...
If a prospective student, applicant, student, faculty, or staff member with a disability requires accommodations to benefit from Bethel’s programs, services or activities, he or she should contact the Director of the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services or the Office of Human ResourcesPeople and Culture. OARS receives and reviews disability related documentation and handles the approval of requested reasonable accommodations. The process of documentation review involves an individual assessment of the individual’s disability with respect to the documentation presented and the accommodations requested. OARS focuses on providing services needed by students, staff, and guests of the university with disabilities to minimize the extent to which their disability affects their opportunities in the Bethel academic environment.
...
COMMUNITY MEMBER
Community member refers to Bethel’s students, faculty, staff, visitors, volunteers, vendors, consultants, third parties, and any person that provides services to Bethel.
COMPLAINT
A complaint is an allegation that a student, employee, or applicant for admission or employment has been subjected to discrimination based on disability.
COMPLAINANT
A complainant is an individual or group of individuals who believe that discrimination may have or has occurred.
DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF ACCESSIBILITY RESOURCES AND SERVICES
The Director of the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services provides leadership and oversight of all disability-related access and programming for prospective students, applicants, students, staff, and faculty from all schools of Bethel University.
DISABILITY
An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.
GRIEVANCE OFFICER
A grievance officer is a faculty member, staff, or administrator appointed by the President, who is trained to respond to formal and informal complaints of discrimination.
PROCEEDING
The term proceeding includes all activities, including but not limited to proceedings (both informal and formal), related to a non-criminal resolution of an institutional complaint, including: fact-finding investigations and formal or informal meetings. It does not include meetings between victims and officials regarding accommodations or protective measures.
RESPONDENT
A respondent is an individual or group of individuals against whom an allegation of disability discrimination is made.
RESPONSIBLE OFFICER
A Responsible Officer is an administrator who, in partnership with the senior administrator as applicable, adjudicates the complaint.
RESULT
A result is any initial, interim, and final resolution or decision by any official or entity authorized to resolve complaint matters within an institution. The result must include sanctions imposed. The result also must include the rationale for the result and the sanctions.
SECTION 504 COMPLIANCE OFFICER
The Vice President of People and Organizational Development Culture will act as the Section 504 Compliance Officer responsible for the administration and supervision of the policy and procedures set forth herein. The Section 504 Compliance Officer is the administrator to whom a complaint is reported and addressed according to policy and procedures.
Cara Wald, the University’s Vice President of People and Organizational DevelopmentCulture, serves as the Section 504 Compliance Officer with primary responsibility for oversight and enforcement of this Policy, as well as identifying and addressing any systemic problems that arise during the review of complaints. Cara Wald may be contacted at Bethel University, Office of Human ResourcesPeople and Culture, 3900 Bethel Drive, Saint Paul, MN 55112, or 651.635.8657, or c-wald@bethel.edu.
...
If you have personally experienced any form of disability discrimination, tell someone as soon as possible. In order to initiate Bethel’s response and resolution process under this Policy, you or another person must notify the Section 504 Compliance Officer. If a member of the Bethel community has a concern or has become aware of an instance of possible disability discrimination involving a prospective student, applicant, student, faculty, or staff member, the Section 504 Compliance Officer must be contacted immediately. You may also choose to remain anonymous and submit an online anonymous report: https://www.bethel.edu/humanpeople-resourcesculture/complaints-concerns/submit-anonymous-report/. This report is separate from initiating an informal or formal complaint through Bethel University.
...
Regardless of whether a complaint has been received, Bethel may, at any time and at its sole discretion, initiate an investigation of or take action against any disability discrimination occurring within the Bethel community. In the event that the complainant does not wish to pursue the complaint process, any response by the University may be hindered by the complainant’s wishes for anonymity and/or inaction.
Revised 7/2020July 2021