Reasonable academic accommodations are provided for the purposes of ensuring equal access to an education. All accommodations are approved on an individual, case-by-case basis. They are assigned depending on the documentation that each student submits, the impact of each student's disorder or impairment, and our conversations with each student regarding their strengths, weaknesses and needs.

Accommodations are not only provided on a case-by-case basis, they are also provided on a class-by-class basis. An accommodation which is reasonable in one class may not be reasonable in another. No accommodation will be provided if it compromises or alters essential elements or evaluation standards of a course.

Accommodations and services are considered to be classroom supplements. They are not intended to replace regular classroom participation or attendance. Also, accommodations are not a guarantee of a certain grade or of success in a particular class; rather, they are for the purposes of providing equal access to an education for students with disabilities. Students with disabilities are expected to fulfill all academic and course requirements and evaluation standards, as expected of all students.

Accommodations are not provided retroactively. The Office of Student Disability Services is unable to provide accommodations for academic work completed before the student is verified as eligible for accommodations or before the student requests accommodations.

All verified students requesting accommodations must make an appointment to meet with the Program Assistant at the Office of Student Disability Services each semester in order to submit course schedules and receive Instructor Notification of Classroom Accommodation forms.

Students must request accommodations and services in a timely manner in order to allow adequate time for processing requests. It may take several weeks for service providers to be recruited and assigned. To receive services in a timely manner it is imperative that we receive the request as soon as possible. Students requesting accommodations must also notify their instructor(s) in a timely manner. Students must submit an Instructor Notification of Classroom Accommodation form to each instructor before direct classroom accommodations will be provided.

If a student believes he/she would benefit from an accommodation not previously approved, the student must meet with the Disability Specialist and must complete a Request to Change Previously Approved Accommodations form. The student may be asked to submit additional documentation which supports the new request.