Students who read with a screen reader, listen to text, rely on captions or need enlarged print can ask the college for course materials in a form they can use. This covers how those requests work, which tools campuses tend to offer, and where to look for help paying for equipment of your own.
Accessible formats for readings
The disability services office usually handles requests for alternate formats, such as an accessible e-text, an audio file, large print or braille. Some colleges call this service alternative media or alt-format. Converting a textbook can take weeks, so offices ask for your book list well before classes start.
Most offices ask for proof that you bought or rented the book before they release a converted copy. Keep the receipt, and send your course list as soon as you register so the office can begin with the titles that take longest.
Readings posted in the course website count as well. A scanned article that a screen reader cannot read is a fair thing to raise with the instructor and the disability office.
Captions, transcripts and lectures
A student who is deaf or hard of hearing can ask for captioned course videos, transcripts, live captioning or a sign language interpreter. Instructors are expected to use captioned material once the accommodation is in place, and the disability office arranges interpreters and live captioners.
Recording lectures is a separate accommodation that the disability office approves. Students often sign an agreement to keep recordings for their own study and not share them.
Converting a textbook can take weeks, so offices ask for your book list well before classes start.
Software and devices on campus
Many campuses license text-to-speech readers, screen magnifiers, dictation software and note-taking tools for enrolled students, sometimes for personal computers as well as lab machines. The library or the disability office can tell you what is on offer and how to install it.
Libraries often keep an accessible workstation with a large monitor, an adjustable desk and scanning software that reads print aloud. Library staff can also help you request articles and books in formats a screen reader handles.
Paying for your own equipment
Equipment you need to own, such as a braille display, a hearing device or a laptop set up with your software, is usually your own cost. A state vocational rehabilitation agency may pay for it when it supports the work goal in your plan, and the financial aid office can consider adding it to your cost of attendance.
An ABLE account can also cover assistive technology. Before buying, ask the disability office which tools other students use with the college's systems, so the device works with the course site and the library.
Steps to take
- Send your book list to the disability office
- Keep receipts for every textbook
- Ask the library about its accessible workstation
- Find out which software the campus licenses
- Ask your VR counselor about equipment
Who decides
Your college's disability services office and the campus library
Accessible materials take time to prepare, so send your book list and requests as soon as you know your classes.