Student Support

Child Care Program

The ECC Child Care Financial Assistance Program was established by funding from the North Carolina Community College System and the Carl Perkins Grant. The program is intended to serve student parents who need assistance paying their child care costs to attend ECC. It is not the intention of this program to refer or direct students to child care services. Student parents enter into child care arrangements of their own free will. The college’s role is to provide financial assistance to students.

Student parents must complete an “ECC Child Care Financial Assistance Program Application Form” available under the Student Portal at edgecombe.edu. Applicants must have a Student Aid Report on file with the Financial Aid Office and must have completed all requirements for admission to ECC.

Applicants are notified by email regarding their application status. Approval is based on eligibility and availability of funds. If aid is awarded, student recipients need to schedule an appointment with the Child Care Coordinator to review the award and sign the agreement forms.

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Disability Services

Policies and Procedures for Receiving Accommodations for A Disability

ECC recognizes its responsibility under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to provide equal access to education for students with disabilities. Support services are available to the hearing impaired, visually impaired, orthopedically handicapped, learning disabled, and those experiencing other health impairments. It is the students’ responsibility to request reasonable accommodations and to provide required written documentation on time.

Student Rights

1. Equal access to courses, programs, services, jobs, and activities offered by the college
2. Equal opportunity to work, learn and receive accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids and services
3. Confidentiality of information regarding their disability as applicable laws allow
4. Availability of information in accessible formats

Student Responsibilities

1. Meeting of qualifications and maintenance of essential institutional standards for the programs, courses, services, and activities
2. Self-identification of disability status in at least 30 days before the scheduled date for the program, service, or activity so that the college has time to make appropriate arrangements
3. Provision of disability documentation from a qualified professional that reflects students’ current disability status and the way their disability limits participation in courses, programs, services, and activities
4. Following published procedures for obtaining academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids and services
5. Payment for all testing and evaluations required for documentation, if necessary

Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is the civil rights guarantee for persons with disabilities in the United States. It protects from discrimination against individuals based on disability. The ADA extends civil rights protection for people with disabilities to employment in the public and private sectors, transportation, public accommodations, state and local government services, and telecommunication relay services. Appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities are mandated, and modifications must be made as needed in policies, practices, and procedures that assure accessibility of examinations and courses. This mandate includes academic and nonacademic activities, including admissions and recruitment, access to programs, academic adjustments, financial assistance, and counseling.

Statement of Self-Advocacy

The college promotes student self-advocacy. This philosophy promotes independence and develops the skills students need to function successfully in the world of work. The mission of ECC’s Disabilities Services is to modify ECC’s general services to the individual and specialized needs of students with disabilities to provide equal access to all programs and facilities for “otherwise qualified” students with disabilities. The goal is to integrate students with disabilities into the college and help them participate in and benefit from the programs and activities enjoyed by all students.

Students who need disability accommodations must initiate contact with the special needs counselor. Federal law does not permit the college to collect information about a person’s disability during the admissions process. Therefore, it is students’ responsibility to identify themselves and request services. Students must provide specific documentation of disabilities. All documentation and information regarding students’ disabilities are kept confidential. The disability services counselor will coordinate discussions with instructors to determine any special needs in a specific setting. 

Process for Receiving Accommodations

Persons who wish to apply for accommodations for a disability should complete the following steps:

1. See the Student Support Counselor in the Student Services Department.
2. Sign a “Release of Information Statement.”
3. Provide documentation as described below in “Documentation Guidelines.”

Appropriate information is released to faculty once the above steps have been completed. Accommodations are provided per the specific needs of students based upon the documentation of the disability. The Student Support Counselor will guide the student through the process of gathering appropriate documentation.

Documentation Guidelines

Documentation has two main purposes: to establish that individuals have a disability and to describe and document the functional impact of the disability for use in establishing the need for and design of accommodations. Documentation is used to evaluate requests for reasonable accommodations and/or auxiliary aids. The evaluation process includes the impact of the documentation on the goals and standards of the program, course, and/or activity.

Once the documentation has been reviewed to establish the disability and its functional impact on education, recommendations for accommodations, adaptive devices, assistive services, compensatory strategies, and/or other support services are considered. 

Disability Harassment Policy

ECC prohibits any form of disability harassment involving any of its employees in the employment relationship or involving any college employee and a student of the college in the college relationship, whether it is in the form of a college employee harassing a student with a disability or a student with a disability harassing a college employee. The college has a firm belief and has established a policy that all employees are entitled to work. All students are entitled to learn in an environment free of discrimination based on a disability. Any act, comment, or behavior that is of a harassing nature and which in any way interferes with an employee or a student’s performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment is strictly prohibited. Students or employees who feel subjected to harassment due to a disability may file a complaint with the Vice President of Student Services. Complaints involving the Vice President of Student Services should be filed with the President.

Disability Grievance Procedure

Students have the right to appeal any decisions about accommodations, discrimination, and/or harassment by using the non-academic grievance procedure .

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