The Accessibility Services Office, formerly Special Services, has been in operation since 1980. Originally the Office was designed to serve adult students and provided both evening and afternoon counseling services. By 1985, however, ACC was experiencing a marked increase in the numbers of students who presented needs greater than the College was prepared to address and the Office was expanded to include services for single parents, displaced homemakers, dislocated workers and students with disabilities. Similarly, the Learning Specialist, now a full time position, began as a part time Learning Disability Tutor. As the numbers of students with disabilities grew, particularly students with learning disabilities, the Office began to focus most of its efforts on serving this population. By the mid 1990.s the Learning Specialist became a full time administrative position and in the fall of 2002 the main office changed its name to the Accessibility Services Office. Currently, about 7% or 225 of the students registered at ACC have reported a disability on their admissions application. Although the numbers of students seeking services differs from semester to semester, about 165-185 students register with the Accessibility Services office each semester. Roughly 85% of these students are students with learning disabilities.
The mission of the Accessibility Services Office and the Learning Specialist at Adirondack Community College is to provide students with disabilities equal educational opportunity by ensuring full access to all programs, activities and facilities of the College. The Accessibility Services Office works in conjunction with faculty and administrative staff to guarantee that all qualified students are afforded the same collegiate opportunities available to the general college population, that no student be denied the benefits of any college program or activity, and that no student be subjected to discrimination. The Accessibility Services Office strives to maintain the quality and integrity of Adirondack Community College.s academic standards and programs while providing reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. As defined under these provisions, a student with a disability is a person who has a physical or mental impairment, a record of such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment that significantly impacts one or more major life activity, which may include walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning or the ability to care for oneself.
