Frequently Asked Questions

Is Star open to all JJC students?

No. Star serves three populations:

• Students with documented disabilities
• Students with limited English proficiency
• Students with technical and career majors

Do all students with disabilities or health concerns receive services?

No. Students must have current documentation and must request accommodations. The documentation must indicate that the student's disability or health concerns affect a major life area such as walking, hearing, seeing, or learning.

What is documentation? What are the policies on documentation?

Star provides academic accommodations based on each student's educational needs as determined by the student's verification of his/her disability and information gathered during the intake process. Examples of documentation that may be required are as follows:

1. Learning Disabilities - Recent psychological testing.
2. ADD/ADHD - Statement from a diagnosing professional stating: the nature of disability, date of diagnosis and recommendations for classroom accommodations.
3. Hearing Disabilities - Recent audiogram or ontological report.
4. Vision Disabilities - Ophthalmologist report giving visual acuity and degree of blindness.
5. Mobility Disabilities - Doctor's statement or other medical reports stating the diagnosis limitation or restrictions and mobility aid being used.
6. Psychiatric Disabilities - Statement by diagnosing professional with nature of disability, date of diagnosis, and recommended educational accommodations.

What steps do I need to take to enroll at JJC and receive services from Star?

You will need to:

1. Fill out an Application for Admission in the Admissions Office to enter Joliet Junior College, and pick up a college catalogue. (J-1005)
2. Pick up review packets for the COMPASS test in J-2013 and study!!
3. Take the COMPASS test. The test may be given at your high school, or you may take the test at Main Campus or North Campus. Call (815) 280-2284 for information.
4. Financial Aid Applications (for the Pell Grant, ISSC, and any other grants for qualifying for school) can be obtained online at www.jjc.edu/financialaid or www.fafsa.ed.gov. The Financial Aid Office is located in Room J-1045 on Main Campus.
5. Attend Group Registration if you plan on being a full-time student. At Group Registration you will select and register for classes. Remember, if you are going to Group Registration bring copies of your COMPASS scores and New Student Information Presentation quiz results. (The quiz is found at: www.jjc.edu/newstudent.) You will not be able to register if you have not taken the Compass test and completed the online quiz.
6. Contact Star for an appointment to arrange educational support services. The phone number is (815) 280-2230. Star is located in Room J-2025 on the main campus. Please bring the following with you to your appointment:
   
   • Copies of your special education records, the most recent test information, a doctor's statement or other verification of your special needs.
   • If you have a learning disability, you must provide recent psychological testing results to be eligible for accommodations through Star.
   • Copies of your COMPASS scores and New Student Information Presentation quiz results (obtained online at www.jjc.edu/newstudent NOTE: This intake appointment should be made as soon as possible. Early planning is especially necessary if you plan to use taped textbooks or a sign-language interpreter.
7. Attend Star's New Student Orientation.

What accommodations and services are available to qualified students?

Arranging interpreter accommodations requires advanced planning.

• Tutoring to improve study habits
• Tutoring in subject content
• Learning disabilities support
• Variable speed tape recorders
• Notetakers for lecture notes
• Stand alone text magnifiers
• Strip magnifiers
• Large key calculators
• Taped textbooks
• Large-print textbooks
• Large-print dictionaries
• Speech to text dictation software - hands free!
• Software that reads printed materials (Kurzweil)
• Monitor screen magnifiers (ZoomText)
• Extended testing times
• Scribing tests
• Reading tests
• Orientations to the college and Star's services
• Referrals to community service agencies
• Sign language interpreter

What adaptive equipment and software are available?

• Variable-speed tape recorders for taping classes
• Voice-activated computer software
• Computer monitor screen magnification
• Stand-alone magnification equipment
• Full page and strip magnifiers for reading text
• Large print dictionaries
• Computer software that reads printed material
• Large print textbooks
• Taped textbooks

What is a "notetaker"?
NOTE: Notetakers are volunteers, so Star cannot always guarantee a notetaker!

A notetaker is another student in the same class who volunteers to take notes using carbonless (NCR) paper and gives a copy after each class session to a student who is unable to take notes.

How does a student qualify for a notetaker?

A student must make a request to the Star coordinator. The coordinator then evaluates the educational needs of the student by reviewing the documentation that verifies the student's disability and other information gathered during the intake process.

How does the Star Department arrange a notetaker for a student?

A notification letter is delivered to the instructor by the student. The instructor is asked to read a form that requests a volunteer from the class to take notes for another student in the class. The name of the student needing notes is kept confidential. The student who volunteers is told to take the request form to the Star Resource Room (J2009), to fill out required paperwork, and to complete a short orientation to notetaking. Volunteers who do not complete this process will not be paid!

What can I do to speed up the process?
NOTE: Notetakers are volunteers, so Star cannot always guarantee a notetaker!

Approach a reliable student in that class and ask if he/she will be your notetaker. Ask your instructor to recommend a student in your class to be a notetaker. In either case, send the student to Star in J2009 to formalize that student as a notetaker.

How does a student know if he or she has a notetaker?

After the request for a notetaker has been read by the instructor, it is the student's responsibility to periodically check in the Star Resource Room (J2009) to see if someone has volunteered. The notetaker will be told to contact you after each class to give you the course notes.

What guidelines need to be followed if you have a notetaker?

After class, wait for the notetaker to give you the notes and attend class regularly. If you don't, the penalty is loss of service. Attempt to take notes yourself during class. A notetaker's notes are considered to be back-up notes to your own. Do not share your notes with others in the class.

Do notetakers make copies for the student or do they have copies made?

Star provides the notetakers with carbonless (NCR) paper so that a copy is automatically made as the notetaker records the class notes.

What if my notetaker is doing a poor job of taking notes or is not coming to class?

Immediately contact the Star Resource Room (J2009) in person or call us at 815-280-2613.

What should I do until a student volunteers to be my notetaker?

Start taping your classes from the first day. Ask you instructors for a copy of his or her notes.

Are there "special" classes for students with a disability?

Joliet Junior College does not have separate classes or "special classes" for students with disabilities. Students attend regular college level or developmental classes with appropriate academic support. Students with disabilities may enroll in any class they choose as long as they have met the class prerequisites. Students with disabilities must be prepared to meet the class objectives which are discussed at the beginning of the semester by the instructor and listed in the class syllabus.