Disability Support Services

• Once you've registered, forward a copy of your paid tuition bill to Disability Support Services at DSS@pgcc.edu at least one month prior to the beginning of classes to avoid delays in services. 
• New students are encouraged to request accommodations by logging into Accommodate (Click Here) and uploading documentation. For general questions or concerns about disability support services send an email to DSS@pgcc.edu or contact Lynne S. Dean-Colfack at 301-546-0838 or Adamsols@pgcc.edu.
• Returning DSS students can request accommodations by logging into Accommodate (Click Here) and completing the steps. For other questions or disability-related advising, they can email: Adrienne Moore: thomasad@pgcc.edu or Thomas Mays: maysto@pgcc.edu.  

You can also request academic accommodations by clicking here, clicking Student, and following the steps.

• Psychological report (full write-up) with recommendations
• Woodcock-Johnson Battery-Revised (full report preferred)
• Neuropsychological evaluation
• Psychological report (full write-up)
• Letter from a doctor (with diagnosis, functional limitations, and educational limitations)

Read the full Documentation Guidelines here.

Note: Academic accommodations are designed to provide each student with equal access in the classroom and do not change the academic standards, requirements, and code of conduct required of all students. Academic accommodations are not retroactive and will begin once a student has completed the intake process and eligibility for services has been determined.

For students who are recent high school graduates, there are some important differences between high school and college in the provision of support services and accommodations.

• Students will be moving from entitlement to services (mandatory accommodations) to eligibility for services (having to request accommodations). This means that it is likely that students will not receive all of the accommodations they enjoyed in high school. However, they will have many support services available to them on campus such as tutoring, academic advising, and mentoring. Students will also be expected to read and write at high levels, increase their independence, ask for support (self-advocacy skills), and seek out resources. Resources available at Prince George's Community College include the library (Accokeek Hall); the tutoring, writing, and grammar center (Lanham Hall, Room 114A); the math assistance lab (Bladen Hall, Room 108); and various computer labs throughout campus.
• Students will be viewed as adults responsible for decisions regarding their academic program and use of services. Students will be responsible for notifying the Disability Support Services office (Lanham Hall, Room 101A) as to the nature of their disability and work with DSS staff to identify appropriate accommodations. Students may call the DSS office to set up an initial interview appointment with the DSS program director or counselor after they have registered and paid for classes. Additionally, they have a right to a private and confidential meeting without the presence of a parent or guardian.
• Students are responsible for providing all documentation supporting their disability, particularly in cases where the disability is not obvious. The college does not offer a psychoeducational assessment to establish the existence of a learning disability. It is very important that students keep copies of any psychoeducational testing results done in high school.
• Students who are requesting a sign language interpreter or note-taker services must contact DSS one month before classes start. The student must have already registered and paid for classes at the time they make the request. Note: Services will not be scheduled until courses have been paid in full and verified by a show of a paid tuition bill. Failure to follow the above process could delay the provision of a requested accommodation.
• Because federal law requires confidentiality of student records, DSS staff cannot release to parents information regarding a student's grades, attendance, use of support services, etc., unless the student has given the college written permission to do so.
• DSS does not provide personal care attendants to students for liability reasons. Personal needs that necessitate an attendant are the responsibility of the student.
• Academic accommodations are not retroactive and will begin once a student has completed the intake process and eligibility for services has been determined. 
• Note: Students may experience a delay in receiving auxiliary services (i.e., interpreting, note taking, recorded textbooks, etc.) for both credit courses and classes if they register late and do not provide adequate documentation to support reasonable accommodations. 

Accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis after consultation with the DSS program director or rehabilitation counselor specialist. Possible services may include:

• Academic, personal, transfer, and career counseling to students;
• Sign language interpreters (staff and contract interpreting agencies);
• Note-taking services;
• Wheelchair accessible desks/tables;
• Extended test time and alternate testing locations (quiet environment);
• Permission to tape record class lectures;
• Recorded textbooks, as needed;
• Support services to students with visual, physical, sensory, and psychological disabilities;
• Referrals to community agencies; and
• Use of adaptive technology.

Download the Disability Support Services Procedures form.