financial Services.
The HEATH Resource Center is an excellent source of overall information about financial aid for students with disabilities.
Students with disabilities who are seeking on- or off-campus employment, internships or other work related experiences can contact DSS for referrals. In addition, the Career Services Center on campus is a comprehensive center to assist with all aspects of career decision making, employment seeking and opportunities. DSS and Career Services Center staffs will work together when the specific needs of a student with a disability suggest a collaborative approach. The site, Job Seeking Skills for People with Disabilities, may be a good source of useful information as a student with a disability approaches employment.
Students with major medical or physical conditions who have the possibility of experiencing a health related crisis while at Rice University can complete a Medical Alert form. Students with epilepsy, diabetes, cardiac conditions or other health conditions may wish to complete a Medical Alert form. The student chooses to whom he or she wishes the form to be distributed. This may include the Rice EMS unit, college personnel, professors and work supervisors. Contact the DSS office to discuss completion of this form and distribution of the information to targeted campus personnel.
Completing a Medical Alert form does not guarantee specific medical responses or treatment were a crisis to occur. The Medical Alert form assists university personnel in being familiar with a person's medical background in the event of a crisis.
Rice students who have injuries, surgeries or other conditions which will temporarily restrict them on campus can contact Disability Support Services if some type of short-term assistance may be needed. A medical statement may be required if equipment will be needed during the short period the person is recovering.
Accessible housing units are available for both undergraduate and graduate students.
Undergraduates at Rice University will become members of one of the eleven unique colleges. Wheelchair accessible rooms and rooms equipped for the deaf are available in most of the colleges. The colleges are much more than conventional dormitories. Each college is a special community. If an incoming student has special needs necessitating specific physical features in the college to which s/he is assigned, such as the type of room, an absence of stairs, or a particular location on the campus, the student will need to notify and work with the Director of Disability Support Services. Additionally, if the parent of an incoming undergraduate student has a physical disability that will impact visiting his or her student at Rice, please convey this information to DSS.
For new undergraduate students coming in the fall semester, notify DSS of any special housing needs no later than June 15th. New graduate students will need to notify DSS by May 15th if requesting accommodations in Rice graduate housing units. DSS, following processing, makes recommendations to the Director of Housing and Dining as well as the Dean of Undergraduates. Medical documentation will often be requested if modifications or special arrangements are required.
Newly admitted students may choose to notify Disability Support Services of their possible need for housing accommodations by using the on-line Preliminary Notification of Disability-Related Needs form. The DSS office will then be in contact with you to discuss your particular needs. By completing the on-line preliminary notification form the student does not automatically qualify as eligible for housing accommodations. This form is provided to begin communication between the DSS office and incoming students with disability-related concerns which may include housing.
Some individuals with disabilities utilize the services of trained animals to directly assist them in daily life. Service animals, often referred to as assistance animals, are permitted to accompany a person with a disability everywhere on campus. For further information refer to the Rice University Service/Assistance Animals Guidelines.
Students are referred to the Grievance Procedures if they believe they have a problem related to accommodations or other disability related services or treatment at Rice University.
