The Alternate Media office provides academic and instructional materials in formats accessible by individuals with a disability. Examples of accessible formats include audio text, large print, Braille, captioning, and e-text.
What is this accommodation?
When textbooks or other course materials are inaccessible to a student with disabilites, this accommodation allows SAS to provide these materials in an alternate format. Examples may include the use of text to speech software that allows a student to listen to a textbook or enlarging print materials to assist students with visual disabilities.
Which barriers could these accommodations remove?
Students with visual impairments are now able to access textbooks and course materials using screen readers or receive physical copies of materials in larger fonts. Students with mobility impairments can also access there materials with the use of one device instead of multiple books that can be difficult to transport.
How is it implemented?
Here are the steps to receive Alternate Media services:
-
Meet with an SAS counselor and receive alternate media as an academic accommodation
-
Sign the Student Contract for Alternate Media Services
-
Meet with the Alternate Media Specialist
The Standard Production Time for producing edited alternate media that is free from errors for most textbooks (whether hard copy or electronic) may take up to ten (10) business days from the time permission has been obtained from the publisher, and for most course readers and posted documents (whether hard copy or electronic) it may take up to fifteen (15) business days.
Producing edited alternate media under a Rolling Basis Production request is expected to take at least five (5) business days from the time permission is obtained from the publisher for portions of a textbook, and five (5) business days for portions of a course reader.
Some alternate format requests will take longer than the standard production time due to the subject matter, format type, or the quality of the source material. Merritt College SAS will make its best reasonable efforts to provide such alternate media as soon as possible. Specialized text may include:
-
Subject Matter: math, science (including computer science), foreign language materials, etc
-
Paper Production: Braille or large print that requires reformatting and/or repaginatio
-
Scan Conversion: marked-up materials or illegible document reproductions requiring extensive text input
For more information, please contact us at (510) 434-3910
