Student Accessibility Services provided free snacks to help students tackle midterms on Feb. 18. SAS also provided information about their services and volunteering opportunities available for students.
SAS is responsible for coordinating reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities to ensure an accessible campus environment. SAS provides a variety of support services based on individual disability eligibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Some of the services they provide include extended test-taking time, assistive technology and volunteer note-taking services.
“We provide things like extended times on quizzes and exams, the ability to test at our office in a quiet environment, which can sometimes really help students, and some other accommodations depending on the diagnosis,” said Alisha Graham, the senior disability specialist. “Some of those accommodations are being able to record lectures so you can play them back later, volunteer notetakers and accommodations for students who are vision impaired.”
Despite SAS helping about 1,100 students around campus, a lot of students do not know about SAS and its services.
“A lot of these events can be helpful, but they usually are not marketed very well,” said Cayden Cross, a student who attended the tabling event. “I got an email about this event 20 minutes ago.”
According to Graham, SAS has been hosting multiple student-facing events, including the midterm mapping, throughout the semester to help students recognize their presence and ways they can help students.
Despite the main goal of SAS being to provide reasonable accommodations under the guidelines of the ADA to eligible students, the office also actively endeavors to foster accessibility throughout all university programs. SAS collaborates with numerous schools, departments and organizations to promote a culture of accessibility and inclusivity at Southern Miss.
SAS serves any student who is eligible for accommodations, including graduate students and online students. To request services from SAS, students need to submit an online application. They can then submit their documentation online, in-person, or through FAX or mail. The students who are approved will then be contacted by the office.
SAS also works with professors to ensure that students are getting their accommodations. Instructors are emailed the list of approved accommodations ahead of time to ensure that the student can have access to all of their classes.
“We work directly with faculty to facilitate exams and accommodations in the classroom,” Graham said. “We have solidified our relationship with faculty, and we work really hard at building a great relationship with faculty and students.”
