MISSION & STRATEGIES FOR ARA

Location, Parking & Hours

We welcome all visitors to our office. Please feel free to stop in anytime to speak with us! We are open Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.

Location

260B Wickes Hall
7400 Bay Road
University Center, MI 48710

Disability parking areas can be found in every parking lot. 

Hours

Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

SCHEDULING AN APPOINTMENT 

If you need to make an appointment regarding accommodations, please speak with an Office of Accessibility Resources and Accommodations (ARA) professional. During summer, fall and winter semesters, our professionals are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. During the spring semester, please call the office for availability.

1. You may call us at (989) 964-7000 to schedule an appointment. Our office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
2. You may stop into our office, in Wickes 260B.
3. You can email us via our email at access@svsu.edu
4. You can also just drop in to see if someone is available to help you.

Confidentiality & Federal Ferpa Laws

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) that applies to educational agencies and institutions that receive federal funds under any program administered by the Secretary of Education. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records.

These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches age 18 or attends a postsecondary school. Students to whom the rights have been transferred are “eligible students.” Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student before releasing any identifiable information from a student’s education record. The consent must specify the records that may be disclosed, state the purpose of the disclosure and identify the party to whom the disclosure may be made. The office of ARA closely follows the law as pertaining to FERPA, as outlined below, except in the case that there is a threat to an individual’s safety, an emergency or as otherwise required by law.

The following is the process the Office of Accessibility Resources and Accommodations (ARA) employs to ensure that FERPA is followed:

1. The ARA is responsible for collecting and maintaining all documentation related to student accommodations.
2. Any documentation that is provided to ARA is confidential and will only be shared with others with the student’s permission or in the case that there is a threat to an individual’s safety, an emergency or as otherwise required by law.
3. ARA uses a secure case management system to store students’ documentation, demographic information and any contacts between the student and ARA professionals.
4. Our secure case management system is stored on a secure server which doesn’t share information with any other university database system.
5. Any documents sent to the office of ARA are immediately scanned, uploaded into our secure case management system and then shredded.
6. Once students leave the university, their records are archived so that they might be available if needed in the future.

Should you need additional information or help regarding FERPA, feel free to contact us at access@svsu.edu or (989) 964-7000.