Information for Parents
SDS Parent’s Guide – What to Expect
Welcome to Ithaca College! Your son or daughter has been accepted and you have paid your deposit—within a week or so, you should get a letter from our office. The letter will direct students with disabilities to our website: www.ithaca.edu/sds
Please peruse this site and our information. The first step to registering with our office is to complete a Disability Identification Form. If the student’s disability is related to special housing consideration, a Special Housing Request Form should also be completed. Both forms can be sent via email to: sds@ithaca.edu or faxed to: 607-274-3957. At this time, a file for the student will be created.
Housing: A Special Housing request form for non-dietary reasons should be sent to Student Disability Services with accompanying documentation. Approved requests will be forwarded to Residential Life. Keep in mind, if you have a special housing request, it should be submitted as early as possible—housing situations and options can be limited. Please note that housing requests for dietary reasons are first handled by the Hammond Health Center (see process below).
Have your son or daughter examine information on the website for the following needs and make the proper contacts:
Dietary Modifications Due to Disability
Please send the proper documentation (as outlined in the guidelines) one month before a student’s arrival for the orientation session in which they registered,. The mailing address is:
Ithaca College
Student Disability Services
110 Towers Concourse
953 Danby Rd
Ithaca, NY 14850
During orientation, the faculty advisor assigned to assist your student with his or her class registration will be informed of any issues on a “need-to-know-basis” regarding the student’s disability.
While the student is on campus for orientation, please ask them to stop by our office (110 Towers Concourse) and sign a Release of Information Form. If you wish to set up a personal meeting with an SDS counselor, please phone our office (607-274-1257). Please check your orientation schedule before making an appointment, as there are mandatory meetings and information sessions which students and parents must attend. Appointments with an SDS counselor must be made in advance, as appointment time slots are limited. In addition, we will be hosting dessert receptions during each summer orientation session for parents who wish to meet Student Disability Staff, hear an overview of services and ask general questions. These receptions are scheduled to coordinate with orientation schedules. The desert receptions will be from 6:30 to 7:30 P.M. will be on the following dates:
June 22
June 27
June 29
July 6
July 11
July 13
Please fill out the RSVP at the bottom of the page.
Upon arrival to campus in August, the student must phone for an appointment (607-274-1257) to set up accommodations for the semester. At this point, SDS must have reviewed current, necessary documentation (as outlined in the guidelines) in order to process paperwork. The student’s schedule will be reviewed and if needed, Accommodation Plans will be set up and sent to professors. An appointment at the beginning of every semester must be made with the student’s SDS counselor to set up accommodations.
Every attempt will be made to process Accommodation Plans and send to appropriate faculty within 72 hours of seeing an SDS Advisor. Copies will also be sent to the student’s local address.
If your student needs extended time and/or isolation for an exam/test, they MUST either phone (607-274-1257) or come to the SDS Office at least three week days in advance of the test time. We need to adhere to this time frame in order to request tests from professors, schedule proctors and secure testing space. We review the testing sign-up process with the student when meeting with them at the start of each semester.
Suggestions for family discussion:
As a young adult prepares for the transition to college, there are many questions and feelings about how accommodations are handled in this new environment. As part of this transition process, we encourage families to talk together before the actual move to college. Some areas of focus might include: the shift in roles for college students as they leave the high school environment, which methods of communicating work best for your family, as well as how a student’s strengths and challenges might impact choice and schedule of classes. The staff of SDS is available to answer questions or to discuss concerns related to academic and testing accommodations.
We welcome the opportunity to be of support as well as to elicit your support in this significant transition. We understand that you have been advocating for your student since his/her diagnosis and that we are asking you to turn over this function to our office. We recognize that you have substantial knowledge regarding your student’s needs, and we appreciate your sharing this important information with us.
The bottom line is that we are delighted that you and your child have selected Ithaca College. We are appreciative that you have trusted us to be a resource to your child, and we will make every effort to live up to that trust.
Some helpful Internet resources:
To understand the differences between high school and college accommodations:
http://www.isu.edu/ada4isu/diff.shtml
For some Frequently Asked Questions about the transition to college:
http://www.ahead.org/students-parents
Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Cathy Howe in the Office of Student Disability Services at 4-1257. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.