Disability Accommodation

Foreign Language Learning Disability   In order to meet the needs of students with specific learning disabilities that impede the learning of a foreign language, the College faculty passed the following legislation at its February 1984 meeting:

"Students who are diagnosed by approved services, either before or after their admission to the University, as having specific learning disabilities may petition the Dean of the College to receive such accommodation within the structure of required courses in foreign language as in the view of the department concerned is feasible and appropriate. If an accommodation proves unworkable, the Dean of the College, on the department's recommendation, may authorize the substitution of other courses dealing (in English) with the culture or literature of a non-English speaking people or with the history or description of language. For every semester of required foreign language not taken the student will be required to pass an authorized substitute course."

Therefore a student experiencing exceptional difficulty in a foreign language class should:

1. Consult immediately with the appropriate language course coordinator. The name of the coordinator may be obtained from the foreign language department.
2. Undergo testing
   1. Consult the Learning Needs and Evaluation Center (LNEC), located in the Elson Student Health Center, (804) 243-5180, and present either a prior diagnosis or discuss testing to be undertaken. The center will determine if a previous diagnosis was made according to acceptable standards and within three years of admission to the University or anytime thereafter. In the absence of an acceptable prior diagnosis, the LNEC staff will counsel the student regarding undergoing neuropsychological testing for the purposes of establishing a diagnosis. The LNEC will refer the student to approved testing agencies both within the University and the community. The student bears the cost of such testing.
   2. If a student has received a diagnosis of a learning disability deemed acceptable to the University's LNEC and can document unsuccessful efforts to learn a foreign language at an accredited institution, a student may confer with his or her College association dean regarding modification of the foreign language requirement. A petition from the student will be reviewed by the College's Disability Accommodations Committee.
3. Request accommodation   If testing confirms a learning disability which adversely effects the learning of a foreign language, the LNEC will suggest possible accommodations in the foreign language classroom (e.g., extended time in class tests, de-emphasized oral or aural components, extra tutorial assistance). The student then takes the accommodation request to both the instructor and the language coordinator. The instructor and the coordinator will inform the student of the accommodations the student will receive in the class. The coordinator will notify the student's association dean in writing what these accommodations are to be. Ideally, accommodations should be in place prior to the student's enrolling in the course.
4. Enroll with accommodations   The coordinator reviews the student's progress after six weeks.
   1. If the student is able to succeed, the student continues to take courses with accommodations until the foreign language sequence is completed.
   2. If the department finds that accommodations prove unworkable despite the student's maximum effort, the coordinator may recommend in writing to the student's association dean that the foreign language requirement be modified. Note: Modification is to be recommended only after proper accommodation procedures have failed.
5. Modification   Upon receipt of the coordinator's recommendation and a diagnosis from the LNEC, the student's dean may authorize the modification of the requirement and so notify the student in writing. The student's transcript will have the notation "Foreign Language requirement modified." Grades earned in foreign language classes will continue to appear on the transcript. However, if a student is diagnosed with a foreign language learning disability, a failing grade received in the semester when the student was referred to the LNEC for testing, or the student with a prior diagnosis identified him or herself to the LNEC, will be converted to NC (no credit).
6. Substitute courses   Upon modification, the student will be required to take the appropriate number of substitute courses to fulfill the foreign language requirement. As specified in the faculty legislation, these courses are to deal (in English) with the culture or literature of a non-English speaking people, or with the history or description of language. The substitute courses should form a cohesive cluster focused on one language area, either continuing the work begun in the language class or choosing a new area. The substitute courses should be drawn primarily from foreign literature in translation courses (course mnemonic ending with TR, e.g.; CHTR, FRTR, GETR, ITTR, JPTR, PETR, ROTR, etc.); Classics (CLAS); those classes from anthropology, history, religion, or other departments that deal exclusively with a specific non-English speaking country or culture; or linguistics (LNGS, with the exception of Black English, since the faculty legislation calls for non-English speaking culture or literature). The student is to seek his or her dean's prior approval for each substitute course. Substitute courses may not be applied toward the first major or toward other area requirements except the second writing requirement. They must be taken for a grade.

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