Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 / The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and amendments:
This legislation applies to the opportunities that must be available to students choosing to attend an institution of higher education. Under ADA, students pursuing a post-secondary education are responsible for documenting and requesting accommodations for their specific needs. Students are responsible for identifying themselves as students who have a disability. The student must provide the University with appropriate documentation regarding their disability and recommended accommodations.
Students are responsible for requesting specific academic adjustments or accommodations according to their documented needs. Eligibility for reasonable accommodations in post-secondary institutions is driven by the federal definition of disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits or restricts the conditions, manner, or duration under which an average person in the general population can perform a major life activity, such as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, or taking care of oneself. In a university setting, students must advocate for their own academic needs.
Services for Students With Disabilities
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Student Disability Services (SDS) assumes responsibility for seeing that the University is properly interpreting federal regulations requiring that the University take such steps as are necessary to ensure that no qualified student with disabilities is denied the benefits of, excluded from participation in, or otherwise subjected to discrimination because of the absence of educational auxiliary aids for students with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills. The Affirmative Action Officer is responsible for coordinating the University’s compliance with these regulations. Student Disability Services is responsible for receiving and coordinating inquiries from students regarding auxiliary aids, academic adjustments, or other reasonable accommodations.
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The following procedure will apply for consideration of requests for auxiliary aids, academic adjustments, or other reasonable accommodations. Students should complete the steps listed below sufficiently in advance of the anticipated need for services. Such notice is required in order to give the various academic and service areas a reasonable period of time in which to evaluate requests.
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Students must be admitted to and/or enrolled in the University.
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Students requesting auxiliary aids, academic adjustments, or other reasonable accommodations should first contact the Student Disability Services. If the request requires modification of academic procedural requirements or necessitates special testing and/or course evaluation methods, students must provide a Provider’s Report from a professional, licensed clinician. Such report is subject to verification by the University. If the request cannot be granted by the Student Disability Services, students should contact the University’s Equal Opportunity Officer.
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SDS will make a case-by-case determination of the student’s educational need for the requested auxiliary aid, academic adjustments, or other reasonable accommodations. Auxiliary aids, academic adjustments, or other reasonable accommodations determined to be necessary will be provided at no cost to the student.
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Students who believe that they have been discriminated against on the basis of a disability can seek resolution through the University’s Discrimination Grievance Procedure. Information and consultation on these procedures are available through the Equal Opportunity Office, Room C-216, phone: (773) 442-5412.