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General Academic Policies
Policy for the Accomodation
of Students With Disabilities
Concordia College is committed to providing access to learning opportunities
for students with disabilities who meet the standard criteria for
admission. Students accepted for admission are considered capable
of meeting academic standards if reasonable accommodations can be
made for their disability, which do not compromise the academic integrity
of the College or the students' educational program. The College'
commitment stems from its desire to provide opportunities for an education
to all who meet the admissions criteria and to fully serve its constituency.
The College is further committed to complying with Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and interpreted, and strengthened
by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in meeting the needs
of students who have disabilities under the law. It is the policy
of the College to make services available for students who, through
a recent assessment, can clearly document a disability. Services offered
shall include support, counseling, information and academic assistance.
Furthermore, Concordia College policy calls for appropriate accommodations
to be made for students with documented disabilities on an individual
and flexible basis. It is the responsibility of students, however,
to make their needs known and to seek the assistance, which is available
at the College.
The following guidelines describe procedures by which reasonable accommodations
for students with disabilities enrolled at Concordia College can be
accomplished.
General Guidelines
It is the responsibility of each student with a disability to provide
written notification to the director of the Counseling Center immediately
upon acceptance for admission to the College. The notification must
include the specific nature of the disability and establish the need
for accommodation. The director of the Center will respond by providing
the student a copy of this policy that explains services available
and outlines what is needed from the student. There are specific criteria
for documenting a learning disability (LD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD), psychiatric disability, or physical disabilities
and chronic health conditions. Guidelines will be made available when
any of these disabilities are claimed; guidelines can also be found
at our Web site, http://www3.cord.edu/counseling.
The student should then provide official documentation to the director
of the Counseling Center as stated in the guidelines. The College
will accept testing and/or evaluations from appropriately licensed
personnel in recognized agencies. The College, at its discretion,
may require additional testing or evaluation if the documentation
is inadequate or in need of updating.
All Concordia students are expected to assume an appropriate level
of responsibility for their educational and personal needs during
their enrollment at the College. This means that students may initially
need more support from the institution but that over a period of time,
the goal is to have students doing as much as possible for themselves.
At the beginning of each academic year, students are required to update
their request for accommodation with the director of the Counseling
Center.
The considerations essential for determining the scope of academic
adjustments necessary centers on three major points:
1. The essential course content and requirements necessary for academic
credit;
2. The course standards for academic performance which must be met
to complete the course; and
3. The accommodations necessary for the students to access the course
content, thus being provided an opportunity equal to that afforded
others in meeting the requirements.
Accommodations will be designed to meet the individual needs of the
students. However, they cannot compromise curricular goals, standards,
or essential course content, nor interfere with the rights or opportunities
afforded others. All acceptable accommodations will recognize the
faculty members' right to determine the content and academic
performance standards in the classroom. Unless students have gone
through the formal process of official documentation with the director
of the Counseling Center, they cannot expect to receive accommodations
from faculty.
Specific Procedures
Step 1 - Notification: It is the responsibility of
each student with a disability to provide written notification to
the director of the Counseling Center immediately upon acceptance
for admission to the College.
Step 2 - Referral: Individuals, such as faculty,
staff, family member or representative of the Division of Rehabilitation
Services who have reason to believe that a student may have a disability
that hinders their academic performance, may refer the student to
the Counseling Center, but are not required to do so.
Step 3 - Certification/Validation: If the disability
has been previously identified, either through documentation of a
history of having received services in other educational settings
and/or through testing/evaluation by appropriately licensed personnel
in a recognized agency, documentation must be provided to the director
of the Counseling Center. If the disability has not been formally
diagnosed or if a more recent or adequate evaluation is necessary,
further assessment may be required by the College, at its discretion,
to determine eligibility for services. If further testing or evaluation
is necessary, the student will be referred to an appropriate public
or private community agency, with the cost to be borne by the student.
Specific criteria must be met in the documentation of all disabilities.
The specific guidelines should be requested from the director of the
Counseling Center or accessed via our Web site at http://www3.cord.edu/counseling.
Step 4 - Development of an Accommodation Plan: Once
a disability has been established, the director of the Counseling
Center will confer with the student. The director will work with the
student to develop a plan to provide the reasonable accommodations
necessary for the student to achieve the course or curriculum requirements
and to provide essential support services. Responsibilities of the
student as well as accommodations to be made by the faculty will be
outlined in the plan. Appropriate faculty and staff will be involved
in the process as necessary.
Whenever there is a petition for change in a curricular requirement,
the student is required to inform the director of the Counseling Center.
The student will be directed to write a letter of petition to the
appropriate individual or committee according to the specific request,
explaining the nature of the disability and stating the rationale
for the change(s). The director will also write a letter to the appointed
individual or committee to verify the disability. The director will
then forward the letters to the designated individual or committee
(department chair or Core Committee, for example) for review and approval
or disapproval. Should additional information regarding the disability
be needed from whomever, the student will be asked to sign a release
authorizing the director to provide additional information. The College
registrar will be notified of any approved changes in graduation requirements.
A notation indicating the change will be added to the student'
advising folder. If the changes are not mutually agreeable, the student,
faculty/staff member or director of the Counseling Center may use
the resolution procedure as outlined in step seven (Resolution Process).
Step 5 - Implementation: The College will assist
the student in implementing accommodation plans by:
1. Working with the student to plan a course of study early enough
so that the students may schedule an appropriate load of courses each
semester;
2. Communicating in writing and in some instances through conferences
at the beginning of each semester the accommodation plan and the specific
responsibilities of the parties involved;
3. Meeting with the student regularly to review personal adjustment
and course progress, to engage in any necessary problem-solving with
students, and to provide encouragement and support;
4. Making appropriate referrals to campus and community resources.
Step 6 - Renewal: Once in the program, it is the
responsibility of the student to renew the request for accommodation
with the director of the Counseling Center at the beginning of each
academic year. The College does not automatically renew the accommodation
plan.
Step 7 - Resolution Process:
1. In the event that a reasonable accommodation plan cannot be formulated
working through the director of the Counseling Center, either the
student or faculty/staff member may file an appeal with the College
504 Officer.
2. If questions or problems arise with regard to implementation of
the accommodation plan, the student or faculty/staff member may appeal
to the director of the Counseling Center. If not resolved, the student
or faculty/staff member may file an appeal with the College 504 Officer.
His/her decision will be final in all cases.
Class Attendance
Regular attendance and participation in class is critical to a student'
success at Concordia College. Because any absence, excused or unexcused,
detracts from the learning experience, students are expected to attend
all classes. Concordia College also values the educational experience
afforded by student participation in cocurricular activities. As a
result, the following articulates a policy that encourages responsible
decision-making on the part of coaches, directors, activity coordinators
and students participating in cocurricular activities while also assuring
that students are allowed participation in cocurricular activities.
In the case of illness, the student should notify his/her instructor
and the residence hall director. In the event of serious or extended
illness, or family emergency, the Student Affairs Office should also
be notified. Makeup work may be required for any absence. Students
should note that their grade in a course may be affected by excessive
absences.
Students who participate in College-sponsored activities (e.g. intercollegiate
athletics, choral and instrumental groups, forensics, mock trial,
Concordia Language Villages and department-sponsored activities) should
be notified by their coaches, directors or activity coordinators of
the dates of scheduled absences as early as possible. (This information
should be available before students register for classes.) Students
should notify their instructors of scheduled absences at the beginning
of the semester, or as soon as that information is available to them.
Faculty and staff who are responsible for coaching, directing or coordinating
College-sponsored activities should provide students with the dates
of scheduled absences as early as possible in the semester, and provide
faculty with verified rosters and dates of scheduled absences at the
earliest point possible. If exact dates are unavailable, the number
of scheduled absences and their approximate dates should be provided.
To the extent that coaches, directors and coordinators have control
of the number of scheduled absences, they should be prudent in the
number of absences they require of students.
In any class, under normal circumstances, students should not miss
more than 10 percent of the total scheduled class periods because
of a College-sponsored activity. If scheduled absences in a class
will exceed 10 percent of class meetings, the faculty or staff member
responsible for coaching, directing or coordinating the College-sponsored
activity should submit the activity schedule to the Academic Procedures
and Policies Committee for approval prior to the start of the semester
(if possible). Decisions of the Academic Procedures and Policies Committee
may be appealed to the dean of the College. If the schedule is approved,
students should be allowed to complete missed work without penalty.
Faculty will determine what kind of make-up work is required for absences
and whether the work is to be completed before the students'
departure or upon their return. If class attendance is a factor in
determining the final grade, the students should not be penalized
for missing these classes. If class participation is a factor in determining
the final grade, faculty should allow students to fulfill the participation
requirement by some other means or at some other time.
If a student chooses to participate in more than one College-sponsored
activity and will miss more than 15 percent of the meetings in any
class, that student should consult with his/her instructor as soon
as he/she becomes aware of this situation. The student should recognize
that a grade penalty may result from this number of absences.
Faculty or students should bring to the attention of the Committee
on Academic Procedures and Policies any College-sponsored activity
that, in their opinion, has scheduled an excessive number of absences.
Programs that, in the opinion of the Committee, persist in over-scheduling,
will be reported to the dean and the president.
It is the duty of each faculty member to meet all scheduled classes
during the entire semester. If a faculty member must be absent, an
arranged substitute should be considered. Legitimate reasons for missing
a class include illness and professional travel.
Faculty members should keep attendance records and report excessive
absences to the Student Affairs Office by use of the Academic Performance
Notice, as well as confer directly with the student about absences.
If a student quits coming to class and subsequently fails the course,
the last date of attendance in the class must be reported to the Registrar'
Office along with the final grade in the course.
Cocurricular Participation
Every College-sponsored activity should provide the Committee on Academic
Policies and Procedures with its eligibility requirements. While those
responsible for coaching, directing or coordinating these activities
are encouraged to develop eligibility requirements that suit their
particular activity best, the minimum requirement at Concordia College
is that students participating in College-sponsored activities must
be enrolled for at least 3.0 course credits. Students who do not meet
this minimum may appeal to the committee for an exception to the rule,
as may directors who have special needs that this policy makes impossible
for them to meet.
Snow Days
Because about 80 percent of our students are on campus or within a
few blocks of campus, most students are generally able to attend classes
in bad weather. A large percentage of faculty and staff also live
close enough to the campus to make it to the College in bad weather.
Because of these two factors, classes are generally held and the College
remains open for everyone who is able to be here. Faculty who are
unable to attend their classes on storm days are asked to call their
department or, as a second resort, the Office of the Registrar, so
that notices can be posted for their classes. Staff who are unable
to make it to the office are asked to contact their supervisors.
There will be times when the College may be forced to cancel classes
or, on rare occasions, to close due to extreme severity of conditions.
In that event, the decision-making process on whether or not to hold
classes or close the College will begin at approximately 5 a.m. with
a final decision before 6:30 a.m.
The decision will be announced on radio and television, on campus
e-mail messages and the College Web site, or on the information line
(299-4000). If you do not hear any notice being given, assume classes
are being held and the College is open. Please do not call Campus
Security unless it is an emergency.
Assessment and Institutional Research
Concordia College is committed to providing students with an excellent
education, and assessment is the process which measures the impact
of that education on students' growth. Several methods have
been developed to assess the effectiveness of College programs.
Student participation is essential to this process; student opinions
and input are valued and allow the College to enrich the learning
environment for current and future Cobbers. The College is able
to improve programs and make changes based on these assessment activities.
To encourage participation in assessment activities, students are
invited to attend focus groups, to complete tests, to develop portfolios,
to complete surveys or to participate in a number of other activities.
Many assessment activities enable progress measurement from the
first year to the fourth year, which helps determine how the College
is influencing student growth.
The mission of the Office of Assessment and Institutional Research
is to coordinate institutional assessment activities, to consult
with departments in developing and implementing assessment plans
and procedures, and to analyze institutional data. The director
of Assessment and Institutional Research will:
¥ coordinate institutional assessment activities, including
data collection, analysis and reporting.
¥ consult with academic departments in the development and
implementation of assessment plans. It will provide training and
technical assistance in the following areas: developing/identifying
student learning outcomes, selecting and developing assessment techniques,
collecting and analyzing data and utilizing results for improvement.
¥ document assessment processes and serve as a clearinghouse
for assessment information.
¥ work with the assessment committee to assess general education
learning outcomes.
¥ stay current on research literature and accepted practice
in the areas of assessment and institutional research.
¥ share information about assessment research and assessment
activities conducted at other colleges.
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