Students Disclosing a Disability

Although by federal law, students have no requirement to identify themselves as disabled, students are encouraged to register with Disability Support Services immediately upon acceptance to HCCC.

Many students choose to delay disclosure until encountering difficulties. The consequence of delayed registration may be a delay in receiving accommodations.

A form requesting disclosure of a disability is included in the Admission Application and must be returned to Disability Support Services. At this point it is the responsibility of the student to advise Disability Support Services that he or she has a disability and the types of services and accommodations that will be needed. This is an important step because early planning is essential for smooth transition to college.

All accommodations are provided at no expense to the student and are based upon the individual needs of the student. The responsibility for determining eligibility for accommodations rests with the Disability Support Services Staff.

Faculty Referral

Members of the faculty are encouraged to announce at the beginning of the semester and put a statement in the syllabus inviting students with disabilities to schedule an appointment to discuss the nature of the disability. If the faculty member suspects that a student has a disability, he or she should discuss the concern with the student, and then, if appropriate, refer the student to Disability Support Services.

If a disability is brought to the attention of the faculty member, the faculty member is encouraged to contact Disability Support Services to verify the disability and to discuss accommodations.

Students wanting to request disability-related services must identify themselves to Disability Support Services. DSS must receive complete documentation of the disability, which substantiates the need for each accommodation requested. Eligibility for reasonable and appropriate accommodations will be determined on an individual basis. DSS will, based on documentation and with the student’s participation, coordinate and/or recommend necessary accommodations with the appropriate College personnel.

In most cases, the date of evaluation described in the documentation must be within three years from the initial presentation to the College. The student, in most cases, will not be asked for a re-evaluation during matriculation. However, in the case of some variable forms of disability (i.e. some psychiatric disabilities, some health conditions), a more recent date of evaluation or periodic re­evaluations may be required to verify the need for accommodation. The final determination for current status of the documentation rests with the institution.

Disability Support Services assumes responsibility to maintain confidentiality of the evaluation and will not release any part of the documentation without the student’s informed and written consent.

If accommodations are not clearly identified in a diagnostic report or letter, the disability service provider will seek clarification and, if necessary, more information. The appropriate accommodations will be designated by the disability service provider, and will be based on the student’s documentation. The final determination for providing appropriate and reasonable accommodations rests with Hudson County Community College.

Educational and Medical Evaluations

HCCC does not provide educational or medical evaluations. However, if a student has not been identified as having a disability in the past, and thinks that he or she may have a learning disability, Disability Support Services will conduct a pre-screening. The case is then referred to the New Jersey City University Learning Disabilities Center for a full evaluation.