Category: Cram Session
Do you use student services? At what level? i personally prefer to use them only in test situations, or when I'm really needing help, but I believe good communication with the professor is often the better way to go, and I'm starting to get the impression that extensive use of the student services office kind of tends to go into being a means of communication between you and the professor. And I'm guessing that some professors could even go as far as talking to the councilor in the special services office rather than going to you when there is a question or problem. I personally haven't had this experience, but was just wanting to know what your experiences have been, if you use them at all, and how you use them, and if perhaps it's possible to not have to rely on them so much.
When I was in college, I mainly used them for tests. During my first semester, I did rely on Disability Services to provide readers and notetakers, but after that semester, I tended to make friends with people in my classes that would help (or use a scanner).
Disabled student resource centers are what I mainly have used as a last resort in the past. Not that there is anything wrong with them, but u r right when you say that it's best to deal with a professor directly and not even involve that office unless it's neccessary. The professors are likely to go to that office if they see that you are dependent on them, so the best way to avoid that happening is to always take charge of your own situation.
Yes I also only use them for tests and getting textbooks in accessible format, but even that has been troublesome, because the books they didn't do right and my tests are not going so well because they won't follow my accomodations letter. I was also scheduled to take two tests today, and I had scheduled them a month in advance, and the reader called me this morning to tell me that he was misscheduled and that the Disability office did not look at his schedule before scheduling him to read the test to me and that he had to be somewhere else during the testing time. He canceled the test, which really frustrated me because I had babysitting for my daughter already set up and planned for today, so now I had to email the professor and ask for extra time because they canceled on me and I have to figure out baby sitting again. Anyway, that is some of my experiences with the disability office. I really don't know why the professor can't just have the tests online since all of my courses are online, but I guess it is an issue of not wanting people to cheat on the exam. Also, if you don't have a disability, you can just walk in to a testing center whenever you feel like it and take the test, but since you have a disability you have to schedule your test in advance because of accomodations and everything.
Misty
I've been lucky enough this semester because my professor has really been good about accomidating for me. She emails me handouts, talks to me after class when needed, etc. Even when a test has come up, (I've had only one so far this semester), she was able to provide it for me in an electronic format, therefore I was able to take it at the same time as everyone else. But one thing DSS has done for me was to provide me with an electronic textbook, which I can now access on my Braille Note. So I guess it really just depends on the professor one has, and it's always best to work with them, but if they aren't good about accomidations, it's a good resource to turn to.