Academic Adjustments

Academic requirements must be modified, on a case by case basis, to afford qualified handicapped students and applicants an equal education opportunity. For example, modification may include changes in the length of time permitted for completion of degree requirements. However, academic requirements that the recipient can demonstrate are essential will not be regarded as discriminatory. A recipient may not impose upon qualified handicapped persons rules that have the effect of limiting their participation in the recipient’s education program or activity; for example, prohibiting tape recorders in classrooms or guide dogs in campus buildings. Qualified handicapped persons with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills must be provided auxiliary aids, such as taped texts, interpreters, readers, and classroom equipment adapted for persons with manual impairments. Recipients can usually meet this obligation by assisting students to obtain auxiliary aids through existing resources, such as state vocation rehabilitation agencies and private charitable organizations. In those circumstances where the recipient institution must provide the educational auxiliary aid, the institution has flexibility in choosing the effective methods by which the aids will be supplied. So long as no handicapped person is excluded from a program because of the lack of an appropriate aid, the recipient need not have all available aids on hand at all times.