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Penn State Policy
It is Penn State’s policy to not discriminate against qualified students with documented disabilities in its educational programs. Perhaps you require alteration of course materials, activities, or environments to accommodate their disabilities. If so, every reasonable effort is made to make these alterations so that you can complete the course.
Penn State Contact & Certification
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. If you have a disability-related need for reasonable academic adjustments in this course, contact the Office for Disability Services (ODS) at 814-863-1807 (V/TTY). For further information regarding ODS, please visit the Office for Disability Services Web site at http://equity.psu.edu/ods/.
In order to receive consideration for course accommodations, you must contact ODS and provide documentation (see the documentation guidelines at http://equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources/guidelines). If your documentation supports a need for academic adjustments, ODS will provide a letter to you and to me identifying appropriate academic adjustments. You must contact ODS and request academic adjustment letters at the beginning of each semester.
Adjustments
Academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and services can be provided to make a reasonable academic adjustment for a student with disabilities, contingent on the availability of necessary resources. A reasonable academic adjustment is an academic adjustment that minimizes or eliminates the impact of a disability, allowing the individual to gain equal access and have an equal opportunity to participate in the University's courses, programs, services, activities, and facilities.
A reasonable academic adjustment is one that does not require a substantial change in the curriculum or alteration of any essential elements or functions of the course, program, service, or activity. Some course adaptations might require only minor revisions or changes, or might require a search for a mutually satisfactory solution for the instructor and the student. Auxiliary aids and services are most likely to be funded by Penn State's Office of Disability Services.
Emergencies involving you and your families and significant others are handled on a 24–hour basis by University Police Services on the University Park Campus located on the first level of the Eisenhower Parking Deck (Telephone: 814.863.1111). You should provide this source of contact to your family and other people who might need to reach you in case of emergency while the you are attending class meetings on the University Park Campus.
From Penn State
Although mastery of the English language, basic mathematical concepts and operations, and computing concepts and skills is expected of graduate students, remediation may be needed. An array of programs, services, and personnel are available for remedial education through Penn State Learning – which is designed with the needs of undergraduates in mind (but graduate students exhibiting basic skill deficits can benefit from the Penn State Learning offerings). In particular, the Center for Excellence in Writing’s Graduate Writing Center is a resource designed specifically for graduate student use.
External to Penn State
Several resources external to Penn State also might be useful for remedial education:
• Khan Academy is an excellent source of brief video modules of online instruction for all levels of arithmetic and mathematics.
• A review of rhetoric is provided by Carson-Wheeler College.
As an institution of higher education, The Pennsylvania State University is committed to making post-high school education available to all who possess a high school diploma or its equivalent without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications. The Pennsylvania State University does not discriminate against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
The Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 identifies the rights of students and their families with respect to student educational records kept by institutions. As part of the requirements of FERPA, the University has a Policy on Confidentiality of Student Records (Policy AD-11). Information from records, files, and data directly related to a student may not be disclosed by any means (including telephone) to individuals or agencies outside the University (including parents) without the prior written consent of the student. Information contained in such records may be shared within the University with “university officials” having “legitimate educational interest” in such information. It is important for instructors to protect student confidentiality when listing class exam grades, returning class papers or projects, and writing letters of recommendation.
All Penn State employees are required by University policy to report the sexual abuse of children (minors under age 18). This policy applies even to employees who may not be technically considered “mandated reporters” under the law. I complete periodically online training required by Penn State (Cf., http://lrn.psu.edu/).