Disability Services

2024 Schedule

Welcome to GMC,

We would like to welcome you to our Office of Student Disability Services. As part of Georgia Military College, we are all excited to see you reaching for your dreams. GMC is committed to the full inclusion of all students providing a friendly and inclusive environment in which students can thrive.

As part of the Office of Student Services, we want to ensure that you have access and opportunity in all aspects of your experience while at GMC. We have disability services experts who are trained in providing accommodations for persons with limitations caused by a disability. Each campus has a designated disability coordinator who will assist you with setting up accommodations that will ensure equal access and participation at GMC.

As part of our commitment to providing an inclusive learning environment, GMC provides many free resources to all students. Students with disabilities have complete access to tutoring services and GMC success coaches who can assist with study skills, time management, stress management, test-taking, and organizational skills.

For more information, please contact Charles F. Wells, MS, CRC, Manager of Student Disability Services at 478-387-4902 or via email at cwells@gmc.edu. We look forward to assisting you.

Enjoy your time at GMC,

Office of Student Disability Services

 

How to Apply for Accommodations

  1. Login to Starfish using your GMC username and password. Your user name will be what comes before the @ in your GMC email address. For example, if your GMC email is jsmith1234@bulldog.gmc.edu, your Starfish user name is jsmith1234.

  2. Once you are logged in to Starfish, click the menu button  in the top left corner and then click the ‘I Need Help’ link.

  3. Select ‘Disability Services Request’ from the drop-down menu and click Submit.
  4. You will receive an email with a link to the Student Disability Services (SDS) Manager’s calendar. Click the link in the email and choose a date and time to complete your interview.
  5. Complete an Initial Interview with SDS.  (By phone or in person)
  6. Submit documentation: Documentation Guidelines will highlight the required information and additional helpful information that may be requested.
  7. If your accommodation is approved by the SDS Manager, you will receive an email to schedule an appointment with your Campus Disability Coordinator. Click the link in the email and choose a date and time to meet with them.
  8. . Meet with your campus disability coordinator to discuss reasonable accommodations and learn how to do your first-term request. A term request will allow you to request an instructor notification letter to be sent to your professors each term you attend at GMC.  
  9. In order to do a term request, go back to starfish, click the menu button in the top left, and click the “I need help “term accommodation request” from the “type of help needed” list, choose one of your courses from the drop-down menu, and click “submit.” Repeat this process for each course you are taking during the term.
  10. The Student Disability Services manager will send emails to each of your professors with your approved accommodations. You will need to do a term request at the beginning of every new quarter in order for your new instructors to be informed about your accommodations.
  11. The Student Disability Services Manager will send emails to each of your professors with your approved accommodations.

Official Institution Policies and Procedures for Students with Disabilities and Grievance Procedures can be found here.

For more information, please contact your Campus Disability Coordinator.

 

Campus Disability Coordinators:

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Augusta

Jeremy Garrison
Email: jgarrison@gmc.edu
Phone: 706-955 -0486

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Columbus

Marissa Readinger,
Email: mreadinger@gmc.edu
Phone: 706-478-2736

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Dublin

Erik Walton
Email: ewalton@gmc.edu or wr_studentsupport@gmc.edu
Phone: 478 410-3454

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Fairburn

NaTonya Moss
Email: nmoss@gmc.edu
Phone: 678-846-9317

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Milledgeville

Celes Mason
Email: cmason@gmc.edu
Phone: (478) 387-4718

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Madison

Leigh Aldhizer
Email: laldhize@gmc.edu
Phone: 706-752-7500

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Global Online Campus

Jeffery Wells
Email: jwells@gmc.edu
Phone: 478-387-1921

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Rockdale

Janis Anderson
Email: jjanders@gmc.edu
Phone: (678) 379-1387

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Valdosta

Pamela House
Email: phouse@gmc.edu
Phone: 229-269-4831

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Warner Robins

Priscilla Adams
Email:  pmadams@gmc.edu
Phone: (478)225-0223

Frequently Asked Questions

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How do I ask for Accommodations?

A student requesting accommodations for a disability must complete the online intake application.  The link to the online intake application is  https://www.gmc.edu/disability-services/. Accommodations provided by Student Disability Services are determined on a case-by-case basis individual basis to each student from information collected during the verification process. Approved accommodations should not fundamentally alter program standards or essential functions of a course but should provide equal access to all programs and activities offered by Georgia Military College.

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What type of documentation is required?

There are three types of documentation.

  1. Primary Documentation. The basis for the determination of accommodations will primarily be based on medical and/or psychological information reported by the student’s medical/psychological specialist who has expertise in the field of the student’s declared disability.  This documentation must be signed by a specialist in that field.  The date of the diagnosis must be within 36 months from the date of the application.
  2. Secondary Documentation. The professional judgment of staff within Student Disability Services gathered during the interview or conversations with the student.  This information will be gathered during the verification process in the interview with the student requesting accommodations conducted by the Manager of Student Disability Services.  Information will include the student’s report of disability, current functioning, experiences of the disability, barriers, medication and impact, triggers or stressors, and history of approved/used accommodations and effectiveness.
  3. Tertiary Documentation.  Third-party documentation may include IEPs, 504 Plans, SOPs, and professional reports including Psychological, Psycho-Educational, and evaluations developed for the student while they were in primary/secondary education.  This type of documentation may support primary documentation to help better understand a student’s needs but if there is a conflict between primary and tertiary documentation, the Manager of Student Disability Services will rely on primary documentation only. Primary documentation (1) would still be required in order for the accommodations to be approved by SDS

 

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Is it ever too late to apply for accommodations?

No. A student can apply for accommodations any time after they have applied and been accepted as a student at GMC.

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If I apply for accommodations late in the quarter and I am approved for accommodations within that quarter, are the accommodations retroactive back to the beginning of the quarter in my classes before I applied for the accommodations?

No. Although a student can apply for accommodations any time after they have become a student of GMC, they should understand that if they apply and are approved for accommodations late in the quarter, the accommodations are not retroactive back to the beginning of the quarter.

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If I receive accommodations, will they automatically apply to the next term?

No.  It is the responsibility of the verified student to request accommodations each term if the accommodations are needed. The Office of Student Disability Services does not automatically implement accommodations each term. Students choosing to use accommodations should log in to their Accommodate account and submit their quarter request providing appropriate information.

 

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How can I request a change to an approved accommodation plan?

Students who have been verified as eligible for accommodations may request additions to or deletions from their previously approved accommodations. Requests must be submitted in writing with a detailed description supporting the need for any changes. The Manager of Student Disability Services will review the request along with all documentation on file to determine any changes. Additional documentation or student interview may be required to facilitate any changes. Student Disability Services may also contact the student to gather more information about the reasons for the request.

 

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What if my request for accommodations is denied or partially denied?

Should the institution be unable to support the accommodation request because of insufficient documentation, or a request be denied and a reasonable and equally effective accommodation be offered, the student will receive a written letter explaining the denial or alternative accommodation. Students may appeal using first the informal appeal process and then the formal appeal process outlined below:

Level I: Informal Appeal

• All questions regarding accommodations should begin at the lowest level with the campus disabilities coordinator within 5 working days of receipt of the letter.

 

Level II: Formal Appeal

• If unresolved, the student shall file a written appeal to the Campus Executive Director within 5 working days of a decision from the campus disabilities coordinator. A written appeal should include a description of the reason(s) for the appeal and any supporting information/documentation.

• If still unresolved, the student may file a written appeal to the Executive Vice President within 5 working days of the Campus Executive Director’s decision. The Executive Vice President will provide a decision within 3 days of receipt of the written appeal. This decision will be final.

• If the outcome of the appeal does not resolve the issue, students also have the right to further appeal an institutional decision through external channels which would typically be done by filing a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights or a case through the civil system.

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Since 1879.

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