Accommodations

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, DISCRIMINATION, AND HARASSMENT POLICY

Galen maintains and enforces a policy of affording equal opportunity to all individuals. This policy prohibits Galen, its faculty, staff and other employees from discriminating against any applicant or student because of gender, race, age, color, disability, national origin, religion, or other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. This policy extends to all of Galen’s programs and activities and to all aspects of Galen’s relationship with its applicants and students, including admissions and access to, and treatment and employment in, Galen’s programs and activities.

Galen maintains and enforces a policy that prohibits harassment of its applicants and students based on legally protected status. Unwelcome conduct based on gender, race, age, color, disability, national origin, religion, or other protected category, that interferes with an applicant’s or student’s equal access to, or equal opportunity to participate in, Galen’s programs or activities, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment, is prohibited. Such harassment may include sexual propositions or innuendos, suggestive comments, teasing or jokes concerning race, gender, etc., obscene or offensive language or gestures, displays of obscene or offensive materials, or physical conduct. It is unlawful and a violation of Galen policy for a faculty member or anyone in a position of authority to base any evaluation or decision on submission to or rejection of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other harassment.

Galen’s policy also encourages applicants and students to promptly report discrimination and harassment. If a student has been the victim of discrimination or harassment, has witnessed discrimination or harassment, or has a question about the discrimination or harassment policies (including student-on-student harassment), the student should notify the Section 504/Title IX Coordinator. Galen prohibits retaliation against applicants or students because they have reported discrimination or harassment, or participated in an investigation of a discrimination or harassment complaint.

Galen will conduct a prompt and appropriate investigation of each discrimination or harassment complaint. If discrimination or harassment is alleged to have occurred, Galen will take steps to stop the discrimination or harassment, and will take disciplinary action against the person responsible.

ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING ELIGIBILITY FOR ACCOMMODATIONS

1. Information regarding accommodations for applicants or students with disabilities is available on the Galen website, in the Student Catalog and by contacting the campus admissions office or Section 504/Title IX Coordinator.
2. Any applicant or student who wishes to request an accommodation may do so by contacting the Section 504/Title IX Coordinator.
3. The student is expected to provide Galen with pertinent documents from an external treatment professional*, such as a physician, licensed psychologist, or psychiatrist. These documents alone may not be sufficient to establish eligibility but will be used in evaluating the student’s request and will assist designated Galen representatives to assess the student’s condition. These documents will be kept confidential, in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
4. Official documentation from the student’s external treatment professional* should include at least the following information:
5. A diagnosis of the student’s condition and onset of same;
6. Severity of the condition and if intermittent, explain when the condition arises and its impact on functioning;
7. Impact of the condition(s) on major life activities in comparison with most people in the general population;
8. Functional limitations associated with the condition(s);
9. Specific recommendations for accommodations, with rationale for recommendations, in any placement setting.
10. Depending on the nature of the condition, documentation may need to fall within a certain time frame. Most conditions will need to be assessed during adulthood. Galen recommends that documentation generally be no older than three years. However, a condition that is not likely to change over time will not necessarily be subject to such a timeframe. In contrast, with respect to certain health and mental health conditions that may be active and require accommodation adjustments, Galen reserves the right to require documentation as recent as six months. Students are encouraged to consult with the campus’ 504 coordinator before securing additional documentation that may not be necessary. In all cases, the documentation should include recommendations for reasonable accommodations that may be necessary to address a student’s current functional limitations.
11. The student must meet with a Galen counselor to discuss the request for accommodations. If the documentation is incomplete, the counselor will inform the student of what is missing. For an appointment, contact the campus Section 504/Title IX Coordinator.  Accommodations will not typically be afforded until these steps are completed.  Therefore, Galen recommends that the student proceed to collect the necessary documentation during enrollment to the College. When the counselor or campus representative has confirmed that proper documentation required to receive an accommodation is in place, the counselor will arrange for an official notification to be provided by the Section 504/Title IX Coordinator to the student’s faculty for the current term (and program director, if applicable). Specific accommodations will be named in the notification.  The student will be notified of the accommodations to be provided.
12. Once the student’s faculty has been notified by the Section 504/Title IX Coordinator that the student is eligible for disability accommodations, the student is expected to review implementation of required accommodations with their course faculty as early in the term as possible.
13. At the end of each academic term during which the student is enrolled at Galen, the student is responsible for requesting that notification about his or her eligibility for accommodations be sent to his or her faculty for the following academic term. Depending on the nature of the student’s condition, accommodations may be altered. The student must submit the notification request in writing to the campus Section 504/Title IX Coordinator.
14. Questions or concerns may be directed to the Section 504/Title IX Coordinator.

* An external treatment professional is defined as a healthcare professional qualified in the diagnosis and treatment of learning, emotional, health, or physical disabilities.

RESOLUTION OF GRIEVANCES POLICY & PROCEDURE – DISABILITIES, DISCRIMINATION, HARASSMENT, AND RETALIATION

Satisfactory student-faculty relationships and effective school operation depend on shared goals and objectives. Best results are achieved in an atmosphere where problems and opinions can be discussed freely without fear of reprisal and with an expectation of mutual cooperation.

The grievance procedure provides students the opportunity to bring matters that require resolution to the attention of appropriate members of the faculty or administrative staff, who will respond as outlined by this policy.

Grievance & Complaint Procedure Steps — Disabilities, Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation

1. A student with a grievance or complaint concerning disabilities, discrimination, harassment, or retaliation should report the issue to the Section 504/Title IX Coordinator at the campus, or submit the grievance to grievance@galenstaging.mystagingwebsite.com.

2. Galen will follow the guidelines described in its Procedures for Investigating Complaints of Discrimination. A copy of these procedures may be obtained from the Section 504/Title IX coordinator. The procedures provide for an impartial investigation and for the opportunity to identify witnesses and other evidence. The procedures specify reasonably prompt time frames for the major stages of the grievance process.

3. Galen will notify the complainant regarding the outcome of the investigation.

4. Galen will take steps to prevent retaliation and avoid recurrence of any discrimination, harassment or failure to accommodate, and correct discriminatory effects, as appropriate.

Grievance & Complaint Procedure Resolution Time — Disabilities, Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation

The time frames set forth in the Procedures for Investigating Complaints of Discriminationapply to grievances related to disabilities or requests by disabled applicants or students for reasonable accommodations, and reports or complaints by individuals who have experienced or witnessed discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.