Office for Students with Disabilities

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Office for Students with Disabilities

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) encourages and welcomes you to contact us for support early and often. Anoka-Ramsey Community College is committed to ensuring equal access to our facilities, services and academic programs for students with disabilities. The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides information and resources to support an environment that is accessible and inclusive for all individuals.

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  • In the spirit of service and with a student centric approach, the Office for Students with Disabilities provides equitable access to learning. We advocate with, and for, our students – engaging the campus community to cultivate a climate of inclusion and promoting the creation of a socially just educational system in which diversity of experience, identities and needs are valued and supported – continually empowering individuals to achieve their goals.

  • Students seeking accommodations must self-disclose the nature of their disability to OSD. We serve currently enrolled students (including PSEO and concurrently enrolled) who experience barriers in school settings.

    The following are just a few examples of conditions that might impact learning:

    • Mental Health Conditions (anxiety, depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, etc.
    • Learning Disabilities (dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, reading or math, etc.)
    • ADD/ADHD
    • Autism Spectrum Disorder
    • Blind, vision loss, vision impairments
    • Deaf, deafness, hearing loss
    • Physical Disabilities
    • Brain Injuries (TBI, concussion, etc.)
    • Severe Allergies (food, environmental)
    • Chronic Health Conditions (diabetes, cancers, autoimmune disorders, etc.)
    • Other conditions that lead to disability

    We welcome anyone interested in exploring their own experience with disability to stop by our office, schedule a meeting, call or email osd@anokaramsey.edu with thoughts or questions at their convenience.

    The Office for Students with Disabilities serves as an advocate for students, faculty and staff, working to advance inclusion and equity on our campus. Please contact us with your questions, comments or concerns regarding accessibility.

  • Academic Accommodations are supports that attempt to remove barriers for students with disabilities and increase access to the environment, the completion of tasks, or achievement of an outcome. The purpose of accommodations is to make education equitable, providing students with what they need to restore the unbalance between individuals with and without disabilities in educational settings.

    Accommodations are determined on an individual basis through an interactive request process and conversations between the student and OSD coordinator. The following are just a few examples of accommodations:

    • Extra testing time in a quiet room
    • Note-taking
    • Priority registration
    • Assistive technology
    • Adaptive equipment (chairs, desks, etc.)

     

  • Individuals experiencing disability-related barriers at Anoka-Ramsey Community College are encouraged to work with our office to receive accommodations and support services.

    1.  Submit an Accommodation Request
      ATTN: Students new to working with OSD starting Spring 2024, there will be a link on here for our new application starting November 1.
    2. Attach disability-related documentation to the Accommodation Request.

    3. Requests will be reviewed by OSD staff within 3-4 business days and you will be contacted via email about regarding your request status.

    4. Complete a Welcome Meeting (plan for 1 hour) with OSD to discuss accommodations that provide access to your courses.

    Examples of helpful documentation:

    • Evaluation Report from high school (or most recent available)
    • Psychological or Neuropsychological evaluations
    • Letter from a qualified professional
    • Medical chart or history
    • OSD Documentation Form (completed by a qualified professional)

    *Please note: students may be asked to provide updated and/or relevant documentation

    Additional information

    For most timely review, please attach relevant disability-related documentation to the Accommodation Request Form or send via email to: osd@anokaramsey.edu.

    Documentation can also be sent via mail to:
    Anoka-Ramsey Community College
    Attn: OSD
    11200 Mississippi Blvd NW
    Coon Rapids, MN 55433

    or via Fax to: 763-433-1521

    *Providers (physicians, psychologists, counselors, etc.) may also submit disability-related documentation directly to OSD.

    To request alternate versions of the Accommodation Request Form or other OSD documents, please email osd@anokaramsey.edu or call 763-433-1350.

  • Getting Started

    As an Anoka-Ramsey and Anoka Tech students, it is necessary to activate your StarID so you can access computers on campus, your email, your eServices and D2L (Desire 2 Learn).

    Follow this link for directions on how to get access to eServices, D2L and your college email.

    Follow this link for directions on How to set up your student Email.

    Office 365

    All Anoka-Ramsey Community college students have access to Office 365 where you can use popular programs such as Microsoft word, Excel, PowerPoint…

    Follow this link to go the ARCC Technology Page.

    Follow the directions on the Technology Page to set up Office 365 on your device.

    There are some programs that may require you to have additional software plug-ins to use them. If you are trying to run a program and it says that you need a plug-in such as Adobe Acrobat Reader:

    Follow this link to get access to additional plug-ins such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, Flash Player, Shockwave Player.

    Zoom

    All Anoka-Ramsey Community College students have a zoom account.

    Go to https://minnstate.zoom.us/

    When logging into you zoom account you use your Star ID and Password.

    For Zoom Video Tutorials click this link. 

    Follow this link for a PDF of tips for participating in Zoom meetings.

    Follow this link for a PDF on How to get to Zoom if you cannot not download the Zoom Client App

    Bookings

    You can book an appointment with many of the services provided by ARCC by using the Microsoft Bookings App.

    Follow this link for a PDF on how to Book and manage an appointment in Microsoft Bookings.

    Tutoring

    All Anoka-Ramsey Community College Students have access to free tutoring. Tutoring has been moved to an online environment and can be utilized by booking an appointment.

    Follow this link to book an online tutoring session with a professional tutor or a drop-in peer tutoring session.

    ARCC students will continue to have access to Tutor.com tutoring services 24 hours a day / 7 days a week. A link to Tutor.com is in every D2L Brightspace homepage. All students have 15 hours paid for by the system office.

    Calculators

    Need a free online calculator?
    Desmos Graphing Calculator
    GeoGebra Graphing Calculator
    ClassCalc Graphing Calculator
    TI-84 Free 90 Day Trial Graphing Calculator
    Desmos Scientific Calculator
    GeoGebra Scientific Calculator
    ClassCalc Scientific Calculator

    Other Resources

    Minnesota State ASA Newsletter:
    Minnesota State Student Technology Help

Supplementary Information

  • Service Update

    OSD is now in its permanent location on the Coon Rapids Campus, Office L117. An OSD representative will be available in our new space most days to provide support.

    We will continue providing services in a hybrid model, offering some on-campus services in addition to our remote options.

  • Contacts

    Office for Students with Disabilities
    763-433-1350

    Jaimie Lopez, Director
    763-433-1122

    Heather Dibblee, Disability and Accessibility Specialist
    763-433-1132

    Ann McArdle, Assistant Director 
    763-433-1136

  • Book an Appointment

    Book an Appointment 

    Note: If under the letter of your last name, there is not availability for a time you need, you can click the other link and make an appointment with another OSD Staff member if they are available for a time that works for you

    Last Name A-G

    Last Name H-Z

  • Locations

    Cambridge Campus
    Check-in at Front Desk

    Coon Rapids Campus
    L117

  • Resources

    FAQ

    Minnesota State Policy 1B.4
    Access & Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities

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