Our Mission
The mission of the Accessibility Resource Center is to provide support services, which will enable every student, regardless of disability, to have access to a university education. In addition, ARC staff will promote campus awareness of sensitivity to disability issues.
The Accessibility Resource Center seeks to 1) provide educational opportunities for students with disabilities, and access to all CSUB programs and activities, 2) eliminate physical and attitudinal barriers that deny full campus participation, and 3) promote awareness and understanding of students with disabilities on campus and within the Bakersfield community.
Prior to receiving this assistance, documentation from a qualified professional source must be submitted to ARC. The CSU Office of the Chancellor provides the policy for verification of a disability as follows:
....a professionally verified disability means a condition certified by a licensed physician, psychologist, audiologist, speech pathologist, registered nurse, social worker, rehabilitation counselor, physical therapist, corrective therapist, learning disability specialist, or other appropriate professional. Where the nature and extent of the disability is obvious (e.g. amputee, blind, quadriplegic), the Director of ARC or designee may verify the disability. In those cases in which the Coordinator is unable to verify the disability, the student shall either provide the verification documentation to the Director, or sign a release authorizing the campus to obtain necessary documentation from one of the above professional persons or agencies.
A student with a learning disability must provide current and relevant testing/evaluation results which meet CSU guidelines for learning disability services.
Any CSU student who has transferred and received services from a California community college or UC campus and had previously received services as a disabled student should provide documentation to the Accessibility Resource Center. The documentation will be reviewed to determine if the student meets the CSU guidelines to receive services as a student with a learning disability, and if so what accommodations are appropriate.
Support Services
In compliance with CSU policy, students with disabilities may be found eligible for one or more of the following services:
- Registration assistance with applications for financial aid and other related college services
- Priority registration the following term upon eligibility
- Disability-related counseling and advising not duplicated by regular counseling and advising services
- Learning disability review and support services
- Support staff including ASL interpreters, readers, scribes, note takers and test proctors
- Adaptive equipment including assistive technology, Braille printer, Kurzweil reading machine, CCTV large text display and assistive listening devices
- Alternate format media
- Out of class testing accommodations including extended time, adaptive equipment, scribes and individually proctored examinations
- Assistance in applying for accommodations on standardized tests (i.e. CBEST, ELM/EPT)
- Assistance with classroom and campus accessibility
- Coordination of disability services with university departments and community agencies
The CSU Office of the Chancellor also supports additional services for students with disabilities depending on the needs of students and available funding.