ADA Services

The Office of Disability Services for Students (DSS) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) serves all undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities. The DSS is the first check-in point for any student seeking accommodation. All accommodations must be approved though DSS to maintain confidentiality, ensure validity and allow for proper record keeping. Any student with a documented disability or any student who believes he or she might have a disability is encouraged to meet with the ADA Coordinator as soon as possible to determine eligibility for services.

To contact a specialist to answer your questions, please email ada@millsaps.edu.

Millsaps College is committed to compliance with the American Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. These laws ensure equal access to college and university programs for otherwise qualified students with disabilities and that the College will not discriminate in the recruitment, admission, education process, or treatment of students. Students who have self-identified, provided documentation of disability, and requested reasonable accommodations are entitled to receive approved modifications of programs, appropriate academic adjustments, or auxiliary aids that enable them to participate in and benefit from all education programs and activities.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states that: “any person who 1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, 2) has a record of such an impairment, or 3) is regarded as having such an impairment.”

Requests for Services

Any student wishing to receive details about services to disabled students available at Millsaps College should initially contact the office of Accessibility Services prior to the beginning of the upcoming semester. The ADA Coordinator will provide information about the procedure and make suggestions based on a student’s particular disability and academic history. This office will maintain individual files containing ADA documentation.

Documentation and Its Evaluation

The documentation must be no more than three years old and must be completed by a physician (if a physical disability) and by a psychiatrist, psychologist, or certified educational specialist (if the disability is psychological or a learning disability).

When completed, the documentation for student services, should be mailed to:

ADA Coordinator
ADA Services for Students
Millsaps College
1701 North State Street
Jackson, MS 39210-0001
Email: ada@millsaps.edu

Within a reasonable time of receipt of the documentation, the ADA Coordinator will, in conjunction with other necessary college personnel, determine the accommodations that the College will provide. The student will be notified of the accommodations that are recommended and must meet with the ADA Coordinator to work out the logistics of providing these accommodations. It will be the student’s responsibility to show this official letter to each of their professors and request from them the accommodations needed.

The ADA Coordinator will serve as a liaison between the disabled student and their faculty and Student Affairs through their college career to ensure that their special needs are being addressed. The ADA Coordinator is also the student’s initial contact should they need to have accommodations changed, to coordinate accommodations such as readers or individual testing, and to refer students to various offices on campus responsible for providing academic support.

Student Rights

The following are considered basic rights ensured by Millsaps College to all students with documented disabilities:

  • Equal access to courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities offered or available through Millsaps College.
  • Individualized assessment by a professional of the documentation submitted supporting the disabling condition and anticipated effects of that disability on functioning physically, socially, and academically in our college community.
  • The provision of reasonable, appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids as a result of the above assessment.
  • Appropriate confidentiality of all information related to their disability.
  • To have information (where reasonable) available to them in a format accessible to them.

Student Responsibilities

Every student with a documented disability will be responsible for:

  • Meeting the essential qualifications and institutional standards set by Millsaps College.
  • Disclosing the disability in a timely manner to the ADA Coordinator.
  • Following the specific procedures described by the College to obtain reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids.
  • Providing documentation from an appropriate professional source that meets the criteria spelled out by Millsaps College.
  • Obtaining accommodations or support needs other than those the College has agreed to provide in the accommodation’s plan.
  • Notifying individual faculty members of their disabilities and accommodations by presenting their accommodation form to each professor (when accommodations are needed) and requesting those accommodations. The faculty and student will then discuss the best way to satisfy the student’s need for accommodations.
  • Making contact with individuals and offices providing additional support on campus.
  • Developing the self-advocacy skills, motivation, organizational skills, and maturity necessary to be successful academically in college.
  • To notify the ADA Coordinator of any problems or changes needed in the accommodations provided.

Faculty Responsibilities

  • Adopts teaching practices and evaluation methods which promote equal access.
  • Collaborates with the ADA Coordinator for your school to provide accommodations.
  • Contacts the ADA Coordinator with any questions or problems.
  • Treats all matters related to students with disabilities in a confidential manner.
  • Consults with the ADA Coordinator if a disagreement between a student and faculty member regarding an accommodation is not resolved.
  • May request a written agreement before allowing the student to tape record the lecture/class.
  • Does not provide academic adjustments unless a faculty notification form has been processed by Accessibility Services.

Millsaps College strives to provide a supportive, stimulating “learning environment which increases knowledge, deepens understanding of faith, and inspires the development of mature citizens with the intellectual capacities, ethical principles, and sense of responsibility that are needed for leadership in all sectors of society.” (From “The Millsaps Purpose”)

Please feel free to contact the ADA Coordinator for additional information on services provided or accommodations typically made at Millsaps College.