Student Accessibility Services
We offer appointments via telephone, virtually, or in-person as needed to accommodate students with disabilities. We encourage students to call 956-872-2173 or contact us to request an appointment.
In accordance with the requirement of 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) South Texas College will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities. South Texas College does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Dept. of Education, the U.S. Dept. of Justice and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Students or prospective students requiring special accommodations should contact the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) office at 956-872-2173 or email disability@southtexascollege.edu. Accommodation requests must be made by the student themselves. Students are required to provide documentation to verify his/her disability before an eligibility decision for accommodations is made and before accommodations are provided.
Services and accommodations as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act may include: academic advisement, short-term personal counseling, assistance with the admission process, registration, financial aid application, applications for TSI testing accommodations, academic appeals, arrangements for sign language interpreters, tutorial assistance, the use of provision of adaptive equipment, readers, scribes, instructional/testing/classroom modifications.
South Texas College is an equal opportunity institution which provides educational opportunities without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability or veteran students in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act 1973, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 which prohibits discrimination based on sex.
Each campus has a Counseling and Student Accessibility Services staff and you can contact them at the following phone numbers.
- Pecan Campus: 956-872-2173
- Mid-Valley Campus: 956-872-1229
- Starr County Campus: 956-488-5853
- Nursing and Allied Health Campus: 956-872-3077
- Technology Campus: 956-872-6125
Eligibility for Students with Disabilities
South Texas College uses the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) as a guide to define disability. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a person with a disability is one who:
- has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits a major life activity;
- has a record or history of such an impairment; or
- is regarded as having such an impairment by an appropriate expert.
Major life activities include, but are not limited to, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, caring for oneself, and performing manual tasks.
These impairments may be present among people with learning disabilities, emotional disturbances, chronic health impairments, attention deficit disorder, diabetes, asthma, physical disabilities, vision, speech, or hearing impairments, or other conditions.
Reasonable Accommodations
A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a course, program, service, job, activity, or facility that enables a qualified individual with a disability to have an equal opportunity to attain the same level of performance or to enjoy equal benefits and privileges as are available to an individual without a disability. Some common academic accommodations include but not limited to extended time on tests, use of peer note takers, use of computer with spell-check, and provision of sign language interpreters.
Requesting Accommodation Services
After completing the admissions process, new students may come in to see a Student Accessibility Services staff member at the campus the student will attend or they may submit a New Student Application. Students are required to submit medical or supportive documentation of their disability when they come in or to upload it with their New Student Application. Accommodations and procedures for notifying the instructors of the accommodations are discussed with the student at the intake appointment.
Requesting Dual Credit Student Disability Services
Dual credit students follow the same procedures and guidelines as other college students. They must disclose their disability to their high school or the college in order to request classroom accommodations.
- For classes taught by South Texas College faculty at one of our campuses, accommodations can be requested from Counseling and Student Accessibility Services.
- For classes taught by South Texas College faculty at a high school, accommodations can be requested from Counseling and Student Disability Accessibility Services and the college Counselor will coordinate classroom accommodations in collaboration with the student and designated 504/Special Education high school personnel.
- For classes taught by dual credit faculty at a high school, accommodations can be requested from the designated 504/Special Education high school personnel.
Cost of Services
There is no additional cost to the student for these services.
Academic Accommodations Arrangement
Student Accessibility Services has a process and electronic system for students who anticipate needing any type of accommodations. Students should meet with their instructor(s) in person the first day of class to discuss their need for disability accommodations. Students must self-identify as having a disability and apply for the academic accommodations with Student Accessibility Services. Student Accessibility Services then provides eligible students with and eligibility letter that identifies their academic accommodations each term that a student requests accommodations.
SAS will email a customized ‘Faculty Notification Letter’ to the student’s instructors electronically to notify the instructor of the accommodations the student has been approved to use for their class. During a meeting with the instructor, the student and the instructor should talk about the student's accommodation needs, establish how specified accommodations will be arranged throughout the semester, and explore any questions or concerns that either the student or the instructor have regarding the accommodations. Each semester, accommodations will become active as soon as each instructor is notified of the approved accommodations via email by Student Disability Accessibility Services.
Student Disability Accessibility Services determines eligibility for accommodations based upon disability requests of the student. Since different classes may require different accommodations, it is important to look at a student's needs on a semester-by-semester basis. Services, therefore, must be requested at least once at the beginning of each semester or at the time a need is identified within a semester.
Returning eligible students must make their accommodation request every semester by customizing their request for each class electronically on MyCSAS portal so that faculty notifications can sent to each instructor by Student Disability Accessibility Services.
Special Parking
Special parking for students with disabilities is provided at each campus. You must have a South Texas College disability parking sticker on your vehicle in order to use these parking spaces. Proof of disability is required for you to obtain a disability parking sticker. For more information contact the South Texas College Department of Public Safety at 956-872-4444.
