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Student Support Services > ADA Services

ADA Services

Student Support Services

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Services

The Office of Disability Services for Students (DSS) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) serves all undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities. The DSS is the first check-in point for any student seeking accommodation. All accommodations must be approved though DSS to maintain confidentiality, ensure validity and allow for proper record keeping. Any student with a documented disability or any student who believes he or she might have a disability is encouraged to meet with the Director of Disability Services for Students as soon as possible to determine eligibility for services.

The Director of Disability Services for Students is Patrick Cooper. The office is located in room 308 which is on the third floor of the Boyd Campbell College Center. You may also email him or call him directly at (601) 974-1228.

Millsaps College is committed to compliance with the American Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. These laws ensure equal access to college and university programs for otherwise qualified students with disabilities and that the College will not discriminate in the recruitment, admission, education process, or treatment of students. Students who have self-identified, provided documentation of disability, and requested reasonable accommodations are entitled to receive approved modifications of programs, appropriate academic adjustments, or auxiliary aids that enable them to participate in and benefit from all education programs and activities.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states that: "any person who 1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, 2) has a record of such an impairment, or 3) is regarded as having such an impairment."

Requests for Services

Any student wishing to receive details about services to disabled students available at Millsaps College should initially contact the office of Patrick Cooper, Director of ADA Services prior to the beginning of the upcoming semester. Mr. Cooper will provide information about the procedure and make suggestions based on a student's particular disability and academic history. This office will maintain individual files containing ADA documentation.

Documentation and Its Evaluation

The documentation must be no more than three years old and must be completed by a physician if a physical disability and by a psychiatrist, psychologist, or certified educational specialist if the disability is psychological or a learning disability. When completed, the documentation for student services, should be mailed to:

Mr. Patrick Cooper, Director
ADA Services for Students
Millsaps College
1701 North State Street
Jackson, MS 39210-0001
Email: Patrick.Cooper@millsaps.edu

Within a reasonable time of receipt of the documentation, the ADA Director will, in conjunction with other necessary college personnel, determine the accommodations that the College will provide. The student will be notified of the accommodations that are recommended and must then meet with the ADA Director to work out the logistics of providing these accommodations. It will then be the student's responsibility to show this official letter to each of his/her professors and request from them the accommodations needed.

The Director will serve as a liaison between the disabled student and his/her faculty and Student Affairs through his/her college career to ensure that his/her special needs are being addressed. He is also the student's initial contact should he/she need to have accommodations changed, to coordinate accommodations such as readers or individual testing, and to refer students to various offices on campus responsible for providing academic support.

Student Rights

The following are considered basic rights ensured by Millsaps College to all students with documented disabilities:

• Equal access to courses, programs, services, jobs, activities and facilities offered or available through Millsaps College.
• Individualized assessment by a professional of the documentation submitted supporting the disabling condition and anticipated effects of that disability on functioning physically, socially, and academically in our college community.
• The provision of reasonable, appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids as a result of the above assessment.
• Appropriate confidentiality of all information related to his/her disability.
• To have information (where reasonable) available to him/her in a format accessible to him/her.

Student Responsibilities

Every student with a documented disability will be responsible for:

• Meeting the essential qualifications and institutional standards set by Millsaps College.
• Disclosing the disability in a timely manner to the ADA Director.
• Following the specific procedures described by the College to obtain reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids.
• Providing documentation from an appropriate professional source that meets the criteria spelled out by Millsaps College.
• Obtaining accommodations or support needs other than those the College has agreed to provide in the accommodation's plan.
• Notifying individual faculty members of their disabilities and accommodations by presenting his/her accommodation form to each professor (when accommodations are needed) and requesting those accommodations. The faculty and student will then discuss the best way to satisfy the student's need for accommodations.
• Making contact with individuals and offices providing additional support on campus.
• Developing the self-advocacy skills, motivation, organizational skills, and maturity necessary to be successful academically in college.
• To notify the Director of any problems or changes needed in the accommodations provided.

Faculty Responsibilities

• Adopt teaching practices and evaluation methods which promote equal access.
• Collaborate with the ADA Services and ADA Director for your school to provide accommodations.
• Contact you're the Director of ADA Services with any questions or problems.
• Treat all matters related to students with disabilities in a confidential manner.
• Consult with the Director of ADA Services if a disagreement between a student and faculty member regarding an accommodation is not resolved.
• May request a written agreement before allowing the student to tape record the lecture/class.
• Do not provide academic adjustments unless a faculty notification form has been processed by ADA Services.
  

Millsaps College strives to provide a supportive, stimulating "learning environment which increases knowledge, deepens understanding of faith, and inspires the development of mature citizens with the intellectual capacities, ethical principles, and sense of responsibility that are needed for leadership in all sectors of society." (From "The Millsaps Purpose")

Please feel free to contact the ADA Director for additional information on services provided or accommodations typically made at Millsaps College.