Student Affairs - Dean's Office

Disability Resources

Wesleyan University is committed to supporting all students in their academic and co-curricular endeavors. Each semester, a number of students document learning, physical, sensory, or psychiatric disabilities which may require reasonable accommodations to ensure access to education, housing, and recreation. Although Wesleyan does not offer academic programs specifically designed for individuals with disabilities, the University does provide services and reasonable accommodations to all students who need and have a legal entitlement to such accommodations.

Laura Patey, Associate Dean for Student Academic Resources (ADSAR), who administers services for students with disabilities is located at North College, Room 021/022, telephone x2332, lpatey@wesleyan.edu.  She holds office hours while classes are in session: M 2:00 - 3:00 pm, T 3:00 - 4:00 pm, W 5:00 - 7:00 pm, Th 11:00 a.m. - noon, and F 2:00 - 4:00 pm.

Students who request accommodations are required to provide documentation outlining their needs.  In addition, students will need to meet with Dean Patey to discuss how appropriate accommodations or modifications may assist them in participating in campus life or courses and fulfilling course requirements. In addition, Dean Patey will discuss other types of support and services available to all Wesleyan students, such as tutoring programs and writing support through the Writing Workshop.

Dean Patey works with various offices on campus to arrange reasonable accommodations. Making accommodations for students with physical disabilities can be an involved process that requires considerable advance notice, even a semester in advance. For example, accommodations could include coordinating classroom locations, securing sign language interpreters, or procuring class materials in alternate formats.

Notification to Instructors

Students requesting accommodations from faculty should have received prior approval for the accommodation from Disability Resources. After a student meets with the ADSAR and provides the required documentation to Disability Resources, the dean will provide letters via e-mail to instructors that indicate the appropriate accommodation. However, students must make most arrangements with the professor by assuming the responsibility to ask for and obtain those approved services and/or accommodations that will help them achieve their goals.

Following are examples of accommodations provided to students:

  • Extended time for exams and timed assignments
  • Space with reduced environmental distractions for exams
  • Printed material, including books, in alternate formats
  • Tape recording classes
  • Note takers
  • Readers
  • Sign language interpreters
  • Relocation of class or university events to an accessible space

Assistive technologies available on campus include:

  • Laptop computer for in-class exam use.
  • Assistive listening devices (available in some classrooms).
  • Kurzweil 3000 software
  • Scanners
  • Computing labs: computers in some labs are equipped with head phones and microphones

Academic Support Services

The following services are available to assist all students, including students with disabilities: