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Process to request a Reasonable Accommodation

Students who would like to become eligible to receive reasonable accommodations can follow the steps below to initiate the eligibility review process. The process to become eligible to receive accommodations can take 2-3 weeks after completing an intake meeting.

1. Collect Documentation
   

   Documentation may include educational or medical records, reports, evaluations and assessments created by health care providers, school psychologists, teachers, or the educational system. Please contact learningaccess@lewisu.edu for more information regarding required documentation. *Students in the Nursing program need to submit a neuropsychological evaluation.

2. Submit Documentation
   Once collected, students submit their documentation to Academic Services. Student can drop off documentation in-person to Academic Services (located in the Learning Resource Center, room 342), scan and email it to Learningaccess@lewisu.edu or fax it to (815) 834-6614.

3. Attend an Intake Meeting.
   Once documentation has been received and reviewed, a member of the Disability Support Services team will contact the student for an intake meeting. The meeting will include a conversation about the student’s medical history as well as their current and past experiences in various learning environments. Students must attend the scheduled intake meeting to complete the eligibility review process. Submission and/or receipt of documentation by Academic Services or other offices at ¹ú²ú̽»¨ University does not make a student eligible for accommodations.

Based on a review of the documentation provided and the intake meeting, a decision on eligibility for reasonable accommodations will be made. In some cases, additional documentation or an additional meeting may be requested prior to determining eligibility.

When a student becomes eligible for reasonable accommodations they can expect the following:

• An Official Accommodation Memo will be Created
  The memo will outline the accommodations, services and supports that the student is eligible for based on the intake process. The memo does not describe the student’s disability.
• Accommodation Memos delivered via email.
  The memo is sent to each student’s course instructor(s) at the beginning of each semester. If the student becomes eligible during the semester, the memo is sent at that time.

Once an Accommodation Memo has been sent to the instructors the student is responsible for the following:

• Speak with instructors to implement accommodations.
  After the memo is sent, students have to approach their course instructors to discuss the details of their request and when they wish to implement the accommodations. Students are not required to disclose the nature of the disability to the instructor.
• Arrange or schedule accommodations and services.
  Exam accommodations and services have to be arranged by the student. Examples of such services are: alternative testing services, note-taking services, books or materials in alternative formats, communication services (such as interpreters or CART services).

Documentation Guidelines

Documentation may include educational or medical records, reports and assessments created by health care providers, school psychologists, teachers, or the educational system. This information is inclusive of documents that reflect education and accommodation history, such as an Individual Education Program (IEP), Summary of Performance (SOP) and teacher observations.

Helpful information in documentation includes:

• A specific diagnosis and date of diagnosis.
• Specific and current findings that support the diagnosis (relevant medical history, tests administered, date of the most current evaluation).
• A description of substantial day-to-day functional limitations.
• Specific recommendations for accommodation(s) including a detailed explanation of why the accommodation is needed. If the accommodation includes extra time on exams, specify the amount of time.  

A student’s narrative of his or her experience of disability, barriers, and effective and ineffective accommodations will be considered as documentation during the structured interview with the Academic Services.

Students in clinical or pre-professional programs may be advised to update their documentation with a qualified professional prior to the clinical component of their program or prior to taking a certification exam.

If it is determined that additional information is necessary to facilitate accommodations, the student may be asked to have a licensed medical professional complete a disability verification form.

¹ú²ú̽»¨ follows guidelines put forth by the Association on Higher Education and Disability based on the 2008 amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the updated regulations and guidance to Titles II and III of the ADA. 

The Accommodation Memo

The Accommodation Memo is an outline of accommodations, services and supports that the student is requesting to receive. The memo is emailed to faculty and instructors during the first week of the semester. The memo does not describe the student’s disability. The memo describes the reasonable accommodations that the student is eligible to request.

If a student adds a class after the Accommodation Memo is emailed, the student has the responsibility to contact Learning Access/Academic Services to email the instructor of the new class.

In certain circumstances, an addendum or attachment will be sent along with the Accommodation Memo that may identify the student’s disability by nature of the request. Two examples are “Autism Spectrum considerations” or “Epilepsy/seizure action plan.”

Rights and Responsibilities

Every qualified student has the following rights:

1. Equal access and opportunity to learn, benefit and participate academic community, including all university programs and activities.
2. Appropriate confidentiality regarding information pertaining to disability. (Exception: Academic Services staff are mandatory reporters. Staff are required by law to share details with appropriate personnel if a student may be a harm to self or others). 
3. Reasonable and effective accommodations, adjustments and services determined on a case-by-case basis through an interactive process.

Every student with a disability has the responsibility to:

1. Meet the University’s qualifications; including technical, academic, behavioral and institutional standards.
2. To self-disclose as an individual with a disability if accommodations are being requested.
3. Partake in a formal interview process, providing documentation to support the request.
4. Take an active role in communicating with faculty to discuss and implement accommodations that are appropriate for the specific course. 
5. Notify Academic Services staff member of any issues, concerns or delays receiving requested accommodations in a timely manner.
6. Students are required to make requests to implement their accommodations in a timely manner. Although students can implement accommodations at any time, we suggest making requests for accommodations during registration or prior to the first day of class so that they are most effective. ¹ú²ú̽»¨ University is under no obligation to grant retroactive accommodations. Some services may take 10 or more business days to coordinate.

¹ú²ú̽»¨ University Rights:

1. Maintain academic standards, integrity and freedom. Implement standards for courses and programs as well as to evaluate students on this basis.
2. Determine fundamental requirements of courses and programs.
3. Deny an unreasonable request for an accommodation and/or service that fundamentally alters a program or activity at the university, creates an undue financial burden, or may be harmful to the safety of another.
4. Deny requests for accommodation and/or other services if the documentation provided does not support such a need, is insufficient or inappropriate.
5. Maintain and enforce conduct codes.

¹ú²ú̽»¨ University Responsibilities:

1. Work towards creating a campus environment congruent with the university’s mission, in which students have equal access to courses, programs, services, activities, and facilities of the university. 
2. Provide or arrange reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments and services for persons with disabilities in courses, services, and activities of the university.
3. Student confidentiality.
4. Provide and implement policies and procedures.

For information about the ¹ú²ú̽»¨ University Accommodated Testing Center.