Editor’s note (2/7/2022): The headline of the article was changed to reflect a student’s experience with JBU’s Disability and Testing Services.
With pandemic fatigue, political and social unrest, and continuing issues with the economy, the number of Americans with mental health issues is higher than ever. The number of adolescents and young adults with mental health issues and other disabilities is higher than ever, and shows no signs of slowing down.
At JBU, however, students face an extra layer of challenges: the accommodations office. Many students have voiced concern with the office’s operations, which they feel fall short. “In accordance with ADA law, students with disabilities deserve the opportunity to achieve their educational goals,” Jarrod Heathcote, coordinator of JBU Disability and Testing Services, said. “If students’ disabilities prevent them from achieving their educational goals, reasonable accommodations should be provided to equalize their opportunity to succeed. The accommodations provide equal opportunity but do not guarantee success.”
He continued, saying, “It is important for students to remember that Section 504 and the ADA does not ask the colleges and universities to lower their standards. Universities and colleges still have the freedom to establish academic requirements and standards. They only require that reasonable accommodations necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability be provided. Reasonable accommodations are always determined on an individual basis and must be supported by documentation from a professional who has diagnosed the student’s disability. My department reviews student’s documentation and meets with students through an interactive process to determine reasonable accommodations.”
However, not every student has felt that JBU Disability and Testing Services have been satisfactory when trying to receive necessary accommodations. An anonymous JBU student who has a documented disability and sought aid from the Office of Disability was willing to share their experience. “In my experience with the Office of Disability, they’re great if you need very basic testing accommodations. That’s it,” the student said. “They won’t even bother to get you notes for classes anymore. I’ve gotten that turned down even though it was on my accommodation sheet. The Office is not empathetic and [is] very black and white and won’t work to help figure stuff out.”
The student continued, saying “The accommodations are just confusing, and, when things change or needs changing it is very difficult to get your plan adjusted. A change can be immediate, and you might needs X, Y and Z thing, but, if you don’t have a letter from your doctor saying this change is happening, there’s absolutely no way to get what you need. In my experience, it’s been really hard to get letters from my doctors because they’re specialists and are hard to get ahold of.”
For many of the students, the whole process is demeaning and even pits them against the office. “I feel like there’s just this great expectation that if you ask for something and don’t have written proof, that you’re not dealing with it, you’re just faking it because you want a certain accommodation. I think that it should be a lot more accessible than it is because not everyone has the privilege of being diagnosed and being able to go to doctors. I think JBU could be a lot more compassionate in working with people. I had a friend who needed to not take Wellness for Life because of an eating disorder. She had all the written stuff from a doctor and also had stuff from her therapist, but everything from her therapist was discounted, even though they were licensed just because they weren’t a doctor. She was still told to take the course and that there wasn’t anything they could do about it.”
Another anonymous JBU student, who coaches students with disabilities in academic courses through Student Support Services, was also willing to comment. “JBU technically has an Office of Disability, but it’s so inaccessible and underfunded because it only has one faculty member, which is insane for a campus our size,” they said. “Generally, two or three would be minimum, so the lack of resources devoted to helping students get accommodations at the bare minimum is frustrating for a lot of students who are seeking accommodation. A theme that I’ve heard from people’s stories often are the barriers in place to receive accommodations, even once they’re seeking them out. A lot of the students who are seeking accommodation are because they struggle with time management or reading comprehension, and all of these skills are then necessary in the process. They have to be able to keep track of emails, send emails, fill out paperwork, all of these things on their own in order to receive any accommodation or recognition.”
The learning coach said that for new students it can be an incredibly stressful process. “At college, it’s different than, say, a person in high school whose parent was able to do it all for them. Now, they’re having to navigate these systems for the first time on their own because oftentimes their parent can’t legally do it for them anymore, which is an added layer to things. One of the ways you can qualify to get tutoring through Student Support Services is by having a documented disability, and a lot of times, students for the first time are having to navigate finding language to advocate for themselves and advocate for their experiences, and it can be easy for faculty and staff and non-disabled peers to want to jump in and help, but we can’t do that without disrespecting their autonomy as a peer and adult. We have to find ways to support students while maintaining their dignity and academic integrity.”
When asked whether he was aware of student complaints and his suggestions regarding concerns, Heathcote stated, “In the event a student believes that he or she has been denied an accommodation or the modification of a university practice or requirement to which he or she is entitled under applicable disability law or a program or activity has been inaccessible to him/her due to a disability or he/she has been harassed or discriminated against because of a disability or perception of a disability by a college faculty or staff member or his/her privacy has been violated in the context of his/her disability, the student shall attempt to resolve the matter informally. If the student is unable to resolve the matter through the informal process, a formal complaint may be filed at the option of the student. This is done by contacting my office and going through the disability grievance procedure. In cases where the grievance involves the coordinator of Disability Services, a student may bypass the informal resolution process and move directly to a formal complaint through the disability grievance procedure, the details of which are available on JBU’s website.”
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