April 16, 2025

Cynthia Short, a Spring 2025 professional writing intern in the Office of Strategic Communication + Marketing, submitted this article for publication.

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The Center for Accommodation and Access provides essential support to students with disabilities, ensuring equality and accessibility in education. From academic accommodations in the classroom to housing and physical accessibility around campus, the center is dedicated to students’ success.

“Accommodations are just leveling the playing field for everyone,” said the center’s director, Sarah Secoy. “Some students may need extra support.”

Known at some universities as the disability services office, Columbus State University’s Center for Accommodation & Access provides accommodations for students with disabilities recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These disabilities can range from short-term challenges, like navigating campus after breaking your leg, to long-term challenges, like a lifelong disability or developmental delay.

Currently, about 8% of undergraduate and graduate students benefit from some short- or long-term accommodation, which according to Secoy is about average for a university. Students who have previously had Individualized Education Plans are often aware of the center. These IEPs are legally binding documents that outline a K-12 student’s specific learning needs and the tailored educational support and services they will receive in a school setting.

Physical accommodations are often needed in residence halls, such as a lower bed or a shower with a handrail. The center ensures housing and academic spaces provide Braille labeling for students with sight difficulties and vibrational devices that trigger with the fire alarm for hearing-impaired students.

“Learning accommodations are very specific to a student’s challenges, the course and topic being taught, and how the faculty member teaches in the classroom,” Secoy explained of the case-by-case consideration each student’s situation may require.

She said the most common classroom accommodations are low-distraction environments and additional time on tests for students who may require considerations stemming from cognitive, developmental or emotional concerns. The center has three testing rooms in its office, where students can schedule a time to take their assessments.

Academic coaching, where students can work one-on-one with a coach at their desired frequency to receive additional support for time management and planning, is another common accommodation. The center may find someone in the student’s class to help with note-taking or even allow the student to record lectures, which is helpful for students who have injured their dominant writing hand or arm and or those who are auditory learners.

SEEKING AN ACCOMMODATION

Secoy’s unique story drives her commitment to serving students through the Center for Accommodation and Access. A two-time alumna, she came to Columbus State in 2004 as a first-generation student-athlete with little family support, having struggled with homelessness in high school. That helped her more easily empathize with students at “their best and their worst” while a student assistant in the Dean of Students’ office. That experience revealed to her a new career path: making Columbus State a home for students from every walk of life.

“For students with extreme challenges,” Secoy (pictured) said, “it’s about making sure they have the guidance to make it across the finish line.”

When students with those “extreme” challenges reach out to the center, its team reviews their medical documentation to determine if accommodations are required and, if so, how the university can satisfy those while ensuring a class’s learning objectives can still be fully met. Students can request accommodation based on both their specific needs and their individual classes. Once students submit their documentation, staff initiate an intake meeting, which Secoy describes as an “interactive process.” The staff seeks input from the student and incorporates it into the determination process.

“We really look at a student’s specific limitation and how we may be able to provide access,” Secoy said, explaining that once the staff and student agree on suitable accommodations, faculty are informed of those needs. This notification does not include the student’s specific disability, and students are at no time obligated to reveal their specific condition.

When and where accommodations can be made, the center partners with faculty, Residence Life, Dining Services and other campus departments to ensure a smooth college experience. Secoy said this sometimes requires problem-solving between the center’s staff, faculty and student. One such situation involved a faculty member who did not use lecture notes or PowerPoint slides in class, but the accommodations called for the student to be provided with them in advance. The faculty member consulted the center on what appropriate alternatives would look like.

“We have a lot of dialogue between the student and faculty member, especially if their class is set up in a nontraditional way,” Secoy stated. “[Accommodations in a] lab is going to look a lot different from a lecture.” She complimented professors’ helpful nature, stating that “99.9% of the time, our faculty are bending over backwards asking ‘what can I do better?’”

One of those faculty members is Randall Casleton, a senior lecturer in the Department of Mathematics, who has helped several of his students with accommodation requests for quieter testing environments and extra time on tests. He’s found that he’s had no difficulty accommodating students, noting the usefulness of the center’s guidance and resources.

“I’ve had students who get distracted by noise, such as shuffling papers during tests,” he explained, affirming that, despite the accommodation, students are held to the same testing rigor and curriculum expectations as all his students. “[With the testing environment accommodation], students are able to take [exams] on their own. A distraction-free environment helps them do better.”

Secoy said some students—especially those who may have had an IEP previously in high school—might want to start their college experiences without an accommodation. She advised that it’s better to explore and establish official accommodations earlier rather than later, so they’re there if ever needed.

“It’s much better to have that first conversation and set up an accommodation plan,” she said. “Students aren’t required to use accommodations once they are given, but they can sometimes be a safety net. That’s much better than getting to finals and regretting not having obtained them.”

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES, STIGMAS

Carolyn Smith was familiar with the process, as she had academic accommodations since high school. Now a college senior, she noted the life-altering qualities of accommodations and that she would have had a different college experience without them, “and not in a good way.”

Smith participates in weekly academic coaching with Sarah Floyd, a program coordinator in the center, who guides Smith in setting priorities, remaining productive, and managing her time to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Smith credits Floyd and the center’s team with being “great at communicating with professors,” who she has also found to be “pretty easy going and understanding” when it comes to accommodations. Smith also believes that the experience of obtaining and utilizing her accommodations will help her in the workforce as well.

“You have to learn to advocate for yourself,” she pointed out. “Accommodations are just helping you learn and grow. For people who need [accommodations], don’t be ashamed.”

Despite Smith’s encouragement, disabilities and accommodations are still a sensitive topic for some students. One of those students, referred to here as “Jane,” benefits from classroom accommodations but underscores the stigma associated with them.

“Being different can be an isolating experience..., but the support I’ve received [at Columbus State] has been great,” she said, noting that her medically documented accommodations for cognitive challenges include extended test-taking time. “When you’ve been trying to keep up for so long, you get used to being in overdrive mode. It does help you relax, but you still must remain focused. When you have a cognitive difference, it causes you to think outside the box to keep up.”

She said that, despite the accommodation, she still must put in the time studying before she ever walks into the classroom. She’s also selectively applied her accommodations, affirming the differences between classes and professors. As a nontraditional student, she has learned to “make use of all my resources.”

In hindsight, Jane can see that receiving an official diagnosis and accepting help has been instrumental in helping her to stop “bumbling through life feeling lost and unsupported” and that identifying her challenges has been “empowering.”

“We have to be radically honest, stay true to ourselves and be honest with those we can trust,” she said, noting that her accommodations and having support from others has taught her to be more confident and a “better communicator. It’s put me in the driver seat of my life.”

Despite the overwhelming praise, Secoy continues to seek ways to innovate the center and its services. This year, the center began collecting surveys from students it serves to assess its service. It assesses how the students’ GPA is impacted by the services, and how conducive they are to student success. Secoy is proud that the center’s academic coaching model is considered an exemplar among the University System of Georgia’s 26 colleges and universities, and institutions nationwide.

“Most schools aren’t structured in the way ours is when it comes to academic coaching for students who need that type of support,” Secoy affirmed. “We are actually teaching other schools how to apply this model.”

For more information about the Center for Accommodation and Access’ services, visit the center’s website or visit the center in 102 Schuster Student Success Center. 

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Media contact: Michael Tullier, APR, Executive Director of Strategic Communication + Marketing, 706.507.8729, mtullier@columbusstate.edu