Academic Accommodations

open book

Students who have, or suspect they may have, a disability for which they would like to request academic accommodations, should first contact Accessibility Services to discuss their needs. See Requesting Reasonable Accommodations for more information.


Requesting Academic Accommodations

Students must request academic accommodations at the beginning of each semester by filling out the Academic Accommodation Letter Request Form and meeting with Accessibility Services. The subsequent discussion is focused on the barriers to access that exist, and the reasonable accommodations necessary to ameliorate those barriers in the context of each course. The office, in conjunction with the student, then prepares a letter for each professor that indicates the appropriate reasonable accommodations for that course.

Faculty Notification

Students are encouraged to request Accommodation Letters from Accessibility Services, and speak with their professors about arranging the specifics of their accommodations, within the first few weeks of the semester. Students are responsible for approaching faculty in a timely manner to provide a copy of their Accommodation Letter.

Accessibility Services and faculty need sufficient notice in order to recommend and provide reasonable accommodations. They may not be able, nor may they be obligated, to honor last-minute requests. While it is expected that a student will advocate for their individual needs directly with the faculty, Accessibility Services may assist in the process if requested.

Provisional Accommodations

In some cases, students who request accommodations, but are in the process of acquiring proper or updated documentation, may be granted provisional reasonable accommodations. Provisional accommodations are generally granted for the balance of the current semester only.

Appeals and Grievances

When the request for an accommodation has been denied, or when an approved accommodation has not been received, students have a right to report the incident through any of the procedures outlined on the Appeals and Grievances page.