Disabilities Services

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Anti-Discrimination Grievance Procedure

North Iowa Area Community College complies with all applicable federal and state regulations that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability. These regulations affirm that any qualified person receive reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to educational opportunities, services, programs and activities at the college.

Any student who believes he/she has been denied any service or benefit or otherwise discriminated against due to a disability may follow the steps in the Grievance Procedure outlined below.

Informal Grievance Procedure

Students should first attempt to resolve complaints informally with the parties involved, and make every effort to address problems early, so that issues are less likely to escalate into grievances. Students may contact the Disability Services Counselor as part of this informal grievance process. If the grievance is not resolved informally, then each student shall have the right to invoke the formal grievance procedure described in the following.

Any student who believes that he/she has been discriminated against on the basis of his/her disability or has been denied access to educational opportunities at NIACC may invoke this Grievance Procedure.

Some example concerns may include denial of access to requested accommodations, inaccessibility of a NIACC program or activity, or discrimination on the basis of disability.

Formal Grievance Procedure

• The 1^st step in a grievance procedure is to make an effort to resolve the complaint informally.
  
  
• If the Student and the Disability Services Counselor cannot produce a resolution to the conflict, the student may contact the Dean of Student Development to request assistance, within 30 days of the alleged incident.
  
  
• The Dean of Student Development will schedule a meeting within 2 weeks among the Dean, Disability Services Counselor, the student, and the faculty member (if applicable) as the second step in resolving concerns.
  
  
• The Dean of Student Development will notify the student in writing of any decision that has been made regarding the complaint within 1 week of the meeting.
  
  
• If the student does not believe that the complaint has been resolved, the third step in the grievance process is a formal appeal filed by the student to the Vice President of Academic Affairs. This must be done, in writing, within 2 weeks of receiving notice from the Dean of Student Development.
  
  
  • Student should use the Grievance Form located on the web or obtain the Grievance form from the Student Access Center located at AB106 on the NIACC campus.
  
  
• The Vice President of Academic Affairs will notify the student of the findings regarding the student’s grievance within 30 days after receiving the completed Grievance Form. The Vice President of Academic Affairs has the final authority to uphold, reduce, or reverse the decision of the Dean of Student Development.
  
  
• Any questions regarding this Grievance procedure should be directed to the Disability Services Counselor.
  
  
• All written grievances received by the Vice President of Academic Affairs and any written responses from respective NIACC offices will be retained by the Disability Services Office for at least three (3) years.

OCR Complaint

The student is encouraged, when possible, to resolve the complaint by utilizing the Grievance procedure described above. If the student is not satisfied with the outcome of this procedure, he/she has the right to file a complaint directly with the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR). More information is available from OCR.

The OCR Office for Iowa is located at:
Chicago Office
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
Citigroup Center
500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475
Chicago, IL 60661
Telephone: 312.730.1560
Fax: 312.730.1576; TDD: 877.521.2172
Email: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html

Helpful links

Intake Questionnaire
Accessible Route Map [pdf]
Notice Under the ADA
Disability Services Video

Disability Services Student Handbook
Transition Workshop

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Any student who believes he/she has been denied any service or benefit or otherwise discriminated against due to a disability may follow the steps outlined in NIACC’s
Grievance Procedure.