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Northland Community & Technical College

Services

Academic Success Center

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ASC provides accommodations and services for a variety of disabilities, including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Learning Disabilities
  • Hearing Loss
  • Vision Loss
  • Physical Disabilities
  • Psychological Disabilities
  • Attention Deficit Disorders
  • Brain Injuries
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • Cognitive Disabilities
  • Other health-related disabilities

Services and accommodations are determined on an individual, case-by-case basis. They are also contingent upon the documented nature of the disability and the functional limitations accompanying the disability. For more questions regarding the federal guidelines related to disability access, please refer to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Frequently Asked Questions about Section 504.

When to Request Accommodations

Students may request accommodations at any time. However, it is highly recommended that you begin the process several weeks prior to the start of classes, as accommodations may take time to arrange. Late requests for accommodations may limit immediate assistance, and accommodations cannot be applied retroactively.

Available accommodations, but not limited to:

  • Access to notes (PowerPoint, PDF, Lecture notes)
  • Extended time for tests and quizzes
  • Scribe for written work/exams
  • Alternative test site
  • Audio tests
  • Test formatting (font, color, electronic/paper, chunking)
  • Audio record lectures
  • Special seat location
  • Alternative format text
  • Use of a calculator/dictionary/speller
  • FM/audio support
  • Interpreter/CART/Captioning/CST
  • Physical accommodations
  • Special lighting
  • Other (Not listed)

How to Request Accommodations

To request services, please contact the Accommodation Specialist or the Director of Academic and Student Success. You can submit disability documentation in person, by mail, email, or fax.

Students who believe they may have a disability but do not have relevant documentation should discuss their situation with the Director of Academic and Student Success or the Accommodation Specialist. For more information about documentation, please see the Procedure for Requesting Disability Accommodations.

Intake Process

During the intake appointment, the student and the Director of Academic and Student Success or Accommodation Specialist will discuss the disability documentation and what barriers the student expects to encounter. Academic adjustments will be determined based on a combination of the student’s personal experience, relevant documentation, and the interactive conversation with the student. The Director of Academic and Student Success or Accommodation Specialist will approve accommodations and send the accommodation letter to the student via their Northland email. It is the student’s responsibility to share their accommodation letter with their instructors and discuss how they would like to use those accommodations.

Updating Accommodations

Students are encouraged to contact the Director of Academic and Student Success or the Accommodation Specialist at any time during the semester if the approved accommodations are inadequate and/or new needs are discovered. Students should indicate which changes are needed (if any) for future semesters and notify the appropriate faculty.

Transitioning from High School to College

Two excellent resources to assist students and educators with the transition process between high school and college are:

Accessibility Policies and Procedures

Local Disability Resources

Division of Vocational Rehabilitation – Minnesota

Crookston office
102 W 5th St
Crookston, MN 56716-3000
Phone: 218-277-7860

Roseau office
1307 3rd St NE
Roseau, MN 56751-0158
Phone: 218-463-2075

Thief River Falls office
1301 Highway 1 East
Thief River Falls, MN 56701-2500
Phone: 800-657-3962

Website: http://mn.gov/deed/job-seekers/disabilities/

Division of Vocational Rehabilitation – North Dakota

David Kvasager, Regional Administrator
1501 28th Avenue South
Grand Forks, North Dakota 58201-6727
Local Phone: 701-795-3100
Toll-Free: 1-888-256-6742
Email: dkvasager@nd.gov
Website: https://www.hhs.nd.gov/individuals-disabilities

Minnesota State Council on Disability (MSCOD)

121 E. 7th Place, Suite 107
St. Paul, MN 55101
Phone & TTY: 1-800-945-8913
Fax: 651-296-5935
Email: council.disability@state.mn.us
Website: http://www.disability.state.mn.us/

North Dakota Association for the Disabled (NDAD)

2660 South Columbia Rd.
Grand Forks, ND 58201
Phone: 701-775-5577
Toll-Free: 1-800-532-6323
ND Relay: 1-800-366-6888
Email: grandforks@ndad.org
Website: http://ndad.org/

State Services for the Blind of Minnesota

2200 University Ave W
Suite 240
Saint Paul, MN 55114
Phone: 651-539-2300
Website: https://mn.gov/deed/ssb/

North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind

500 Stanford Road
Grand Forks, ND 58203
Phone: 701-795-2700
Toll-Free: 1-800-421-1181
Website: https://www.ndvisionservices.com/

State Parking Placard Information

Minnesota: Application for Disability Parking Certificate
North Dakota: Application for Mobility Impaired Parking Permit (.pdf)

National Disability Resources

Association for Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD)

Website: http://www.ahead.org/

Federal Relay Service

TTY / ASCII – (800) 877-8339
VCO (Voice Carry Over) – (877) 877-6280
Speech-to-Speech – (877) 877-8982
Spanish – (800) 845-6136
Voice – (866) 377-8642
TeleBraille – (866) 893-8340
Customer Service (Voice/TTY, ASCII, and Spanish) – (800) 877-0996

Mental Health Resources

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
Website: http://www.nami.org/

Learning Ally

Website: http://www.learningally.org/

The DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) Center

Website: http://www.washington.edu/doit/

US Office for Civil Rights (OCR)

Website: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/

Welcome – स्वागत – Bienvenida – Boozhoo – ترحيب – Bienvenue – Karibu – Hau

Are you looking to improve your English speaking, listening, reading, or writing skills? Do you sometimes encounter words, phrases, or conversations that are unfamiliar? Would you like to build greater confidence using English in academic and everyday settings?

Northland can help.

Adult Basic Education (ABE)

Adult Basic Education (ABE) provides English language learning support to help students strengthen their communication skills and prepare for college success. ABE staff can assess your English proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing and help you develop the skills needed for academic achievement.

Services may include support with:

  • Grammar and sentence structure
  • Vocabulary development
  • Reading comprehension
  • Pronunciation and speaking skills
  • Understanding context and idiomatic expressions
  • Accuplacer preparation
  • College readiness skills

Students may continue to access ABE services while enrolled at Northland. However, ABE does not provide assistance with college-level coursework or assignments.

ABE Locations

East Grand Forks Campus
Room 560
Phone: 218-793-2380

Thief River Falls Campus
Room 213
Phone: 218-683-8764

Residency Information

Minnesota residents receive priority access to ABE services offered on Northland campuses. Depending on availability, residents of North Dakota and other states may be placed on a waiting list.

North Dakota residents may also inquire about English Language (EL) services through:

Adult Learning Center
Stanford Centre
500 Stanford Road
Grand Forks, ND 58203
Phone: 701-795-2777

If you would like to improve your English skills and prepare for success in college, connect with ABE staff to learn more about available resources and support services.

Academic Success Center (ASC)

The Academic Success Center (ASC) is here to support your success at Northland. Whether you need help understanding course material, improving your writing, working through math problems, or reviewing lecture notes, our team is ready to assist. We can also connect you with faculty, staff, and campus resources that support your academic journey.

The ASC offers tutoring and academic support in a variety of subject areas, including:

  • Writing
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Liberal Arts
  • Technical and Career Programs

Support for Students with Limited English Proficiency

Academic accommodations through the ASC are available to students with documented disabilities who meet established accommodation requirements. Students with limited English proficiency who do not qualify for disability-related accommodations should work directly with their instructors, who may choose to provide support such as additional exam time or access to translation resources when appropriate.

Visit the ASC

East Grand Forks Campus
Rooms 270E, 270F, and 294
Phone: 218-683-8560

Thief River Falls Campus
Room 205
Phone: 218-683-8560

Need assistance? Stop by, give us a call, or connect with our staff to learn how the Academic Success Center can help you achieve your academic goals.

Northland provides some assistive technology for students in the Academic Success Center on both campuses, including screen magnifiers, mouse scanners, and recording pens. All students have access to D2L Brightspace to TextAid ReadSpeaker. TextAid ReadSpeaker offers an online app for reading documents, a browser extension for reading webpages, and many other features. Please refer to Northland’s policies for information on the college’s accessibility policy, including definitions of disability and the reasonable accommodations that can be provided.

In addition, students are encouraged to visit the ASC to discuss their individual needs and preferences for assistive technology. While the college does not provide extensive assistive technology, it will work with students to recommend technology on a case-by-case basis. The purchase, installation, and maintenance of assistive technology is generally the student’s responsibility.

Students are encouraged to contact external agencies, such as the Department of Rehabilitation Services (Minnesota and North Dakota) or Northland’s Veterans Resource Center, for potential funding.

Assistive Technology for Students

Speech-to-Text/Text-to-Speech Software and Tools

  • JAWS Screenreading Software — from Freedom Scientific, one of the highest-rated commercially available screen readers
  • NVDA — Non-Visual Desktop Access, FREE screenreader for Microsoft PCs

Pointing Tools/Touch Screen

Universal Design

This section provides information and links to help faculty and web content designers create accessible content.

  • CAST Universal Design Homepage — a nonprofit research and development organization for universal design
  • D2L Accessibility — information on how universal design principles are incorporated into the D2L learning environment, including resources for course designers
  • Section 508 — a section of the federal ADA code that applies to universal design requirements and includes professional development training in the 508 Universe section

Closed Captioning

Other Resources