Student/Faculty Handbook
Student Support Services
Mission Statement
The mission of Student Support Services is to provide support services that will enable every student, regardless of disability, to have access to a higher education. In addition, Student Support Services staff will promote campus awareness of and sensitivity to disability issues.
The office of Student Support Services seeks to:
- provide educational opportunities for students with disabilities, and access to all Taft College programs and activities;
- eliminate physical and attitudinal barriers that deny full campus participation; and
- promote awareness and understanding of students with disabilities on campus and within the Taft community.
About Documentation
Prior to receiving assistance, documentation from a qualified professional source must be submitted to Student Support Services. The Community College Chancellors Office provides the policy for verification of a disability as follows:
.... a professionally verified disability means a condition certified by a licensed physician, psychologist, audiologist, speech pathologist, registered nurse, social worker, rehabilitation counselor, physical therapist, corrective therapist, learning disability specialist, or other appropriate professional. Where the nature and extent of the disability is obvious (e.g. amputee, blind, quadriplegic), the Coordinator of Student Support Services, or designee, may verify the disability. In those cases in which the Coordinator is unable to verify the disability, the student shall either provide the verification documentation to the Coordinator, or sign a release authorizing the campus to obtain necessary documentation from one of the above professional persons or agencies.
A student with a learning disability must provide current and relevant testing/evaluation results that meet guidelines for learning disability services.
Any Taft College student who has transferred from a California community college, UC, or a CSU campus and has previously received services as a disabled student should provide documentation to the Student Support Services office. The documentation will be reviewed to determine if the student meets the guidelines to receive services as a student with a learning disability, and, if so, what accommodations are appropriate.
Support Services:
In compliance with Taft College policy, students with disabilities may be found eligible for one or more of the following services:
- Registration assistance with applications for financial aid and other related college services
- Priority registration
- Disability-related counseling and advising not duplicated by regular counseling and advising services
- Learning disability assessment, review, and support services
- Support staff, including ASL interpreters, readers, scribes, note takers and test proctors
- Adaptive equipment, including assistive technology, Braille printer, Kurzweil reading machine, CCTV large-text display, assistive listening devices, books-on-tape and standard and 4-track tape recorders
- Alternate format materials
- Facilitation of arrangement for books-on-tape
- Out-of-class testing accommodations, including extended time, adaptive equipment, readers, scribes and individually proctored examinations
- Assistance in applying for accommodations on standardized tests (i.e. CBEST, ELM/ EPT, GED)
- Assistance with classroom and campus accessibility
- Parking available without Taft College permit with DMV placard
- Coordination of disability services with college departments and community agencies
- Equipment loans: calculators, wheelchairs, tape recorders, etc.
The Community College Chancellors Office also supports additional student support services depending on the needs of students and available funding.
