Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing & Health Sciences recognizes and fulfills its obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and similar state laws. Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing & Health Sciences is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified disabled learners.
Disability Services
Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing and Health Sciences is committed to providing the best possible educational environment for all academically qualified students.
PROCEDURE TO REQUEST REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
A student requesting reasonable accommodation must:
1. Self-identify the disability to any college personnel who notifies the College’s Section 504/ADA Coordinator.
2. Meet with the College’s Section 504/ADA Coordinator who reviews ADA eligibility, rights, and responsibilities.
3. Request reasonable accommodation from the Academic Committee.
4. Provide the Academic Committee with documentation that establishes the disability and supports the need for accommodation.
DOCUMENTATION IS USED BY THE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE TO DESIGN A PLAN THAT :
1. Provides an equal opportunity to meet the standards of the nursing program;
2. Is based on the types of reasonable accommodation as identified by the health/education professional;
3. Accommodates only those areas impacted by the disability; and
4. Identifies the exams and testing modalities that are exempt from reasonable accommodation because they are designed to measure a particular skill and/or essential function associated with the normal roles of a professional registered nurse.
The plan is shared with the student, the academic advisor, and the College’s Section 504/ADA Coordinator. With the student’s permission, the plan is shared with individual course instructors.
SECTION 504/ADA COORDINATOR
The Section 504/ADA Coordinator is Sarah Mueller who can be reached at counselor@brcn.edu or 217-228-5520 extension 6997.
GRIEVANCE
The College is committed to the resolution of concerns and issues regarding the civil rights of individuals with a disability. Therefore, the College has the following processes for resolving these concerns and issues.
INFORMAL PROCESS
The student contacts the Section 504/ADA Coordinator who will help the student informally resolve the concern or issue. For students who are dissatisfied with the resolution or want a formal process to resolve, they follow the formal process.
FORMAL PROCESS
1. The student files the complaint in writing to the Section 504/ADA Coordinator, providing his/her name, address, and description of the alleged violation. Specific facts must be used to describe the allegation and the complaint is filed within 30 working days of the alleged violation.
2. The Section 504/ADA Coordinator conducts an investigation, affording all interested persons with the opportunity to submit evidence relevant to the complaint. After the investigation, the Section 504/ADA Coordinator submits a written response to the student within 20 working days of receiving the compliant, describing the validity of the compliant and a description of the resolution if needed.
3. The student may request reconsideration of the case if dissatisfied with the resolution. The request must be made within 10 working days to the Section 504/ADA Coordinator who forwards the request to the President/CEO of the College.
4. A final decision is made within 20 working days of the President/CEO receiving the request to reconsider the original resolution.
OCR COMPLAINT
Students with a disability have the right to file a complaint directly with the U.S. Department of Education; Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Region V (Chicago area). Information regarding applicable timelines and procedures is available from OCR.