Accommodative Services
Important differences in college
College living requires that you take responsibility for your own needs. This is often a difficult task given the differences between high school and college.
In college, the applicable laws governing documentation change, and self-advocacy/self-determination are the most important adjustments for the student. Students must self-identify to the Accommodative Services Office and are primarily responsible for communication and making arrangements with professors. In college, much less time is spent in class, students must learn to work independently, and there will be substantial amounts of work expected outside of class. Faculty are not required to modify or alter course work and deadlines, and thus expectations may be significantly different than in high school. Tutoring does not fall under disability services, and students must work with the available campus tutoring resources, as would any other student.
Self-advocacy
Should issues arise during the term, it is the student’s responsibility to notify faculty and administration in a timely fashion to receive help. Students can meet with the director to discuss the problem and what resources might be available. The director and the administration will determine what is best in each unique situation, within the limitations on accommodations that can be provided.
Academic accommodations and requirements
Any academic accommodations cannot alter the basic academic program of an individual course, academic major, or the general curriculum of the College. Both individual departments and the College have academic requirements that are intrinsic to what defines a Union education, and these requirements will not be waived.
The College-wide requirements include:
- A quantitative and mathematical reasoning requirement (the majority of courses are offered in the mathematics department with only a handful of other courses)
- A two-course science requirement where one of the courses must have a significant laboratory component
- A Writing Across the Curriculum program, which mandates that almost 25% of a student’s courses have a significant writing component (there is also a literature course requirement)
There is no language requirement. It is one of several options for fulfilling the linguistic and cultural competency part of the Common Curriculum, but there are alternatives.