District Accommodations Specialist

Position Summary:
The mission of Pierce College is to create quality educational opportunities to a diverse community of learners to thrive in an evolving world.

The Access & Disability Services (ADS) District Accommodation Specialist is positioned within Student Services, District Learning and Student Success that focuses on closing college access gaps, increasing persistence, degree completion, and college/university enrollment for prospective and enrolled students from minoritized and marginalized backgrounds.

This ADS Accommodation Specialist supports the ADS Director in providing leadership, operational management, and supervision of districtwide ADS offices and staff for Fort Steilacoom, Puyallup and Joint Based Lewis-McChord. This position will help ADS staff create an empowering environment and creates equitable services for all students with disabilities with a prioritized focus on Black and Brown students, single parents, and economically under-resourced students with disabilities.

The ADS Accommodation Specialist promotes learning around disability awareness, advocacy, history, and engagement districtwide. Approximately 80% of this position will be dedicated to providing the appropriate accommodations and authorizes reasonable accommodations and auxiliary aids and services for students on a case-by-case basis. This position will collaborate with the ADS Director to receive approval on accommodation decisions. The Accommodation Specialist consults with and advises students with disabilities, reviews documentation, develops reasonable accommodations with director oversight, and oversees the delivery of access services to ADS students. They serve as a district-wide resource specialist in the development of accommodations and academic adjustments for this population, providing on-going consultation and problem-solving assistance to faculty and staff.

The ADS Accommodation Specialist will also provide assistive technology supports and support Alternative Testing needs such as proctoring exams. This position should be familiar in matters relating to assistive technology, technological accessibility, and technology accessibility standards, policy and law for Pierce College District. This position provides consultative support to faculty, staff, and students by evaluating technological requirements, providing interventions and solutions for accessing course information, technologies, and resources. This position will work with the ADS Director, the Program Specialist 3, and the ADS Program Coordinator to coordinate the operations proper assistive technology students are approved for. They will also assist the Program Specialist 3 and the Program Coordinator in providing Alternative Testing supports to approved students. This may be checking students in and out for exams, live proctoring, acting as a Reader or Scribe, and returning completed materials to the proper locations.
This position also serves as a point of contact with student services offices such as counseling, academic advising/success couches, Running Start, Writing and Tutoring P.A.S.S. Center, TRIO SSS, Student Life, and Veterans Resource Office. This position is also a point of contact with faculty and academic services such as ELAD and Basic Education for Adults (BEdA). The Accommodation Specialist serves on departmental, division, and college committees and assists with developing program policies and procedures. This position will also help staff to develop and present informational workshops to the district at large.

This position will assist the Director, the Program Specialist 3 and Program Coordinator in oversight of the following positions: Part-time (hourly, contracted) sign language interpreters, CART transcribers, readers, scribes, note takers, work-study students, student employees, and other personnel required to implement student accommodation plans.

This is a district level position. The Accommodation Specialist is expected to spend time at primarily at the Puyallup campus, and secondarily at the Fort Steilacoom and JBLM campuses.

About the District:
Named as a Top 5 Finalist and a Rising Star for the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, Pierce College Fort Steilacoom was recognized for exceptional achievements in student learning, certificate and degree completion while in community college and after transferring to a four-year institution, employment and earnings rates after graduation, and access for and success of minority and low-income students. Pierce College District was named as a Top 10 finalist for the 2021 Aspen Prize and a Top 25 for 2023.

Required Education:
Bachelor’s degree in social/behavioral science, vocational rehabilitation, special education, or a related field or equivalent work experience in higher education working in disability services. For a Bachelor's degree, the equivalent work experience is four (4) years.

Required Experience:
* Minimum of one (1) year of experience working with people with disabilities.
* Minimum of one (1) year of experience assessing the needs, evaluating and placement of individuals with disabilities in higher education.

To be considered for this position, applicants must:
Meet the required qualifications as outlined in this announcement, and complete the online application profile to apply for the specific job opening. Copy and paste the following link into your browser to be taken to the online application: https://www.pierce.ctc.edu/hr!