Resources

RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS:

Financial Aid Information:

College for all Texans: Types of waivers

financial-aid for students with disabilities

Scholarships.com (College scholarships by disability)

FASTWEB Scholarships

Scholarships for students with disabilities

Notetaking Tips:

Notetaking tips for students

Bestcolleges.com: Best Note Taking Methods

Tuition Waiver for Blind and/or Deaf Students

Blind/Deaf Student Exemption Program:

Program Purpose: To help enable blind and deaf students to attend public colleges or universities in the state of Texas.

Eligibility Requirements:

Texas residents

Declare a program of study at the time he/she applies for the exemption

Provide certification from the Texas Workforce Solutions Vocational Rehabilitation Programs of status as a blind person or a deaf person

Enroll in classes for which the college receives tax support (i.e., a course that does not depend solely on student tuition and fees to cover its costs)

GPA Requirement

Senate Bill 1210 (83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session) adds a Grade Point Average requirement for persons to receive continuation awards through the program. The Bill also establishes a Limit to the Total Number of Hours, cumulative, that a student may take and continue to receive awards through this program. Contact financial aid for more information.

Award Amount

All dues, fees, and enrollment charges whatsoever for which exemptions may be lawfully made, including: fees for correspondence courses, general property deposit fees, and student service fees; but, does not include fees or charges for lodging, board, or clothing. No funds may be used to pay tuition for continuing education classes for which the college receives no state tax support.

Application Process

Provide the registrar with certification from the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services of status as a blind person or a deaf person
Provide the registrar a written statement of purpose indicating which certificate, degree program, or professional enhancement will be pursued
Provide the registrar a copy of the high school transcript and a letter of recommendation
Provide the registrar proof that all admissions requirements have been met

Additional Information

Contact your college for additional information.
To read more about this program check out:

Texas Education Code, 54.364

For more information, contact the Texas Workforce Commission previously Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) or read more details at the College for All Texans web page on waivers:

Certificates of Blindness and Certificates of Deafness should be sent directly to the Business Services office in order for the waiver to be applied to the student's account.

Disability Specific Resources:

Nationual Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled is a service through the Library of Congres that provides a free braille and talking book library service for people with temporary or permanent low vision, blindness, or a physical disability that prevents them from reading or holding the printed page. It is available for individuals of all ages.

https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-library-service-for-the-blind-and-print-disabled/about-this-service/

The Cerebral Palsy Group is an organization that provides free educational information and support to those who have been affected by cerebral palsy. You may obtain additional information at https://cerebralpalsygroup.com

Resources for Faculty/Staff:

https://www.nationaldeafcenter.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/Tips_Hosting_Online_Meetings.pdf

How to Host Effective and Accessible Online Meetings with Deaf Participants

7-ways-to-make-your-class-accessible.docx
Ways to Make Your Class and Documents Accessible: Follow these steps to improve the accessibility of your Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files as well as PDF files and videos you create.

Web-Accessibility-Checklist.docx

Web Accessibility Checklist: Make sure your website is accessible by using this checklist. Visit other helpful links that are included in this document.

Designing-for-Screen-Reader-Compatibility.docx

Designing for Screen Reader Compatibility: Understand how a screen reader works and the best practices for making Web sites, documents, and PDF files accessible for people that are blind or visually-impaired.

Large-Print-Basics.docx

Large Print Basics: Guidelines to follow when creating a document or Web page. Here's a large print document example.

Microsoft-Word-Accessibility.docx

Microsoft Word Accessibility: Make content in Microsoft Word accessible. Feel free to follow this accessible class syllabus example.

PDF-Accessibility.docx

PDF Accessibility: Make content in Adobe PDF accessible. You will be shown how to best convert Word documents to PDF. *Note: Though PDF files can be made accessible, it is best to post a Word document version of the file alongside the PDF whenever possible. A Word document is more usable and reliable than a PDF document when read by a screen reader.

Powerpoint-Accessibility.docx

PowerPoint Accessibility: Make content in Microsoft PowerPoint accessible.

http://www.webaim.org

Section 508 Checklist

http://webaim.org/standards/508/checklist

WCAG 2.0 Checklist
http://webaim.org/standards/wcag/checklist

Website Accessibility Links