Graduate Student Guide to Disability Services

Wesleyan University is committed to supporting students both in and outside the classroom.   Through the Office of Graduate Student Services, the University also provides a range of legally-mandated support services for students with physical and/or learning disabilities. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states: "No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States . . . shall solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 extends some of these stated provisions.

Wesleyan does not offer special academic programs for individuals with disabilities. The University is, however, committed to providing services and reasonable accommodations to all students who need and have a legal entitlement to such accommodations, providing the accommodations do not fundamentally alter the nature of an academic course or an institutional policy. The purpose of this guide is to outline Wesleyan's disabilities services and explain how, under Section 504 and the ADA, Wesleyan students with documented disabilities can obtain reasonable accommodations.

Students who would like to request 504/ADA accommodations are expected to self-disclose by making an appointment with Allison Insall, Director of Graduate Student Services to establish a disabilities file. The purpose of the meeting is to review documentation of your disability, to discuss your disability in the context of your academic and nonacademic plans and, at your request, to assist you with arranging appropriate accommodations with your instructors and other university offices, as needed.

You may establish your disabilities file at any time, though it is best to it before your first semester by sending the documentation to the office in advance of your arrival on campus. Even if you think you may not want to request accommodations for your disability, you are encouraged to make an appointment to discuss your options.

At the meeting with the director, you should provide current documentation of your disability and the recommended accommodation. Though reporting formats vary, the following information and data are needed:

• a clear statement of the diagnosed disability;
• a complete educational, developmental, and medical history relevant to the disability;
• a list of the names and versions of the diagnostic tests administered to determine disability, and an analysis or interpretation of the test results;
• a diagnostic summary with a brief composite of the entire assessment process, a description of the functional limitations, and an indication of how your disability will affect participation in college courses, activities, and the residential experience;
• recommended strategies to assist you with becoming an efficient learner, and recommended accommodations that are appropriate for the disability; and
• dates of the examination (must be current, with adult-referenced norms), along with the examiner's name, address, telephone number, and credentials with the signature of an evaluator qualified to make the diagnosis.

Upon receipt of your documentation, the director will review it in consultation with the Office of Behavioral Health for Students (in the case of learning disabilities) or Health Services (in the case of physical disabilities) to assess your request for accommodations.

All students with disabilities who request accommodations from faculty should have received prior approval for the accommodations in the form of a written letter from the director. Once you have established your disabilities file, you are encouraged to meet with the director at the beginning of each semester, providing a list of the courses in which you seek accommodation. The director will provide you with letters addressed to instructors, which indicate the appropriate accommodation(s). These letters serve as your entry point into a dialogue with your professors. The director will act as a mediator with faculty when needed; however, it is the expectation that you will advocate for your own needs directly with professors. Please note that without a letter from director, your professor is not obligated to provide accommodation.

Graduate students are encouraged to obtain letters from the director, and deliver them to their professors, within the first few weeks of the semester. The Graduate Office and faculty need sufficient notice in order to recommend and provide accommodations. They may not be able to honor last-minute requests.

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

Accommodations

The Graduate Office reviews all requests for accommodation with either the Office of Behavioral Health for Students or Health Services.

Accommodation requests are considered within the context of both warranted documentation and available resources. Each graduate student's situation is reviewed together with the relevant documentation to determine the type of accommodation recommended. Accommodations that are considered reasonable are those that do not fundamentally alter the nature of an academic course or the institution's policies, and do not place an undue hardship on the institution. Reasonable accommodations are distinguished from services of a personal nature, which the University does not provide but the student may choose to employ. Such services may include individual assistants or coaches.

In addition to reasonable accommodations, a variety of assistive technologies is also available on campus to help graduate students achieve their academic goals. Interested students should consult with the director of the Office of Graduate Student Services.

Appeals

Students who are dissatisfied with the disabilities accommodations or services they have been granted should first report their dissatisfaction to the director. If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, it will be brought to John Kirn, Director of Graduate Studies.

Contacts

Learning Disabilities/ Physical Disabilities

For further information, please contact the Office of Graduate Student Services, Room 131, Exley Science Center, 860-685-2223

Accommodations Form (PDF)