The Dean of Studies Office and “Incompletes”

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The college catalogue defines an incomplete as an indication of “a deferred examination or other work not completed, for reasons of health or serious emergency.” I’ll get back to that underlined part.  To receive an incomplete, students must go through the Dean of Studies, the Dean of Freshmen, or their class adviser.  The college health service may be involved, if necessary.

There are so many possible scenarios in which a student with a disability might find the need to take an incomplete at the end of the semester.  Students with learning disabilities might take longer to complete their work and find and find themselves in need of more time.  Students with anxiety disorders may have so much anxiety that it can become paralyzing and make it difficult to complete work.  Students with chronic illnesses may get sick at any time, making it more difficult to complete their work on time as well.  Each of these scenarios is likely to be worsened by the fact that it is the end of the semester when a student considers taking an incomplete.  Most students would agree that it is the end of the semester when a disability is the hardest to deal with.  The end of the semester is when the stakes are the highest academically.  I wonder, why might the dean of studies office be least flexible at a time like this? Students say that the dean of studies office does not understand that when you have a chronic disability, these sorts of scenarios can happen whenever.  One student said, “It’s not an emergency, it’s just how your life is.”

I spoke with a few students registered with AEO who have had experience with requesting to take an incomplete.  These students requested incompletes for reasons related to their disability but each of them had difficult experiences with their requests.  This is largely because of the college’s definition of an incomplete- specifically that  there must be an unexpected “emergency” to take an incomplete.  Because of this emergency policy, the Dean of Studies Office does not expect students to have to take an incomplete more than once.  This is not stated in the college catalogue.  But if these students are requesting an incomplete because of an issue due to their disability, how will they know that they won’t come across the problem they are having again? A disability is not a one-time thing, so why should it be treated that way?  Unfortunately, many students have reported that even after being granted incompletes, their deans have emphasized to them that their incomplete was a one-time thing and that they will not be allowed to take an incomplete for such reasons again.

If you do request to take an incomplete due to a disability related issue, it may be wise to first speak with someone in AEO.  If he or she is supportive of your decision, it may also be best to have him or her come to your meeting with your Dean (This is where it helps to be familiar with at least someone in AEO).  For example, if you have been seeing an academic coach who knows you well, he or she might be able to support you in your decision.  From the experience of a couple of students, I know that this has been an important factor.

 

 

 

AEO and its New Name

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Recently, AEO changed it’s name from ODSS (The Office of Disability and Support Services) to AEO (The Office of Accessibility and Educational Opportunity).  One reason the office decided to change its name is because they thought it would be more inclusive and welcoming than the previous name.  One student claimed that the new name falls in line with AEO’s tendency to market things related to disabilities without using the word disability, in hopes of not scaring students away.  Some students like the new name and some don’t.  Those who preferred the old name have said that they feel as if the new name is “tip-toeing” around the issue of disability.  However, others believe that new name might bring forward students who don’t think of themselves as disabled, especially those who are new to having a disability.

Information Regarding Disability at Vassar that Students with Disabilities Would Like Others to Know

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Students with disabilities would like to get more information out there about how many students are registered with AEO and what kind of disabilities these students have.  Mostly, they wish that people would just think about disability more.  For example, we need more people to think about how to make events accessible to all, whether that means hosting an event in an accessible location or providing food that can be eaten by those with allergies.

How Does AEO Do at Accommodating Students?

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Both students’ and professors’ biggest issue with AEO seems to be that they are under staffed.  Several students reported that there can be an issue with AEO getting back to students in a timely fashion.  One student provided an example, “If you need books on tape, you might get them after the test and that won’t be helpful.” Despite some of AEO’s shortcomings, most students registered with the office seem to agree that AEO is very supportive and that their staff are very motivated to help you.

Here is what one professor had to say about AEO:

“I have seen first hand what a wonderful job MaryJo and Steven do with academic coaching and also how good the office is at providing things like texts, braille texts if needed, extra time on tests, and proctoring arrangements for exams.  I think where the difficulty comes is with students who have not gone to the office and have not identified themselves to the office or who don’t know they have a disability and could benefit from accommodations. Some of the difficulties that arise come when a student discovers in the course of their time at Vassar that they have a disability and then the process of coming to work with the office and getting accommodations is more fraught for the student.”

Misconceptions and Assumptions about Disability at Vassar

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What are some misconceptions or assumptions you think people at Vassar make about disability? I asked students this question and here are some of the things they said.

1.  There are few students with disabilities on campus.

This is in fact not the case, but the misconception is not surprising.  After all, the majority disabilities present on campus are invisible disabilities.  If students are judging the number of disabilities based only on what they can see, they will certainly not add up to many.

2.  Disability is a nuisance.

When discussing that little phrase regarding disability that we find at the bottom of all event posters, one student said, “I think it’s a really good representation of how this campus thinks about disability- as a legal, or bureaucratic issue, and not a part of our culture.  Or it’s not that we want to make campus inclusive for people with disabilities, but that we’re required to do this or spend this minimum amount of energy or else we’ll get sued by whoever.”

3. All students with disabilities are registered with AEO.

Some students might only think of students with disabilities in the context of AEO.  But there are many disabled students who are not registered with AEO.  Some do not register because they do not want to be identified as disabled, some do not believe they need accommodations, and others may not think that AEO can assist them.

So, what can we do to eliminate misconceptions on campus?  Students said that increasing the visibility of disabled students would help.  This might be done by helping them feel comfortable with having a disability.  Just the existence of ACCESS, the campus group for students with disabilities and allies, is helping students with disabilities on campus become more visible.  One of ACCESS’ recent initiatives, acquiring a disability cultural center on campus, would also help students think of disability as a part of the campus culture.  Having more discussions about disability and disability culture in the classroom also might help, especially during class discussions about other minorities, minority culture, race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, etc.

Reduced Course Load and its Flaws

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A reduced course load is referred to by AEO as a modification to a student’s academic program. Students in need of this modifications can petition the Committee on Leaves and privileges, in consultation with AEO.

A reduced course load allows a student to take fewer classes per semester.  However, all Vassar students are required to meet the graduation requirement of 34 units.  So how do students who receive a reduced course load graduate on time? Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t.  One student (I’ll call her Jane) says that the only reason she is able to take a reduced course load and will finish school in 8 semesters is because she had many AP credits, and took classes and completed fieldwork over the summers.  Jane also took personal leave one semester and had to petition to take classes while on leave so that she could take a reduced course load and still graduate with enough credits.  Unfortunately, not everyone has so many AP credits and the ability to take summer credits.  Jane says, “If I didn’t have all those things in my favor, I wouldn’t be graduating on time, and if I wouldn’t be graduating in 8 semesters, I couldn’t go to this school because your financial aid runs out.”

In Jane’s opinion, there needs to be some way for students with disabilities to attend school longer without having to pay more.  There needs to be a way for students to work a less rigorous course load if they have they have a disability that makes it take longer for them to get things done.  BUT, as she points out, the principle of accommodations involves changing the way things are done, not what is done.

People would say that Jane should have gone to a less rigorous school if she wanted a less rigorous course load.  But it’s important to recognize that it’s not that Jane can’t handle this level of intellectually rigorous work.  She says, “I can do this level of intellectually rigorous work, I just can’t do four courses of it at a time.”

Difficulties with Staggered Deadlines

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Staggered deadlines may be one of the most difficult accommodations to arrange.  Staggered deadlines involve planning alternate submission dates for papers, projects, or exams when a student has conflicting due dates for these.  The key part of staggered deadlines is the planning.  As it says on the AEO website, “Staggered deadlines are always established well in advance of the scheduled due date.”  It is the advanced planning of these deadlines that makes them “staggered deadlines” rather than extensions.  But what if you have a disability that makes it more difficult to plan? Professors aren’t required to give a student extensions.  In one student’s experience, though, professors have been very accommodating when she was unable to plan a staggered deadline in advance and allowed extensions anyway.  As you can see, this accommodation can get tricky.

Another difficult aspect of this accommodation is setting the deadlines for your assignments.  You want to make sure you provide yourself enough time to get the assignment completed to the best of your ability, but you don’t want to appear to your professor as if you are trying to buy unnecessary time.  This is why I would recommend talking to one of AEO’s academic coaches about your proposed deadlines before meeting with your professor.

In regards to staggered deadlines, one professor said, “Belinda [former AEO director] always used to say [staggered deadlines aren’t] extensions and should be worked out in advance.  But my experience in working with students who have that as an accommodation is that it isn’t always possible to work it out in advance, because a student’s schedule of academic work is like a Chinese puzzle box- there’s so many parts and if one moves- if a professor puts off an assignment or changes an assignment, then that affects everything else.”

Difficulties with AEO Registration

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1. The process

Many students report that they had a difficult time getting things settled when they first registered with AEO.  One student said that AEO took a long time getting back to her to let her know that her psychiatrist’s documentation had the wrong information.  This delay almost caused the student to be unable to request housing accommodations.  Though it all worked out in the end, the student said the “poorly organized” process caused her unnecessary anxiety.  Another student said,“I feel like they put up a lot of initial barriers to becoming approved for an accommodation, which could be a problem but at the same time kind of makes sense.”

2. The List

Another student who chose not to register with AEO said he made this decision based on the list of specific services AEO offers.  This makes one wonder how many students do not register with AEO because they do not see certain accommodations on AEO’s list.  This list is deceiving, because, in fact, AEO does offer more accommodations than those listed.  It is disappointing if students who could benefit from AEO’s services are not registering because they do not see a specific accommodation on AEO’s list.

3. The Cost

One professor said, “I’ve always been personally concerned about students whose parents are not well off financially and can’t afford the testing that’s required but I can’t say I know what the college’s current policy is on that or how they help. I know that Belinda [former Director] used to have a list of places where people could go to get the testing at a reduced fee.  In an ideal world I would like to see disability evaluations covered under college insurance policies, health insurance, so it could become an integral part of our larger health services, but that’s a dream.”

Delayed Accommodation Letters

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If you’re a student registered with AEO, you probably know that AEO isn’t the best at getting accommodation letters out as soon as we would like.  For example, even when one student tried to get her forms in before the semester started, the office was not open until the first day of classes and she was not able to actually receive accommodations until two weeks into the semester.  This brings up the following questions:

1. Should getting your accommodation letter early be an accommodation?

Maybe some students don’t have an issue with receiving accommodation letters a couple weeks into classes. But there are surely some who do.  What about the student with extended time on exams who has a quiz within the first few weeks of class? The student with a note taker who does not begin receiving notes until well into the semester? Or the student who records lectures? Could he or she not begin recording lectures until a couple weeks into class? Maybe AEO should consider having a box for students to check off if they feel the need to receive their accommodation letter at a sooner date.  Although, who wouldn’t want to check off that box?

2. Should AEO consider allotting the time necessary before the first day of classes to have accommodation letters returned to students by the first day of classes?

What would be the benefits of doing so? Well, as a start, meetings between professors and students about accommodation letters could be held right away, even during the first week of class.  Then, students would be able to begin receiving accommodations as early as needed.

Unfortunately, we are only students and we cannot hire the extra staff member or two we all know AEO needs.  Here, however, are some coping strategies for dealing with late accommodation letters.

1. Write to your professors. Let them know that your accommodation letter is coming and that you will be contacting them to arrange a meeting with them soon.  If there is an accommodation that you will need before you have received your letter, let them know. Ask if he or she would be willing to grant you this accommodation prior to receiving your letter.  Keep in mind that your professor may need confirmation from AEO.

2. After a reasonable amount of time has passed, consider writing a note to AEO explaining why it is important for you to get your accommodation letter as soon as possible.  If there is an assignment on your syllabus that may pose a problem if you do not have your accommodation letter, tell them.

Professors’ Familiarity with AEO

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Students say:

Most professors are only familiar with AEO to a certain extent.  They know that AEO exists and that it helps students, but their understanding is limited.  Most professors try to understand; however, they don’t have to deal with AEO very much, so they don’t know a lot.  Some students wish professors would make an effort to understand the reasons behind accommodations, rather than treating it as a business transaction.  Many students wish that professors had some sort of disability training.

All professors seem to understand that students are not trying to gain an advantage over other students and that these accommodations are legitimate.  That being said, there are still professors that are not willing to bend when it comes to accommodations.  Those professors seem to be less familiar with AEO.

Professors say:

Although someone from AEO comes to speak at new faculty orientation, the information being delivered does not stick with them as well as it could, because faculty have not yet had the experience of interacting with students registered with AEO.  One professor reported that there is almost no contact between faculty and AEO.  “There is not very much support for faculty to know how to accommodate students, or even to know whether they should take the accommodations seriously or not,” said another professor.  Not very many professors are educated about the importance of accommodations.

There has been some discussion of whether faculty who are understanding of disability should find some way to identify themselves to students.  Unfortunately, no solution has been reached.

What Students Can Do to Improve Professors’ Familiarity with AEO:

– Keep notes on your interactions with professors on issues of accommodations- both good and bad.  Consider providing these to AEO at the end of the year.  Wouldn’t it be great if AEO referred back to these when planning their discussion at new faculty orientation?

– Encourage your professors to reach out to AEO when they have questions about your accommodations.