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COURSE SUBSTITUTIONS - General Information
Quantification Courses
All students who seek to earn a baccalaureate degree from Penn State must complete a minimum of six credits of general quantification (GQ). There are many courses that fulfill this requirement, therefore, course substitutions are generally not granted for students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who are concerned about their ability to fulfill the GQ requirement should contact their academic adviser and/or the appropriate staff person in the Office for Disability Services.
Foreign Language Courses
Recognizing that the nature and severity of some disabilities may preclude learning a foreign language even with reasonable accommodations, the University will permit the substitution of specific courses. Because these requirements are often important parts of a program, each case must be carefully considered on an individual basis before a decision is made by the appropriate Dean of the student’s College or Division Head for individual campus majors. If a foreign language is an essential component of a student’s program (for example, if a student is majoring in international business) a substitution will not be considered.
Procedures
The following procedures must be followed if a student with a disability is seeking a modification of the foreign language requirement:
- The petition process should begin as soon as there is strong evidence that the student may be unable to fulfill the foreign language requirement due to a disability.
- The student must provide the appropriate staff person in the Office for Disability Services with current, relevant, and comprehensive documentation and data from relevant professionals. This documentation must substantiate a severe disability and its specific impact on the student’s ability to learn a foreign language.
When the appropriate staff person within the Office for Disability Services reviews the student’s documentation and supporting evidence, information will be related to the student as to whether there is enough data to support a request for a course substitution. The documentation may also be reviewed by the Penn State Altoona Documentation Review Board. The documentation review board will review all academic substitution petitions for Penn State Altoona majors. If there is sufficient data to support a request for a course substitution, and if the documentation provides sufficient validation to support the request, a letter of support will be written. The student must also prepare a letter outlining the rationale for the request for a course substitution. The student gives his/her letter to the staff person in the Office for Disability Services and it is forwarded with the petition packet to the appropriate Division Head at Penn State Altoona if the student is enrolled in an Altoona campus major. For University Park majors, the Disability Services staff will forward the student’s documentation, assessment, review board determination (if applicable), academic history, and petition packet to Disability Services at University Park for disposition.
If there is not sufficient data to support a request for a course substitution, the staff person within the Office for Disability Services will discuss options with the student. The student may also be referred to his/her academic advisor, tutoring services, or the Division of Undergraduate Studies. Some students find that they are able to fulfill the foreign language requirement by enrolling in the Intensive Institute offered each summer at the University Park Campus. Other students find that it is possible to complete the foreign language requirement by using a variety of accommodations and strategies.
Information for Students
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