Elgin Community College’s Student Access and Disabilities Services has become more accessible to students in relocating to Building-F, Room 120. Staff shared the effects of the department’s decision. 

 Originally, “the vacant space was home to a computer lab,” said Chiquita Hallom, Accessibility Specialist and Student Coach with Student Access and Disability Services. The Disabilities Department had been awaiting the chance to move since December of last year, and seized the opportunity nearing a quiet end of fall semester.  

“We couldn’t find a space in B Building where all of us could be, so we decided to consider the old computer lab in F120,” Hallom said.

Pietrina Probst, Director of ADA and Student Access and Disability Services said the department was located in B125 for over a decade. The office’s Grand Opening was held Tuesday, February third, 2026.  

“Our office had been expanding and we needed to serve our growing number of students. In this space, we have three private testing rooms available to students who may need a scribe or reader,” Probst explained. “Students drop in, we’re able to answer those questions and help schedule appointments,” she added.  

The new area is approximately 1,400 square feet. The office occupied previously was an estimated 110 square feet, according to an ECC Press release.     

Probst described the department’s relocation alongside opportune timing, “It was the week of December 15th, I believe, and it was quiet around campus,” she said. “It was the perfect time for us to move. We had our doors open and ready to start serving students in January by the time the college reopened.” 

A single testing space lacked sufficiency in the past, explained Probst; students accumulated quickly in the office’s small lobby. Staff were determined to leave testing difficulties behind. The new office in Building-F consolidates all testing spaces into one location and rather than one testing room, there are multiple.

Probst highlighted more than 800 students in ECC work with accommodations and Student Access and Disability Services annually.

Colby Doom, a student who has utilized accommodations through the Student Access and Disability department shared, “The office helped me immensely when I first started ECC in 2021. They helped me request my accommodations and build confidence in my ability here at ECC, and to advocate for myself,” according to an ECC Press Release. 

Featured in ECC’s Office Spotlight December of last year, Probst was eager to keep students learning. “We’re still going to provide the same great services,” she said. 

 Accessible technology has remained a consistent resource post-relocation. One room is exclusively designed for this purpose—students have access to a testing accommodation coordinator, braille embosser, or any other assistive devices; including scribes, white noise machines, or readers. 

The corridor leading into Building-F is wheelchair accessible and spacious. The new office includes customizable architecture, considering all accessibility concerns. According to Probst, ECC worked in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) during construction in eliminating discriminatory privileges; a federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability.   

 “Everything you see here in the office, we had a part in helping to create,” Hallom said, “the color scheme, the chairs—one chair will have arms and the next chair doesn’t.”

Formerly, the intake and consultation room had been held separately from the administrative and records areas, causing complications with the department’s office in Building-B. “We were not all in the same place, so students would have trouble finding our office,” Hallom said. 

Navigational concerns are coming to a close this spring in Building-F. After moving, Hallom believes students find it easier to locate their services department. “If anything,” Hallom said, “it’s more accessible because a lot of students have classes in Building-G and F.” 

Bringing the Student Access and Disability Services department together had been an important matter to students and staff; the move took place shortly after the end to fall semester. “We’re responding timely to our students, and providing excellent services to our students,” Probst shared.