Accessibility Services
At the Office of Accessibility Services, our mission is to actively support students of all abilities by making New York Tech a barrier-free environment for learning. We want to help students reach their academic and career goals.
Guided by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504, we offer accommodations and services to students who need them. In this way we include more students in the New York Tech community—and we help students take charge of their own access to university experiences.
Why is accessibility important?
For students with disabilities, accommodations and accessibility services provide equitable access to campus programs and services that are offered here, at New York Tech. These accommodations are intended, not to give some students an advantage, but to allow students with disabilities to reach their fullest potential. Our goal is to remove barriers that are faced by students with disabilities as a result of an inaccessible environment and to allow everyone the opportunity to experience everything that New York Tech has to offer.
How to Request Accommodations
To request accommodations, take the following actions to get registered with the Office of Accessibility Services:
- Self-Identification Form: Complete the Self-Identification Form and submit it to the Office of Accessibility Services on your campus in person, via email, or through fax.
- Clinician Verification Form: Ask a licensed clinician to complete the Clinician Verification Form for you and send it directly from their office to the Office of Accessibility Services via fax. (Please note that this form cannot be accepted from a student and must be sent directly from the clinician’s office to our office.)
- Intake Meeting: Once both forms above have been received by our office, the Assistant Director of Accessibility Services will reach out to the student to schedule an intake meeting. This meeting will discuss the student’s disability or condition, how it affects their academic activities, and which accommodations are reasonable to allow the student the best possible access to their education. The meeting may be held in person or via Zoom.
- Letter of Accommodation: After the intake meeting, students will be asked to send a list of their current classes and professors to the Office of Accessibility Services. A Letter of Accommodation will be sent to their professors to inform them of the student’s accommodations. (Students should initiate individual conversations with each of their professors in a private setting to discuss their accommodations and how they should be applied in each class.)
A note for returning students: Students will be required to send an updated list of their classes and professors (step 4 above) at the start of each semester if they would like to continue receiving accommodations. An email will be sent out to remind them.
Resources
Scheduling Exams: Students who wish to take an exam in the testing center must contact the Office of Accessibility Services and their professor at least five days prior to the day of the exam. This allows sufficient time for an appropriate time to be scheduled in the testing center, the professor to send the test to the testing center, and for the staff at the testing center to prepare the exam. Students should arrive at the testing center at their scheduled time for an exam. The same academic expectations and standards apply in the testing center as in the classroom.
- Testing Center Information
Long Island campus: Third floor, Student Activity Center
New York City campus: Room 312, 33 W 60th Street
Hours: Monday – Friday, 9 a.m – 5 p.m.
Note-Taking/Audio-Recording Lectures: For students who are approved for a note-taking or audio-recording accommodation, they will be sent an email requesting that they register for a program called “Glean.” Glean is an AI platform that can record audio, transcribe what is heard, and create an organized outline of the recorded information. Students who utilize this accommodation must agree that recordings may not be shared with other students and that only classroom instruction may be recorded.
Video Resource: Improving Executive Function Skills to Achieve Academic Success
Accessibility Information You Need to Know: Accommodating students is an important and crucial responsibility that is shared between the student, faculty, and Office of Accessibility Services. Your collaboration, understanding, and flexibility is greatly appreciated.
Confidentiality must be maintained as much as possible. Please be aware that it is a sensitive issue to be a person with a disability. You will be notified by our office if a student in your class requires accommodations. Please discuss these accommodations with them in a private setting. Also, please note that students are not required to reveal the nature of their disability to you.
If you are concerned about a student or suspect that they may have a disability, please give them the contact information for our office. They must contact us to register for accessibility services. We cannot be the first to reach out to them.
The Office of Accessibility Services welcomes any questions, concerns, or requests for consultation regarding issues of accessibility, whether they are student-specific or not. When in doubt, please ask us.
Accessibility Syllabus Statement: Please include the following accessibility statement on the syllabus for any New York Tech courses that you teach:
“New York Institute of Technology is committed to fostering an academic environment that is accessible for all. If you have a disability and require accommodations, please register with the Office of Accessibility Services. Visit https://www.nyit.edu/student-life/counseling-and-wellness/accessibility-services/ for more information.”
Video Resource: Increasing Accessibility in Your Classroom
Accessibility Information for Parents: Implementation of students IEPs and 504 plans does not continue after the students leave high school. The support that a student received in high school may not be replicated in the college setting.
To receive accommodations, students must contact the Office of Accessibility Services and complete the steps to request accommodations listed on our website above. We do not seek out students or accept referrals.
Parents cannot request accommodations on behalf of their student. All requests must come directly from the student and be supported by documentation from the student’s clinician.
Parents may be present at the student’s intake meeting, with the student’s approval. However, we encourage students to be as independent as possible in order to grow their self-advocacy skills.
Federal regulations protect the confidentiality of all students 18 years of age or older, even regarding disclosing confidential information to parents.
Q: What is a “reasonable” accommodation?
A: A reasonable accommodation is an adjustment to the way in which a program or service is provided that allows a qualified person with a disability to achieve meaningful access to that program or service. Reasonable accommodations do not alter the nature of a course or degree requirements in any way. They should not fundamentally alter curriculum, programs, or services or be unduly burdensome, either in terms of cost or administrative difficulty.
Q: When should I contact the Office of Accessibility Services to request accommodations?
A: Students may contact our office at any time before or during the semester to request accommodations. However, it is best for students to be proactive with their requests to limit challenges that may arise as a result of not having access to accommodations that they need.
Q: Should documentation and/or reports from high school be sent to the Office of Accessibility Services?
A: Documentation of this nature (IEPs, 504 Plans, Educational Reports, Psychological Reports, etc.) is not required to receive accommodations. However, you are welcome to submit these documents along with the Self-Identification Form and Clinician Verification Form if you feel that it would help to inform decisions regarding accommodations and services.
Q: If I want to schedule an exam in the testing center, but the class time is outside of the testing center’s hours, what should I do?
A: You should contact the Assistant Director of Accessibility Services, who will work with the professor and student to agree on a time for the exam to be taken within the testing center’s hours of operation (Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.).
Q: Can students use the testing center to make up tests or quizzes if they aren’t registered with the Office of Accessibility Services?
A: No, students who are not registered with our office may not use the testing center. Our testing center is intended to be a quiet, distraction-reduced space reserved for students with disabilities only.
Our Offices
Long Island campus
Student Activity Center, Room 307
Phone: 516.686.4934
Email: hschorr@nyit.edu
Fax: 516.686.7891
Mail: P.O. Box 8000, Old Westbury, NY 11568
New York City campus
33 W. 60th Street, room 326
Phone: 646.290.6126
Email: erakers@nyit.edu
Fax: 212.261.1743
Mail: 1855 Broadway, New York, NY 10023
Our Team
Helene Schorr, Assistant Director of Accessibility Services – Long Island campus
Emily Rakers, Assistant Director of Accessibility Services – New York City campus