UMass Boston

If you are deaf, have hearing loss or impaired vision, the Ross Center can help you determine the appropriate communication services to help you access the course curriculum in your classes. Several different communication options are available based on your specific needs:

• American Sign Language (ASL)—available onsite 
• Video Remote Interpreting (VRI)
• Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART)—CART services are the near-verbatim transcription of the spoken word into a visual text display on a computer screen. CART services are particularly useful for individuals who are late-deafened, hard of hearing, or not fluent in ASL. CART services are available remotely and can also be requested with on-site providers (depending on the modality of the course to be captioned, and the course curriculum). These providers are scheduled through freelance consultants and companies. The Ross Center will work with each student to provide the preferred method of CART, depending upon availability.
• Captioning/live captioning is available for in-person and remote classes. Students who have captioning as an accommodation are not responsible for material that is not captioned prior to the class meeting. Live captioning is what is used for remote classes utilizing zoom and/or BlackBoard Collaborate.

Step one: Request accommodations through myRCDS (our database) as soon as the student has selected classes for the upcoming semester - having more time available to schedule and secure services could make a larger variety of options available.

Step two: The student should email the Ross Center Assistant Director for Access and Technology, indicating the accommodations requested, and include a copy of their WISER schedule at least six weeks prior to the start of classes. More advance notice is appreciated, and will provide for more options and availability. Please note that the longer the delay in requesting services, the greater the possibility that preferred providers will be unavailable.

Step three: Ross Center staff will send an acknowledgement emails within two (2) business days. The staff will begin filing requests for CART services based upon the student's schedule(s). The Ross Center will communicate that parking can be made available to the service provider (at the regular daily cost for on-campus parking) in a location central to campus.

Step four: The student requesting accommodations will be notified as soon as possible through email from the Ross Center as to the modality and the scheduled providers will be for classes. All students requesting these accommodations will be notified of the status of their request at least two weeks prior to the start of each semester.

The Adaptive Computer Lab (ACL) is available for all student use, and provides support and training with a referral from the Ross Center. For location and hours, visit the Adaptive Computer Lab's website.

In the main area located above each workstation is incandescent adjustable track lighting with dimmer. Many of the tables are electronically adjustable. Power strips have been mounted in the housing unit of the electric table to keep cords off the floor and away from service dogs. The reduced noise room located in the rear of the lab houses three PC workstations and one Mac workstation. The overhead lighting is dimmer adjustable.

The ACL provides equipment to be used as an accommodation, and helps students registered with the Ross Center to obtain the needed equipment/technology.  The ACL is equipped with Mac and PC computers with large screen monitors, scanners and printers, headphones with attached microphones, Juliette Braille Embosser, Duxbury Braille Translator, CCTV (color as well as B&W), JAWS (for Windows), Dragon Naturally Speaking, Read and Write, and ZoomText Fusion Screen Magnification software. ACL also has JAWS, Read and Write, and ZoomText available for student use on personal devices

Step one: register with the Ross Center.

Step two: obtain a referral to or visit the Adaptive Computer Lab (ACL) as an accommodation

If you register for a computer course and need special adaptation or would like recommendations on what type of adaptive computer software/hardware you may need, please contact the ACL at 617.287.5243.

The Ross Center also has two laptop computers that you may use on-site. To request the use of a laptop, send a request via email to ross.center@umb.edu or call 617.287.7430. These laptops are equipped with the following software:

1. Dragon Naturally Speaking 9.0
2. Jaws
3. Microsoft Office Professional 2013
4. Zoom Text

Based on your disability, you may be eligible to substitute a course for the general education-required math and/or foreign language. For major programs of study that require foreign language or math, there are no course substitutions allowed.

Step one: register with the Ross Center if you have not already done so

Step two: meet with a Ross Center staff person, who will review current disability documentation, specify any additional needed documentation, and review your past educational experience with math and/or foreign language. The Ross Center staff person, in consultation with the Director of the Ross Center and other faculty and staff as needed, will determine whether you are eligible for this accommodation.

If you qualify for exam accommodations, you may take exams in the Ross Center, which provides the following:

• Extended time (1.5 or 2.0 x the exam period)
• Reduced distraction space
• Technology (Jaws, Kurzweil, MS Word, Dragon)
• Private room if available

Scheduling an exam with the Ross Center requires communication between you, your course instructor and the Ross Center.

Step one: register with the Ross Center, and receive alternative testing accommodations

Step two: request an exam accommodation for the necessary courses

Step three: Ross Center staff will work with your professor to complete an Alternative Testing Contract at the beginning of the semester. This contract outlines all exam details/specification.

Step four: Log in to your myRCDS profile, scroll to “My Accommodations,” and click “Alternative Testing.” From there you can select the class and other exam details. If an exam date/time changes, please log in to your myRCDS account, click on “Alternative Testing,” and modify the corresponding exam. You are required to take exams on the same day and at the same time as the class, unless you have discussed and received prior approval on an alternative day/time from your professor. Please keep in mind that all exams must be scheduled one week in advance and finals must be scheduled by December 1st and May 1st.

• Exams are administered beginning at 7:30am and must be completed by 4:45pm Monday-Friday
• Four start times are offered for final exams: 7:30am, 9:00am, 11:00am, and 1:00pm

If you are taking a course at a time outside of our regular business hours, please contact the Ross Center at 617-287-7430 or by emailing ross.center@umb.edu to discuss possible options.
 
Writing Proficiency Exam (WPE)

The Writing Proficiency Exam is a general education requirement that students must meet when they have accrued between 60-75 credits. If you would like to take the WPE with accommodations, please forward your registration confirmation email to rosscenterexam@umb.edu. You must take the WPE at the Ross Center between the hours of 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

In most cases, attendance is a critical component of an instructor’s course design to and is essential to fully understanding the subject matter covered in the course. However, if you believe you cannot adhere to an attendance policy because of circumstances directly related to a disability, particularly those health-related disabilities or conditions that flare up episodically (for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, sickle cell anemia, seizure disorders, cancer, migraines, and conditions requiring dialysis, or mental health disabilities), you may request an attendance accommodation. With an episodic illness, you may not be able to predict exactly when or how many times you will not be able to attend class, but based on the documentation of your disability, the Ross Center will establish the parameters for an accommodation.

Step one: Student who is eligible for this accommodation selects it for the necessary courses.

Step two: The Ross Center staff person lists the details of the recommended accommodation in an email communication with the faculty and student, which contains the following information:

• Number of absences reasonable for a standard 16-week course based on number of times per week that class meets (recommended: 1x per week = 2 absences; 2x a week = 4 absences; 3x a week = 6 absences)
• How and when the student should inform instructor when he/she/they will miss/has missed class due to episodic illness (recommended: notification will occur with 24 to 48 hours of missed class)
• How and when the student will make up missed work or exams (recommended: missed work will be due at next class attended; exams will be made up within one calendar week)

Step three: if the faculty is in agreement with the recommended accommodations, the faculty will reply in the affirmative to the Ross Center staff person and the student.  Should the faculty member consider that this accommodation would alter the fundamental nature of the course, the faculty member will reply to the Ross Center and the student that discussion is needed.  The student (if needed), faculty and Ross Center staff will then meet together to determine a reasonable accommodation. 

Step four: Once the Ross Center staff person has determined agreed the terms of the accommodation, the staff person will send an email containing the final accommodation(s) to both student and instructor, who will reply in the affirmative. The Ross Center then retains a copy for its files.

Once finalized, the accommodation is in force for the semester, and both the student and your instructor(s) are expected to follow the instructions or deadlines as described in the accommodations.

Should absences become unexpectedly excessive, the faculty member will communicate with the Ross Center staff and student so that a withdrawal or a grade of incomplete can be considered if appropriate.

Please note: if you think you may need this accommodation during the semester, we strongly recommend that you schedule a meeting with a Ross Center staff person at the start of the semester. The entire process of requesting an accommodation for flexible attendance should be completed within the first three weeks of the semester. This accommodation requires time to set up and could take several days or a couple of weeks to finalize. It is also not retroactive, so if you have not requested the accommodation ahead of time, you cannot request it be applied to past absences.

If your instructor thinks flexible attendance (even if class participation is measured by timely responses and comments to online blogs) would alter the essential course components, then this accommodation may not be feasible. However, if the essential nature of the course would be unaffected, then the Ross Center, in consultation with you and your instructor, will determine a reasonable plan for absences

Taking notes in class can present barriers for some students, but if you are registered with the Ross Center, the following options are available:

• You can record the class with a self provided digital recorder or Live Scribe pen.
• You can access the instructor's notes that are posted on the course website.
• You can ask a classmate to make copies of notes to share.
• For additional alternatives, please contact the Ross Center

If you qualify for tape recording as an accommodation, you have the right to tape record class lectures only for your personal study—you may not share these recordings with other people without the consent of the lecturer.

Step one: register with the Ross Center if you have not already done so.

Step two: fill out the Record Lecture Confidentiality Agreement in myRCDS before recording any lecture.

You may not use tape-recorded lectures in any way against the faculty member, other lecturers, or students whose classroom comments are taped as a part of the class activity. Federal copyright laws protect the information contained in the tape-recorded lecture, and you may not copy, publish, broadcast, or quote it without the expressed written consent of the lecturer and without giving proper identity and credit to the lecturer. To do any of the above may violate the Student Code of Conduct.

You may ask the Ross Center to convert required reading for a course or academic activity into the following alternate formats:

• digital file for reading on a computer
• audio file for listening
• enlarged print
• braille

Step one: register with the Ross Center if you have not already done so.

Step two: log in to your myRCDS account.

Step three: click on “Alternate Format” under “My Accommodations” on the left side of the screen.

Step four: select textbook(s) from the list that you'd like converted. You may also upload the receipt(s). If your textbook is not listed you may manually enter the books information at the bottom of the page.  

Step five: Once the alternative format request is received we will search internal and external libraries to obtain a converted copy. If the desired copy is not available you will receive an email from our alternate format team requesting the textbook for scanning. Once the converted textbook is sent, you may not share any converted files with others, because of copyright laws.

If you have questions, please contact the Ross Center Alternative Format Production Team at rossaltformat@umb.edu or by phone at 617.287.7431.

As an alternative, you can convert your materials yourself using SensusAccess, a self-service solution that converts documents into a range of alternative formats including digital Braille, MP3, DAISY and e-books. It can convert reading material written in a number of languages as well as American English (Bulgarian, Danish, British English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian and Spanish).

Step one: To use SensusAccess, you have to have an UMass Boston email address.

Step two: To begin, open the “document converter tool” link located at the bottom of the campus home page or go to http://www.robobraille.org/web3/umb/ and follow the instructions. If you have difficulty accessing the SensusAccess form, try changing to another browser.

Step three: After you upload a file, the program will let you know what your options are for conversion. For example, PDF files can be tagged for accessibility or converted into MP3 files, RTF, electronic braille, and other formats.

Step four: Once you select the format you want your file to be converted into, type in your email address and hit the upload button. You will receive an email back with links to your converted file. You can then read the file online or download it. The files will stay on the SensusAccess web site for seven days.

If you have questions or need help, please send an email to rossaltformat@umb.edu, contact a Ross Center staff person by phone at 617-287-7430.

Time extensions may be an appropriate accommodation, particularly for those with health-related disabilities or conditions that flare up episodically (for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, sickle cell anemia, seizure disorders, cancer, migraines, and conditions requiring dialysis, or mental health disabilities).  The accommodation may be combined with a flexible attendance accommodation. With an episodic illness, you may not be able to predict exactly when or how your coursework may be affected, but based on the documentation of your disability, the Ross Center will establish the parameters for an accommodation.

Step one: Student who is eligible for this accommodation selects it for the necessary courses.

Step two: The Ross Center staff person lists the details of the recommended accommodation in an email communication with the faculty and student, which contains the following information:

• the student will make every effort to complete assignments on time
• should the disability cause an issue, the student will email the faculty member, indicating that the need for an additional 24-48 hours to complete an assignment.
• this accommodation is only to be utilized when the lateness is caused by a disability, and is not to be utilized as permission for repetitive late assignments
• special attention should be paid to courses where group assignments comprise a portion of the grade

Step three: if the faculty is in agreement with the recommended accommodations, the faculty will reply in the affirmative to the Ross Center staff person and the student.  Should the faculty member consider that this accommodation would alter the fundamental nature of the course, the faculty member will reply to the Ross Center and the student that discussion is needed.  The student (if needed), faculty and Ross Center staff will then meet together to determine a reasonable accommodation. 

Step four: Once the Ross Center staff person has determined and agreed to the terms of the accommodation, the staff person will send an email containing the final accommodation(s) to both student and instructor, who will reply in the affirmative. The Ross Center then retains a copy for its files.

Once finalized, the accommodation is in force for the semester, and both the student and your instructor(s) are expected to follow the instructions or deadlines as described in the accommodations.

Please note: if you think you may need this accommodation during the semester, we strongly recommend that you schedule a meeting with a Ross Center staff person at the start of the semester. The entire process of requesting an accommodation for time extensions should be completed within the first three weeks of the semester. This accommodation requires time to set up and could take several days or a couple of weeks to finalize. It is also not retroactive, so if you have not requested the accommodation ahead of time, you cannot request it be applied to past absences. Time extensions do not apply to examinations.

If your instructor thinks time extensions would alter the essential course components, then this accommodation may not be feasible. However, if the essential nature of the course would be unaffected, then the Ross Center, in consultation with you and your instructor, will determine a reasonable plan for time extensions.