Statement of Committment with the ADA
Southen Oregon University is committed to full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibit discrimination against qualified persons with disabilties, as well as other applicable federal and state laws pertaining to individuals with disabilities. Under the ADA and its amendments, a person has a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. The ADA also protects individuals who have a record of a substantially limiting impairment or who are regarded as disabled by the institutions whether qualified or not. A substantial impairment is one that significantly limits or restricts a major life activity such as hearing, seeing, speaking, breathing, performing manual tasks, walking or caring for oneself.
Digital Accessibility Statement
Southern Oregon University is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience and applying the relevant accessibility standards.
SOU takes the following measures to ensure accessibility:
- Includes accessibility in our strategic goals
- Integrates accessibility into our procurement practices
- Provide continual accessibility training for our faculty and staff
Conformance Status
All web pages, websites and web-based software published, hosted or used by SOU will meet the standards and guidelines outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 published by the W3C as follows. All pages will meet level AA guidelines with limited exceptions.
Employees with Disabilities
Southern Oregon University is committed to providing reasonable workplace accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities. Pursuant to the ADA, SOU will provide reasonable accommodation(s) to all qualified employees with known disabilities, where their disability affects the performance of their essential job functions, except where doing so would be unduly disruptive or would result in undue hardship.
Workplace accommodations are intended to assist individuals with disabilities overcome limitations that interfere with their ability to perform the functions of their job, to engage in the application process and to enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment. Examples of disability-related accommodations include ergonomic furniture, modifications to university policies, assistive technology, reassignment of marginal job functions, or extended leave.
Human Resource Services administers the university’s disability accommodation process for faculty, staff, student employees and applicants. This includes determining whether an employee’s medical condition constitutes a disability as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, and working to ensure that employees with disabilities have an opportunity to engage in an interactive process with the objective of providing reasonable accommodations that will enable them to perform the essential functions of their job. Each request for accommodation is assessed on an individual basis.
As an initial step in the accommodation process, please contact Michele Barlow, Assistant Director of Human Resources/Accessibility Coordinator in Human Resource Services at 541 552-8119 or via email at barlowm@sou.edu.
Please see the Human Resources Webpage for accommodations at https://inside.sou.edu/hrs/fmla-ofla.html#accommodations for additional information.
We look forward to working with you through this process.
Human Resource Services
