Purpose
The College complies with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act and other federal, state and local laws relating to disabilities in all areas of its operations and specifically in its educational programming.
NYCPM will provide qualifying students with reasonable accommodations consistent with the law. Students seeking accommodations will be expected to comply with the policies and procedures established by the College so that the process can be handled in a timely and appropriate manner. Any applicant or student who has questions regarding the accommodation of disabilities is encouraged to consult with the Dean for Student Services. Medical records and related medical information relating to a student’s disability will be kept confidential; the nature of accommodations granted however may become information that is available to faculty and others in the community providing the accommodations.
Podiatric medical education and the practice of podiatric medicine require that applicants, students and the resulting doctors be able to possess the academic and physical capabilities required to successfully pursue the course of study and be able to satisfy the NYCPM technical standards that relate to the ability to practice podiatric medicine. The podiatric medical education provided by NYCPM requires that a graduate be able to complete the rigorous academic curriculum and be prepared for entry into the practice of podiatric medicine, including clinical skills and the provision of patient care. Therefore, students seeking to pursue study at NYCPM should familiarize themselves with the required curriculum and the technical standards of the College, and, upon acceptance into NYCPM, be prepared to confirm that the student can satisfy all the requirements with or without reasonable accommodation.
Establishment of the Existence of a Disability
Adequate, appropriate information and documentation are needed to allow college officials to understand the nature and extent of a disability that affects a student’s participation in the College’s educational and clinical programming and to develop reasonable accommodations for such disabilities in the educational and clinical programming offered by the College. In order for the College to accommodate the needs of a student with a disabling condition, the student should begin the process for seeking accommodations as early as possible; for students entering with a known disability that may need accommodation, the process should be initiated as soon as the student accepts the offer of enrollment, and in no case less than six (6) weeks before classes begin. For a student who develops or learns of a disability after beginning study at the College, the process should begin promptly since it takes a few weeks to determine appropriate reasonable accommodations.
The following steps are required at a minimum to establish a disabling condition, to assess the need for (a) related accommodation(s) and to determine (an) appropriate accommodation(s):
1. The student must provide information from an appropriately licensed medical professional (or similarly credentialed disability professional). The professional must have the necessary qualifications to accurately diagnose the disability and that it is a disability consistent with the existing definitions. These findings must be set forth on the official letterhead of the professional, which indicates that the individual is licensed in the specialty relating to the diagnosis and the documentation must be dated within the last three years. 2. There should be a statement on the testing performed to establish the disability, with the
test dates, tests performed, results and the summary of the tests, as well as information on the certifying official, if any, who performed or administered the tests.
3. A statement must be included that shows the correlation drawn between the testing and the diagnosis. To the extent there is relevant information about medication and/or treatment pertinent to the question of reasonable accommodation it should be provided.
4. A statement that sets forth the functional limitations caused by the disability and how the functional limitations apply to the educational and/or clinical program, including what aspect(s) of the program specifically need(s) to be addressed by an accommodation. 5. A statement discussing what accommodations the doctor believes would be appropriate to
address the functional limitation.
Accommodations in educational programming will be provided when the existence of a disability is documented pursuant to this policy and a reasonable accommodation is identified by the College. The mere assertion of such a disability by a student or family members is insufficient to establish the existence of a disability and the appropriateness of an accommodation.
This documentation must be provided to the Dean for Student Services along with an executed Consent for the Release of Medical Information which will allow the College, if necessary, to communicate with the professionals about the effect of the disability. The College may seek consultation from other professionals with expertise in the area of the asserted disability in making its determination on the nature of the disability and/or reasonable accommodations.
After the existence of a disability has been established, a determination of reasonable accommodations will be made on a case by-case basis by the Committee on Academic Performance and Promotion with the concurrence of the Academic Dean or his/her designees. Such determination will consider relevant criteria including but not limited to: the nature of the disability and whether changes in the educational program will be required to provide the accommodation, and what accommodations are available that address the functional limitation. The College may also consider the cost which the College would incur for the accommodation. The College will work with the student to identify a reasonable accommodation for the specific aspect of the educational program, which may not be the accommodation originally sought by the student. The College will work with a student to make this determination as the student moves through the College curriculum.
In the event the College determines that a student’s request for an accommodation would require a fundamental change in the NYCPM program of study which is beyond the legal requirement for reasonable accommodation, that a student is not otherwise qualified or able to meet the essential
requirements, the student may appeal the determination as provided by the College’s appeal process.
During the course of a student’s enrollment at NYCPM, changes to the required curriculum may be implemented from time to time. Additionally, new technology or revised procedures for training medical professionals could be introduced. As a result, the nature of the educational program could be altered in a fashion that impacts an existing accommodation or creates a need to consider an accommodation. Since accommodating disabilities requires that the parties interact about the need for and availability of reasonable accommodations, the student understands that the College and the student may need to revisit issues under certain circumstances, supplement documentation and reassess the need for or reasonableness of accommodations. The College will provide adequate time for the student to present additional documentation if appropriate, and the student is responsible for raising matters timely so that any reassessment can be taken in an orderly fashion.