14 Disability Support Services and Accommodations

Seiter Hall, Room 100
(208) 769-5947

The North Idaho College Disability Support Services (DSS) office can help NIC students with their academic accommodations, access, and other services. Through an agreement with the North Idaho Consortium of Higher Education, DSS also provides these same services to students attending the North Idaho campuses of Boise State University, Lewis and Clark State College, and the Idaho State University.

Please contact our office to learn more about eligibility, services, assistive technology,  accommodations, rights, and responsibilities.

DSS and Faculty

Instructors should guide students that need accomodations to the DSS Office

Seiter Hall Room 100
475 N. College Drive
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814

(208) 769-5947 or (208) 665-4520
DSS@nic.edu

Once a student has received an accommodation, the faculty member will receive an email notification. If you have questions regarding the accommodations, please discuss these with DSS. If you have concerns that the accommodation(s) may be impacting the learning          outcomes of the course, please discuss these concerns with your Division Chair.

Current ADA Statement found on all Syllabus

Disability Support Services and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504/508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, North Idaho College provides accommodations to eligible students who experience barriers in the educational setting due to learning, emotional / mental, physical, visual, or hearing disabilities. Instructors will provide accommodations to students only after having received a Letter of Accommodation from Disability Support Services (DSS).

If a student would like to request accommodations, he or she must contact DSS so that a Letter of Accommodation may be sent to the instructor. Students requesting accommodations should contact DSS as early in the semester as possible to avoid delay of accommodation due to student load.  Accommodations are not retroactive. DSS provides academic accommodations, access, assistance and services at NIC and at the North Idaho Consortium of Higher Education campus.

Evacuation Procedure in Case of Fire – Instructors

In the event of an emergency, those unable to navigate the stairs should move to the Area of Refuge [Rescue] with assistance from their instructors.

Rescue areas are located at the elevator of every building on every level above and below the main floor.

If unable to wait  because of the location of the fire, shelter in place unless  danger is imminent.

To shelter in place means remaining in a room with an exterior window, a telephone and a solid or fire-resistant door. Call 911 or Campus security at 769-3310 to report the location.

For false  alarms or an isolated and contained fire,  people with  disabilities may not need to evacuate.  The decision to evacuate will be made by the fire department. Instructors should assist the individual to determine whether or not the alarm is false and stay with the individual until assistance arrives or the drill is completed.

Students who can walk and navigate the stairs who have requested assistance should stay with their instructors for the duration of the event.

Evacuation requests for assistance must be made through DSS and will be on file in Campus Safety for the purpose of locating the student in the case of an emergency.

Any change of location, or any change to the original evacuation plan signed by the student must be reported to DSS by the student so changes can be made to their evacuation request form.

DSS Confidentiality Policy

Disability Support Services (DSS) maintains confidentiality of information for students who have documentation on file, or who have accessed support through DSS. All information provided to DSS verbally or in written form including the nature of their disability will remain confidential to DSS personnel with the exceptions of circumstances listed on the Authorization for Sharing Form each student is asked to complete when requesting services. Unless the student provides a written consent to release information the information will:

• Be secured in the DSS office
• Remain separate from all other school records
• Be destroyed after the student has not attended NIC for five years.
• Not be disclosed to anyone other than those circumstances listed on the informed consent release or other type of release wherein the student has given permission to disclose information about them.

Instructors receive an Accommodation Request Form from DSS but disability information is NOT disclosed via the Accommodation Request Form and instructors are not privy to this information. Students may choose to tell instructors, but are advised that they are under no obligation to disclose anything about the nature of their disability to anyone other than DSS staff. However, students are required to discuss their accommodations as needed with pertinent instructors.

Instructors are required to keep any information about their student’s disability including that the student has a disability  confidential unless special circumstances apply, such as a threat to safety, or the student or others. Instructors should contact their chair for further information and or DSS and relevant Student Service administrators.

Students are asked to complete a limited release of information in DSS prior to the disclosure of any information or prior to communication about them via email due to the possibility of computer error that may result in unauthorized individuals viewing their information.