Accessibility Plan for the 2023-24 Academic Year.
Purpose:
A catastrophic mechanical failure inside the building caused the lower level mechanical space to fill with water, damaging all of the critical building systems. A disaster recovery effort has been able to restore life-safety and most critical building systems, however, the components needed to repair the elevator have a lead time that could be up to 10 months. This building is one of only five major academic buildings on campus. The loss of this space causes a significant hardship for the College, especially considering that both the physics and computer science classrooms have specialized equipment.
This plan is intended to outline how the College will ensure that students, faculty and staff with mobility issues will be provided with equal access to jobs, education and services while occupying the building until the elevator repairs are complete.
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Building Description:
Olds Upton Hall has four floors, not including the basement mechanical space. There are three entrances. The east entrance is accessible with an automatic door opener, and enters at the 1st floor. The first floor has two traditional classrooms, three instructional laboratories, one office suite, men’s and women’s restrooms, as well as storage and an instructional shop space. This part of the building is barrier free. The above three floors all require the use of a staircase to reach. Their use includes classrooms, laboratories, and office space. No general services are provided in this building.
Space Assignments:
Instructional:
Term Assignments: The Office of the Registrar assigns courses to rooms on campus. Prior to making these assignments, the Senior Associate Dean of Students, who is responsible for coordinating accommodations for students, will provide a list of students who have mobility issues. The registrar will then use that information to ensure any of their classes that are generally held in the upper floors of Olds Upton Hall are assigned to an accessible location. Likewise, faculty will inform the registrar directly if they need to be assigned to an accessible location.
Relocation: In the event that a student develops a mobility issue during the course of the term, they will inform the Senior Associate Dean of Students. The location of each of their classes will be reviewed, if they are assigned to any courses located on the upper floors of the building, the registrar will be notified. The registrar will make arrangements to have the class moved to an accessible location before the next scheduled class session. Likewise, faculty will inform the registrar directly if they need to be assigned to an accessible location.
Offices:
Faculty and Staff: Human Resources coordinates accommodations for employees. Any employee requiring an accessible location to work will contact Human Resources. Human Resources will make arrangements with the employee’s department head to provide an office in an accessible location that meets all of the requirements of their job.
Students: Students who need to meet with a faculty or staff member whose office is on the upper floors of the building will contact the person directly. That person will arrange to meet with them in an accessible location.
Events:
Events which are open to all, or to any undefined group of individuals (i.e. all science students) will always be held in an accessible location.
Process to Inform:
Students: Students may use the existing Request for Accommodations form located on the College’s website. The Senior Associate Dean of Students will modify their normal process for students with classes in Olds Upton. They may use all available resources, including observation, to substantiate the student’s request without them having to provide medical documentation.
Faculty and Staff: Employees may contact Human Resources via college e-mail at Human.Resources@kzoo.edu.
Term of Plan:
The College will continue to make every effort to expedite the repairs to the elevator. Due to the location of the cab, some needed repairs cannot be assessed until others are made to move the cab from atop the pit, providing technicians access. It is anticipated that this work will be completed within 10 months. Normal occupancy is anticipated before the 2024-25 academic year.