Special Populations Assistance Program
Students from various programs may qualify for services on campus depending on the special needs they have and if they qualify as a special population. Special populations information is collected when the student is accepted into Ogeechee Technical College. Students may disclose this information on the Support Services Survey form or self-disclose to any College faculty, staff, or administrator. Special population students are those who meet any one of the following criteria:
- Students with disabilities, individuals with a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, or learning.
- Single parents (one who is legally unmarried or legally separated from a spouse, who has full or partial custody of at least one minor child and who is in need of employment or career training), including single pregnant women.
- Out-of-work individuals (a parent who has been performing unpaid labor in the home, who has difficulty in securing employment and who has been dependent upon the income of another but can no longer depend on that income).
- Economically disadvantaged, currently homeless, a youth who is in or has aged out of the foster care system, or receives Pell Grant or federal assistance, SNAP, and/or Medicaid.
- Non-traditional (students preparing for occupations or career fields in which individuals from one gender comprise less than 25% of the individuals employed in each such occupation or field).
- Students with Limited English Proficiency
Supplementary services to special population students through the Special Populations Assistance Program include, but are not limited to:
- Career guidance and counseling
- Tutorial services
- Assistance with study skills and test-taking
- Study lab with tutorial programs and career decision software
- Textbook loans and tuition assistance to eligible students
- Various seminars and workshops
- Referral services
Disability Resources
Disability and Student Support Services are designed to help students succeed in school, in the workforce, and in life. Services and accommodations are available to students who self-identify and provide appropriate documentation of disabilities.
Ogeechee Technical College strives to provide reasonable, quality academic adjustments based on the nature of the disability, the cost of the accommodation needed, and the availability of financial resources within the institution and from other agencies. Services provided will not fundamentally lower the essential requirements of the program.
The Accessibility and Special Populations Coordinator is available to arrange services for students with disabilities. Services may include registration assistance; reduction in course load; campus orientation; career exploration; test modification; recording/enlarging reading materials; sign language interpreters; accessible parking; and/or equipping school computers with screen-reading, voice recognition, or other adaptive software or hardware.
As defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a qualified individual is one who, with or without reasonable accommodations, can perform the essential functions of a program or course requirement. The College is not required to lower or make extensive modifications to essential functions of a program or course requirement to accommodate a student with a disability. For example, although Ogeechee Technical College provides extended testing time, it is not required to change the content of the test.
In addition, the College does not have to make modifications that would fundamentally alter the nature of a service, program, or activity or that would result in undue financial or administrative burdens.
Students with disabilities may request services at any time but are encouraged to do so as early as possible. Some accommodations may take more time to provide than others. If a person chooses to voluntarily disclose a disability, the following steps may be used:
- Complete the Support Services Survey form provided in the New Student Orientation Packet and return it to the Accessibility and Special Populations Coordinator; or
- Contact the Accessibility and Special Populations Coordinator at 912.486.7211.
In addition to voluntarily self-disclosing, a person must provide documentation from a licensed psychiatrist, a psychologist with a Ph.D., or another qualified health professional who is an expert in the field of the disability. The professional’s report should be dated and signed, and it should be no older than 3 years.
Disability-related information must be treated and handled as medical information and is not allowed to be shared with other people outside of the College.
Grievance Procedure for Resolving Section 504/ADA Complaints
Ogeechee Technical College is committed to providing an equal educational opportunity for all students who have a documented disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.
If a person feels that discrimination has occurred because of a disability, that person should report such complaint to the Accessibility and Special Populations Coordinator, Office 189 in the Joseph E. Kennedy building, 912.486.7211.