Facilities and Services Available to Students with Disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 defines a disability in the following ways (A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual (B) a record of such an impairment; or (C) being regarded as having such an impairment. The ADA and it’s precursor, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act provide civil rights laws, which prevent and protect students with disabilities and those who are regarded as having disabilities from discrimination.

Zion Massage College complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and state and local requirements regarding students with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are provided to qualified students in compliance with local, state and federal regulations.

Disability Services for Students for Zion Massage College is generally handled by the Program Director in collaboration with instructors, staff members and the student. ZMC is committed to fostering an accessible, welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment.

A request for accommodations is deemed reasonable if it meets the following:

1. The request is based on the required documentation as outlined below
2. The request does not impose a financial or administrative burden upon ZMC, it’s staff members or individual instructors beyond that which is deemed customary and reasonable
3. The request does not compromise essential requirements of a course or program

What Can ZMC’s Disability Services do for You?

• Support you in your academic success
• Meet with you periodically to support your critical thinking and problem solving
• Meet with you to assist you in arranging reasonable accommodations and other necessary support
• Advise and assist you with communication with your instructors
• Help you learn about yourself and equal opportunity for all students
• Help you identify appropriate resources on and off campus
• Help you to develop and maintain effective coping strategies like time management, study skills and stress management

Process for Requesting Disability Accommodation:

To request disability accommodation, the student bears the responsibility of informing ZMC of the disability and of submitting any required documentation. The student should submit the request upon admission to ZMC. This information will be kept strictly confidential pursuant to the Confidentiality of Information statement below and will be kept in a locked file.

Students must identify themselves to the Program Director and must provide the required documentation specified below at least 30 days in advance of the start of the requested accommodations.

Below are the steps to request Disability Accommodation at ZMC:

1. The student submits the following to ZMC’s Program Director located in office #4:
   1. A written statement outlining his or her disability, and
   2. The required documentation specified below in the “Documentation Requirements” section.
2. The Program Director will review the documentation to determine whether the requested accommodations or any other accommodations are deemed reasonable.
3. The Program Director will schedule an intake meeting with the student, which typically lasts between 30 minutes to 1 hour. *Please note that if a student arrives more than 10 minutes late to a meeting, the meeting will be rescheduled.
4. Upon approval and arrangement of accommodations, the Program Director will prepare a letter for the student to share with his or her instructors and other necessary parties.

Process for Appeals

Students whose disability accommodation requests are denied or adjusted may submit an appeal in writing to the Program Advisory Committee. This appeal must be made within 15 days of the decision. 

Documentation Requirements

The student must provide all necessary documentation to request disability accommodations and will be made at the student’s expense. Documentation must follow the guidelines as follows:

• Age of documentation:
  • For students with a learning disability, the evaluation should be no older than three years if the student is under 21 years old. Older documentation may be considered for students who are over 21 as long as the testing was done when the student was at least 18 years old.
  • For students with a mental disability, the evaluation should be no older than six months.
  • For students with a physical disability, if the disability is a permanent condition, documentation of any age is considered. If the disability is based on a temporary condition, the evaluation should be no older than one year.
• Necessary information on documentation:
  • Should include the professional credentials of the evaluator, including the training and experience the evaluator has had with the diagnosis and treatment. The evaluator should be a licensed professional in the appropriate field and qualified to diagnose adults.
  • Should include a specific medical diagnosis of the physical, mental, or learning disability.
  • Should include the names of all diagnostic tests used, evaluation dates, test scores, and interpretation of test results.
  • Should describe the specific ways in which the disability will impact the student’s academic experience.
  • Should include recommended accommodations that relate to the diagnosis.

Confidentiality of Information:

Zion Massage College will not release any information regarding a student’s individual diagnosis or documentation without the student’s informed written consent or as required by law. A student is under no obligation to disclose the nature of his or her disability to an instructor.