Disability Services

Students

Faculty/Staff

  • Syllabus Statement
  • Universal Design, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology DO-IT serves to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs and careers. It promotes the use of computer and networking technologies to increase independence, productivity, and participation in education and employment. 
  • Grievance Policy
  • Faculty Letters 
    Once a student has requested accommodations and those accommodations have been processed, the student will pick up a copy of the faculty letter from the Director of the CAE. The student will have a letter for each professor for each class for each semester or term. The student will bring the letter to the professor. The professor will need to sign and date both pages of the form. The top page will stay with the professor and should be kept in a confidential location. The student will return the 2nd signed page to the Director of the CAE. Please note the cover page includes instructions for the faculty. Please contact the Director of the CAE if you have questions.
  • When Faculty are too Accommodating

Who qualifies for services:

Services are available to qualified BVU Students with a documented disability including but not limited to the following:

  • Specific learning disabilities
  • Psychiatric, psychological, or emotional disabilities
  • Chronic health problems
  • Visual, speech, or hearing limitations
  • Mobility impairments

The law & its impact:

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states that: “No otherwise qualified person with a disability in the United States…shall, solely by reason of…disability, be denied the benefits of, be excluded from participation in, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
The Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act was signed by President George W. Bush on September 25, 2008.  It amends the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed into law on July 26, 1990.  The ADAAA restores the intent of Congress of providing “a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities.”
To qualify as an individual with a disability, a person must:

  • have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual;
  • have a record of an impairment; or
  • be regarded as having an impairment.                               

Important facts to know:

  • BVU does not provide medical and psychological testing needed to document a disability.  Students may request names of agencies and people who perform the in-depth assessment required for documentation.
  • Plan ahead: Arrangements for accommodations take time.  It may take weeks to get an electronic/digital copy of a textbook from the publisher.  If the publisher does not provide it, we will scan it for use by a screen reader.  That process takes time as well.

Center for Academic Excellence
Donna Musel, Director
712.749.1237
museld@bvu.edu

Counseling
Julie Anderson, Director
Harold Walter Siebens Forum
712.749.2123
andersonj@bvu.edu