Americans with Disabilities Act

Public Access and Accommodations

• Event Accommodation

  Access

  The opportunity for persons with disabilities to participate in, utilize, benefit from, and enjoy the same facilities, programs, and services as non-disabled persons.

  Event Accommodation

  An adjustment, auxiliary aid or service that provides a person with a disability equal access to an event, lecture, meeting, and/or facility. Accommodations can include, but are not limited to interpreters, captionists, written materials in alternate format, listening devices and physically accessible locations.
• Employee Accommodations

  Purpose

  The Reasonable Accommodation Process is the process to explore possible workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities.

  Definitions

  Disability:  Under the ADA and ADA Amendments Act of 2008, a person is considered to have a disability if (1) he or she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; (2) has a record of having such an impairment; or (3) is regarded as having such and impairment.

  Major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working.  A major life activity also includes the operation of a major bodily function, including but not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine and reproductive functions.

  Reasonable Accommodations: A reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job or work environment that permits a qualified person with a disability to participate in the job application process, to perform the essential functions of a job, or to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by employees without a disability.  For example, a reasonable accommodation may include:

  • Acquiring or modifying equipment or devices,
  • Job restructuring
  • Modified work schedule
  • Adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials, or policies
  • Providing readers and interpreters, and making the workplace readily accessible to people with disabilities

  Qualified Person with a Disability: A person who with or without reasonable accommodations, is able to perform the essential function of the position.

  Undue Hardship: Unduly costly, extensive, substantial, disruptive, or would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the department or unit.

  Requesting Accommodations

  The Reasonable Accommodation Process is a collaborative and interactive process between the employee, manager/supervisor/department head, Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, and other appropriate personnel.

  When an employee with an impairment requests an accommodation, the manager/supervisor/department head should direct the employee to the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs.

  The Employee is responsible for the following:

  • Forwarding the completed Employee Accommodation Request Form to the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs.
  • Working with their healthcare provider to complete and return the Medical Inquiry Form. 
  • Working with the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs as part of the interactive accommodation process.

  Possible accommodations are reviewed with the manager/supervisor/department head before a final offer of reasonable accommodations is made to the employee. Please review to the Reasonable Accommodation and Equal Access Policy and related procedures for additional information.

• Access to Physical Facilities and Space

  Campus buildings, paths of travel, and other physical facilities are to be accessible to the extent that no individual with a disability is denied access to programs, services, or activities offered by the College of Charleston as a consequence of inaccessible physical facilities. All new structures and major renovations of existing facilities and paths of travel must, at a minimum, meet accessibility standards and guidelines as required by federal and state law. In the event construction of physical facilities obstructs preexisting accessible route, an alternate accessible route must be provided. Modification and retrofit of existing inaccessible facilities will be accomplished on a priority basis.
  
  These physical access provisions apply to any facility that is owned, leased, or used by College of Charleston. If a program or activity is scheduled in a location that is inaccessible to a person with a disability, and if accessibility cannot be readily achieved in a timely manner by structural redesign, modification, or retrofit of the facility, the program or activity must be made accessible through other suitable methods. Other methods may include, but are not limited to, relocation of the event, accessible transportation, or alternate format materials.
  
  The department sponsoring the program or activity is responsible for informing participants of access procedures and coordinating access to an event, but may seek the assistance of the ADA Coordinator. The person requiring access is responsible for making their needs known a reasonable amount of time in advance to the activity sponsor. The College of Charleston is committed to equal access and strives to remove barriers to its programs and facilities. However, you may encounter a barrier that the College may not be aware of, if you do, please submit this form to the ADA Coordinator at (843) 953-6643 so that the matter can be addressed promptly.