Our philosophy is to empower students to be successful in obtaining their educational goals. By providing necessary support, we help students to attain their academic, vocational and personal goals at WNC. Disability Support Services (DSS) provides qualified students with disabilities equal access to higher education through academic support services, technology and advocacy in order to promote their independence, retention and graduation.

WNC is committed to serving the College community in the following areas:

• Serving as an advocate and liaison
• Providing appropriate accommodations and services
• Giving guidance and training on disability matters
• Fostering self-sufficiency
• Acting as a resource regarding areas of compliance.

Getting Needed Accommodations and Services

Reasonable accommodations and implementation of services are determined by the DSS program director after consultation and discussion with the student.

In order to be connected with the Disability Support Services (DSS) office and receive accommodations you will need to first complete and submit an application here.

Once registered with the DSS office, students will attend an intake appointment, provide written proof of their disability when they meet with the DSS program director. At the end of the intake appointment, the program director determines accommodations, which may include:

• Extended time for testing
• Note taking assistance
• Distraction reduced testing room
• Assistive technology
• Academic coaching
• Auxiliary aides
• ASL interpreters/captioning

Exam Scheduling

It is the student’s responsibility to make an appointment with DSS when planning to take an exam in the DSS office. DSS requires a minimum of:

1. 3 working days advance notice before exams or quizzes are to be administered in the DSS office
2. 7 working days if exams must be converted to an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, etc.)
3. 7 working days for readers, scribes and/or assistants

Generally, students with disabilities take exams at the same time as the rest of the class unless there are time conflicts, in which case an alternate exam time is assigned with the instructor’s approval.

DSS administers exams from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Note: Exams will not be administered after 3:15pm unless after hour arrangements have been made 1 week in advance.

Career Connect

Students with disabilities who are attending at least one WNC class at any campus/center or web-based class, and have an open case with DETR-VR can apply for assistance and will be referred to Career Connect. Staff will work closely with a DETR- VR Counselor throughout the referral, eligibility, planning, and follow-up processes to ensure coordinated service provision will lead to successful employment outcomes.

For more information about CareerConnect, please contact Skylar Depedro at skylar.depedro@wnc.edu or 775-445-4402.