Students with disabilities are provided comprehensive support and accommodations at Lakeland Community College. Students are encouraged to meet with counselors as early as possible in the enrollment process to discuss and coordinate identified accommodations.

To schedule an appointment with the Lakeland Community College Student Accommodations Center, please contact senior program assistant, Mary Wheeler. You can reach her by phone at 440-525-7020 or by email at mwheeler21@lakelandcc.edu. 

Please use the form at the link below to securely upload your documents.

Documentation upload

The Lakeland Student Accommodation Center helps the college to remain in compliance with applicable laws and to offer students with documented disabilities reasonable accommodations which provide access to all of Lakeland's programs, classes and activities. Each accommodation is tailored to meet the needs of the individual student. The Student Accommodation Center recognizes each student's right to be treated with dignity and respect and encourages students to move toward increasing independence and responsibility in their academic life.

The counselors for students with disabilities coordinate support services for eligible students with physical, psychological, or learning disabilities in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Services may include the following:

• Individual contact with faculty members regarding classroom accommodations
• Personal, career and limited academic advisory
• Liaison with The Learning Center, support groups and community agencies
• Priority registration
• TDD and adaptive technology
• Alternative testing arrangements

Students must present recent documentation of their disability from the appropriate physician, psychologist, school district or other qualified professional. This documentation is subject to review and approved by the college. All records are confidential. Students must be registered for classes during the special registration period (listed in the course schedule) to be guaranteed provision of all identified accommodations. For further information contact the Student Accommodation Center.

Steps to request accommodations

Students and faculty
As a first step, please direct your concern or complaint to a counselor in Lakeland's Student Accommodation Center who will work with you to resolve the issue.

Student initiated complaints
Visit Lakeland's complaint and feedback page to submit your academic or non academic complaint.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Visit Lakeland's complaint and feedback page to submit your complaint for non instructional issues.

Office for Civil Rights
If you feel you have been discriminated against because of your disability, you can file a civil rights complaint with the Office for Civil Rights.

Greetings. The purpose of this presentation is to introduce you to The Student Accommodation Center at Lakeland Community College. In addition, we will discuss our approach for providing services and strategies that reduce or remove barriers to education for students with disabilities.

First, let's introduce the team. The Counselors for Students with disabilities are:

Al Kirsh, M.Ed.
Kathy Kelly, M.Ed.

The secretary for the department is Cindi Putrino. The office can be reached at 440-525-7020 or you can send an email to cputrino@lakelandcc.edu. As you will find, it is always best to make an appointment, but walk-ins are accepted as long as a counselor is available.

The Student Accommodation Center at Lakeland Community College is located in the Learning Center, Room A-1044. It's mission is to provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to learn through academic accommodations and improved study and learning strategies.

If you apply to the college and wish to receive accommodations related to your disability, this orientation is the first step in the process. This is also a MANDATORY step and you will be asked to print and sign a Confirmation Form at the end of the presentation. Please bring that form, along with two others which will be discussed later, to your initial appointment with a Counselor for Students with Disabilities.

The Student Accommodation Center's primary goal for each student is to have him or her become as independent as possible when learning. You will notice that many of our policies, procedures, services and philosophies have been developed with that specifically in mind.

We use teamwork and communication within the office to provide comprehensive services in an effective and efficient manner. Students can be assured that our office procedures allow any of the counselors to step in at any time and have a reasonable grasp of your case.

In high school, the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" or "I.D.E.A.," gives primary and secondary schools the responsibility to determine your disability status and the services needed to address your academic barriers. This law no longer applies to you once you leave high school. In fact, you will find that the greatest difference between high school and college is the shift in responsibility for dealing with your disability.

At the college level, there are two federal laws that provide the basis for the services provided by the Student Accommodation Center. These are "Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973" and The Americans with Disabilities Act or "ADA." These laws were written to provide equal access to public services for individuals with disabilities. Since Lakeland Community College is a public institution receiving funds from the Federal Government, we are obligated to provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. It is your responsibility, however, to provide current documentation of your disability and request reasonable accommodations or ask for assistance in determining them.

You can obtain further information about these laws by going to:

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Americans With Disabilities Act

If you decide that you would like to receive services from our office, you will need to be on the "Active Roster." To do so, you will have to set up an appointment to see one of the Counselors for Students with Disabilities to discuss issues that are specific to your case each term. Procedures involved in getting your accommodations will also be discussed. Please note that only students on the "Active Roster" will be eligible to receive reasonable accommodations at Lakeland Community College.

There are a few things you will need to do to be prepared for that meeting and begin the process of getting on the active roster. The first step will be to fill out our Student Information Form. This includes information we use to put you into our database and keep track of your case.

The second form you will be asked to complete is the Student Release of Information Form. Completion of this form gives us permission to release information as necessary about your case to appropriate individuals that work at Lakeland Community College. Typically, those individuals are instructors, but may also include deans, vice presidents or others employed by Lakeland that may be involved in your educational circumstances.

You will notice some blank lines in the middle of the form with the titles "Agency" and "Student Initial and Date." Approximately one-half of our students need us to speak to someone that does not work at the college at some point in their career at Lakeland. This can be a service agency, another college, or a doctor to name a few. We cannot communicate with anyone employed outside the college without you giving us specific written permission to do so. That is the purpose of those blank lines. Typically, however, students leave that area blank. You can always add names to the form at a later date.

At the end of this presentation you will be able to print these two forms as well as the Confirmation Form. You will need to complete these forms and bring them, as well as your most recent documentation regarding your disability, to your first appointment with a Counselor for Students with Disabilities. Please call the Student Accommodation Center to arrange that appointment.

Remember, only students on the "Active Roster" are eligible to receive services in a given term. Further, you will have to see a Counselor in the Student Accommodation Center a minimum of two times each term to maintain your status with the office. Finally, you will have to see a Counselor in the Student Accommodation Center prior to each term in which you wish to receive your accommodations.

During your initial appointment, your counselor will ask for some background information. You may be asked about your high school experiences, career goals, current employment or hobbies and interests for example. Your counselor may also ask about your strengths and weaknesses in the academic arena including study strategies. Please remember that a weakness is not necessarily a disability.

Next, we'll discuss your disability and ask that you provide your current documentation for review. Your documentation must be provided by a physician, psychologist or another professional that is qualified to make the diagnosis.

Finally, we begin to identify some of the barriers to education that might be specific to your case. For those barriers directly related to your disability, accommodations that are determined to be reasonable and providing equal access to education are determined.

Ideally, one week prior to the beginning of each term, instructors that have one or more students with documented disabilities enrolled in their course(s) are notified by email. This early notification gives instructors an opportunity to ask any questions or discuss any concerns about an accommodation prior to a student starting a course.

During the first week of every term, the student picks up an accommodation letter that confirms their enrollment with our office and lists the services they have agreed to as providing them with equal access to their education.

We then expect our students to show that letter to the instructors from whom they wish to receive accommodations and discuss the details of their plan. Students will then ask those instructors to sign their accommodation letter indicating agreement to the terms. This phase of the process has to be completed by the end of the second week of the term. Students should inform the Student Accommodation Center immediately should an instructor decline to sign the letter for any reason. It should be noted that communicating with your instructors effectively throughout each term can be a critical factor in improving your access and overall performance.

Typically, your counselor will suggest that you start your academic career with a lighter course load and focus on a gradual transition in to the college atmosphere. This allows the student to use the initial term(s) to establish study habits, to utilize the resources available at Lakeland Community College and to learn the differences between high school and college academics. As you become familiar with the demands of higher education, you will be able to add to your course load effectively.

At this time, if you wish to request academic accommodations to address your needs as a result of a currently documented disability, please take the following steps:

• First, print and complete the Confirmation Form, the Student Information Form and the Student Release of Information Form.
• Obtain recent documentation verifying the existence of a disability that negatively impacts your access to education.
• Take the placement test or provide your ACT or SAT scores.
• Call our office at 440-525-7020 or email cputrino@lakelandcc.edu to arrange your initial appointment. Please bring all of the previously mentioned information to your meeting.

Thank you for watching the Students With Disabilities Orientation Video. We look forward to working with you.

• Student Information Form
• Release Information Form
• Confirmation Form