Documentation Guidelines for Students Requesting Accommodations

To request accommodations, students should provide the University with current documentation as described below. A school plan such as an IEP may not necessarily be sufficient for this purpose.

• Documentation must be provided by a qualified licensed professional with training and experience in the assessment of physical, learning, attention, or psychological problems in adolescents and adults.
• Documentation should be current (usually not more than three years old) and appear on professional letterhead, typed, dated, and signed by the professional.
• Documentation should disclose the nature of the applicant’s or student’s disability and the functional limitations resulting from the disability, as well as recommended accommodations. While the healthcare professionals may suggest specific accommodations, the University reserves the right to determine what is reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances.

Psychological disability

The student must provide a recent statement from a licensed mental health practitioner which discloses:

• DSM V diagnosis
• Medications and side effects
• History of disability, including date of onset
• The functional limitations resulting from the disability
• Recommended accommodations
• Clinical summary with prognosis

Learning disability

The student must provide documentation from a qualified licensed professional (clinical or educational psychologist, school psychologist, neuropsychologist, learning disabilities specialist, medical doctor) with training and experience in the assessment of learning problems in adolescents and adults. The documentation should disclose:

• The nature of the individual’s disability
• The functional limitations resulting from the disability
• Specific diagnosis
• Clinical summary with suggested accommodations
• The names of the testing instruments used for testing and the testing results. These include:
  • Diagnostic interview
  • Assessment of aptitude
  • Assessment of academic achievement
  • Test of information processing

Resource list of testing instruments

(The following is provided as a resource and is not intended to be exhaustive)

Aptitude:

• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
• WAIS III
• Woodcock Johnson Psychoeducational Battery – Revised: Test of Cognitive Ability
• Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale (4th edition)
• WISC III

Academic Achievement:

• Peabody Achievement Test
• Scholastic Abilities Test for Adults (SATA)
• Stanford Test of Academic Skills
• Woodcock Johnson Psychoeducational Battery – Revised Test of Achievement
• Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT, WIAT R)

Attention disorders (ADD & ADHD)

The student must provide documentation from a qualified licensed professional (clinical or educational psychologist, school psychologist, neuropsychologist, learning disabilities specialist, medical doctor) with training and experience in the assessment of learning problems in adolescents and adults. The documentation should disclose:

• The nature of the individual’s disability
• The functional limitations resulting from the disability
• Recommended accommodations
• Diagnosis by licensed clinician
• The names of the testing instruments and the testing results. These include:
  • Diagnostic interview
  • Testing as determined by the interview
  • Specific diagnosis
  • Clinical summary with suggested accommodation
  • Functional limitations

Resource list of testing instruments (not intended to be exhaustive)

• Behavior Rating Scales
• Self Rating Scales
• Continuous Performance Test
• WISC III
• WAIS III

Physical disabilities

For students with visible disabilities (e.g., students with mobility impairments), the student should provide documentation from a licensed medical professional (or interview with Disabilities Services Representative depending upon the circumstances) which discloses:

• The nature of the individual’s disability
• The functional limitations resulting from the disability
• Prognosis, when appropriate
• Recommended accommodations

For students with non-visible physical disabilities, the individual should provide current documentation from a licensed medical professional which discloses:

• The nature of the disability
• The functional limitations resulting from the disability
• Prognosis, when appropriate
• Recommended accommodations 

For students with vision or hearing impairments, the individual should provide current documentation from a qualified medical professional which indicates:

• The extent of visual or hearing acuity
• The functional limitations resulting from their disability
• Prognosis, when appropriate
• Recommended accommodations