Rights and Responsibilities

Rights and Responsibilities of Students with Disabilities

A student with a disability has the right to an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from programs offered at LSUS. To ensure this right, every student with disabilities at LSUS:

• has a responsibility to identify him or herself as needing accommodation in a timely fashion. When the disability is not obvious, the student must provide documentation. Any information provided is considered an educational record and is subject to the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA).
• has a responsibility to document how the disability affects a particular delivery system, instructional method, or evaluation criteria when requesting accommodation.
• has the responsibility to actively participate in the search for accommodations and auxiliary aids. This responsibility extends to working with the university to seek financial assistance from government agencies and private sources.
• has the same obligation as any student to meet and maintain the university’s fundamental academic and technical standards.
• has the right to be evaluated on his/her ability, not disability. If the disability disproportionately affects the outcome of an evaluation method, the student is entitled to an evaluation by alternate means.
• is entitled to an equal opportunity to learn. If the location, delivery system, or instructional methodology limits access, participation, or ability to benefit, the student has a right to reasonable alterations in those aspects of the course (or program) to accommodate the disability.
• is entitled to an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from the academic community at a comparable level as that provided to any student.

Rights and Responsibilities of LSUS

LSUS recognized that its basic responsibility is to identify and maintain the academic and technical standards that are fundamental to providing quality academic programs while ensuring the rights of students with disabilities. To meet these obligations, LSUS:

• has the responsibility to inform its applicants and students about the availability and the range of accommodations.
• has the responsibility to evaluate applicants based solely on their abilities. If an evaluation method or the criteria have a disproportionately adverse effect on an applicant with a disability, LSUS will seek a reasonable alternative.
• has the responsibility to ensure that all of its programs (not necessarily all physical facilities) are accessible.
• has the responsibility to make reasonable adjustments in the delivery, instructional method, and evaluation system for a course when these have a disproportionately adverse impact upon a disability.
• has the responsibility to adjust, substitute, or waive any requirement/course that has a disproportionately adverse impact on a disability and is not fundamental to the student’s academic program.
• and its faculty have the right to identify and establish the abilities, skills, and knowledge that are fundamental to the academic programs/courses and to evaluate each student’s performance on this basis. These fundamental programs/course goals are not subject to accommodation.
• has the right to request and review documentation that supports requests for accommodation. Based upon this review, LSUS has the right to refuse an unsupported request.
• and its faculty have a right to select among equally effective methods of accommodating a student with a disability.
• has the right to refuse an accommodation based on undue hardship.