Academic Policies and Procedures - Central Maine Community ...

Academic Policies and Procedures
policies and
procedures
Policy and Procedures
for Substitution/Waiver
of Program Course
Requirements for Students
with Disabilities
Introduction
Student requests for a course substitution and/
or waiver will be individually reviewed by the
College’s Committee on Curriculum Substitution/Waiver
for Students with Disabilities. The
Committee will be composed of the Academic
Dean, the Disabilities Coordinator, the appropriate
Department Chair or Program Coordinator,
the Registrar, and ad hoc members as necessary.
As a general rule, academic requirements that
the College reasonably determines are essential
to the student’s program of instruction or to
pertinent career licensing requirements will not
be substituted or waived because such substitutions
or waivers can significantly diminish the
integrity of the degree.
For example, the College regards written communication
as an integral and essential component
of every program that CMCC offers.
Any modifi cation of that requirement would
substantially alter the nature of the educational
preparation at CMCC. Accordingly, the College
regards the curriculum of ENG 101 to contain
core requirements that cannot be substituted or
waived.
Again, each request will be evaluated and decided
on a case-by-case basis given the nature
and degree of the student’s disability and the
nature and essential character of the course or
program at issue.
Procedure for Substitution/Waiver
A student seeking a course substitution and/or
waiver must complete the following steps:
1. Meet with and present to the Disabilities
Coordinator documentation of the student’s
reasonable attempt to complete the
course as outlined in “Eligibility for Substitution/Waiver;”
2. Complete CMCC’s accommodation process
and have provided appropriate, current
disability documentation (as outlined
in the College’s “Disability Service Procedure
and Documentation”) that establishes
the impact of the disability on the course
required;
3. Request in writing the need for substitution/waiver
of a course in the degree program
and why the student believes he/she
should be granted the substitution/waiver
will be provided by the student to the Disabilities
Coordinator; and
4. Sign a release of information so that
documentation can be shared with Committee
members, who understand the confidential
nature of this information.
The Disabilities Coordinator will then:
1. Make the initial assessment of the relationship
between the requested substitution
and the disability; and
2. Forward the student’s request for substitution/waiver
along with any associated
documentation (including disability documentation)
to the Academic Dean, who is
the chair of the Committee.
The Academic Dean will then convene the Committee
within 10 working days of receiving the
request, and the Committee will:
1. Meet and engage in a deliberative process
to review the program requirements
and why CMCC has the requirement at
issue;
2. Once the purpose of the requirement
has been established, the Committee will
consider courses in other disciplines where
the requirements and goals might approximate
those of the course in question;
3. After the alternatives have been examined,
the Committee will determine, consistent
with any legal advice, whether another
course(s) would be an acceptable substitution
for the program requirement. The
Committee will have 15 working days from
its first meeting to carefully review all information
and come to a reasoned decision.
If the Committee determines consistent with any
legal advice that:
1. There is no reasonable substitute for the
required course, and that elimination of the
requirement would result in a fundamental
alteration of the program of study, the
request for substitution/waiver will not be
granted; or
2. That reasonable substitute(s) do exist,
a waiver for the required course will be
granted and the opportunity to take the
substitute course(s) will be granted.
The Academic Dean will then:
1. Notify the student and Committee members
within 10 working days of the end of
the Committee’s deliberation period of the
Committee’s decision, and indicate what, if
any, actions are necessary to take. If the
substitution/waiver is granted:
a. This will be indicated on the student’s
transcript;
b. All other degree requirements, such
as the total number of credits required
for the degree, must be met; and
c. A record of this process will be welldocumented
so that others who were not
involved can understand the deliberate,
reasoned process completed, the alternatives
considered, and the reasons for
the fi nal decision.
If the student does not agree with the decision of
the Committee, the student may:
1. File a grievance.
Disabilities Grievance
Procedure
The following grievance procedure must be used
by a student for complaints regarding claims of
disability and requests for accommodation.
1. Contents of the Grievance
The grievance must be in writing; contain
the name, address, and telephone number
of student; and the location, date and
description of the alleged discrimination.
Alternative means of grieving, such as
personal interview or tape-recording, are
available upon request, if required by disability.
2. Filing the Grievance
The student or, if necessary because of
disability, a designee must submit the
grievance to the ADA Compliance Offi cer
(“Officer”) as soon as possible and no
later than twenty (20) calendar days after
the alleged violation. The Offi cer may be
contacted at Central Maine Community
College, Affirmative Action Offi ce, Jalbert
Hall (207) 755-5233.
www.cmcc.edu 2010 ~ 2011 21