Savannah: 912-344-2572
sarcsav@georgiasouthern.edu
At the Student Accessibility Resource Center (SARC), our mission is to collaborate with students, faculty, and staff to remove disability-related barriers and advance an inclusive campus environment at 糖心Vlog. Through access and accommodations, we ensure students with disabilities can fully participate in academic programs, student activities, and support services.
Why ACCESS Matters
Purpose: We envision a university where accessibility is the standard鈥攏ot the exception.
We fulfill this mission by:
- Acknowledging disability as a natural part of human diversity
- Identifying and eliminating environmental barriers to access
- Partnering with campus stakeholders to proactively create accessible experiences
- Equipping faculty and staff with the knowledge to maintain accessibility in their domains
- Promoting inclusive mindsets and attitudes
- Offering individualized accommodations when needed
AHEAD Code of Ethics
SARC follows the ethical standards of the聽Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD)聽and Georgia AHEAD. Our team adheres to a professional code focused on equity, access, and integrity in all disability-related services.
The primary intent of the AHEAD Code of Ethics is to set forth a general set of ethical expectations for professionals that make up the membership of the organization with an emphasis upon the disability resource and affiliated professionals providing services to disabled people聽and mitigating barriers聽in higher education settings. First and foremost, the Code reinforces and expands upon the mission of AHEAD. Second, the Code serves as the foundation for and preamble to both the AHEAD Professional and Program Standards. These documents are聽intended聽to be聽complementary to聽one another. Third,聽the Code and Standards communicate to the profession, those that aspire to the profession and those served by the profession the values, responsibility, and commitment to聽promoting socially just environments that聽empower聽disabled people to meet their postsecondary academic and personal goals.聽AHEAD affiliated personnel agree to guide and regulate their professional behavior based upon the Code and the supporting Standards.
The Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) is a professional organization comprised聽of聽disability resource and affiliated professionals who strive to uphold, support, and advance access, equity, and inclusion聽of聽disabled people within higher education and broader society. 聽As AHEAD members, we agree that these principles are the聽Code聽of聽Ethics聽for postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals. 聽Members聽of聽AHEAD agree to monitor themselves and their peers in accordance with the provisions and spirit聽of聽this聽code, as delineated by the following principles: (1)聽Equity and Inclusion; (2)聽Respect and Acknowledgment; (3)聽Professional Competence; and (4)聽Laws and Standards of Practice.
Ethical Principles
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals act as leaders and advocates for equitable and inclusive policies, procedures, and systems in all facets of campus and community life.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals facilitate and advocate for the highest levels of access, inclusion, and equity for all disabled people.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals strive to utilize and facilitate high quality and effective processes, procedures, and services to promote equity and inclusion for disabled people within disability resources offices and the institution.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals recognize and value the importance of collaborating with the campus and community to promote access, equity, and inclusion.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals act in ways that acknowledge, consider, and respect disabled peoples’ voices, lived experiences, and complex intersectional identities.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals strive to respect the dignity, worth, and self-determination of all people.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals take steps to develop awareness of their potential biases, the boundaries of their competence, and the limitations of their experience to ensure that they do not lead to or condone unjust practices.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals act in ways that respect and acknowledge diversity within higher education and work to create inclusive, equitable, and socially just environments for all.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals act in ways that respect and acknowledge the professional expertise of campus and community colleagues, while recognizing that professionals may have differing opinions.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals work to achieve and maintain the highest levels of competence and integrity in their work to mitigate barriers to disabled people with various intersecting identities.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals use objective professional judgment in making decisions that impact equitable access and inclusion.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals continually participate in professional activities and educational opportunities to promote effective disability advocacy, social justice, resources, and services.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals who engage in scholarly activity contribute to the knowledge base of the profession in ways that respect participants, are accessible, and adhere to standards of federal, institutional, and local research ethics.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals use a social justice perspective to work collaboratively with students and relevant campus and community stakeholders to support the profession.
- Postsecondary disability resource professionals support and clarify applicable local and federal laws to foster equity for disabled people.
- Postsecondary disability resource professionals value and act in ways that respect the confidential nature of records and information about disabled individuals as outlined by relevant federal and local laws.
- Postsecondary disability resource and affiliated professionals value and carry out their responsibilities in accordance with the AHEAD Professional Standards and Program Standards. When certified, licensed, or affiliated with other professions or organizations, they value and comply with those professional guidelines as appropriate.
Federal Disability Laws
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
“No otherwise qualified individual with a disability… shall be excluded from participation, denied benefits, or subjected to discrimination under any program receiving Federal financial assistance…” ()
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 & ADA Amendments Act of 2008
The ADA prohibits disability discrimination across employment, education, public spaces, transportation, and communication. It defines a disability as any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. The 2008 Amendments make it easier for individuals to receive protections. (Visit for more.)