Eligibility & Documentation Requirements for Accommodations

Academic Accommodations/Services:
To ensure the provision of reasonable and appropriate services in a timely manner, students interested in receiving accommodations must:

• Complete a Self-Disclosure
• Submit current and relevant disability documentation (guidelines below)

Our office does not need documentation to approve accommodations for the Placement Test alone. Documentation will be needed to approve accommodations as an enrolled student. 
 

Documentation requested by Disability and Access Resources is used to establish disability status and understand how the diagnosis currently impacts the student in order to determine effective and reasonable accommodations. Documentation from an appropriate professional who is qualified to evaluate and/or treat the diagnosis should include:

• A clear diagnostic statement
• The nature of the disability: history, experience, severity, etc. 
• Appropriate assessments used to support the diagnosis and interpretation of results describing current functional impact in an academic/community living environment. Diagnosis-specific assessment guidelines.  

The following information is helpful, but not required, in order to determine the best possible accommodations and supports:

• Medication or treatment currently prescribed and potential side effects
• Recommended accommodations that may assist the student in minimizing impact

Documentation can be uploaded directly to the Self-Disclosure Form or sent to Disability and Access Resources after submitting the form via fax, email, postal mail, or hand-delivery.  

Although documentation can be submitted at any time during your enrollment at Penn College, we recommend the following dates to ensure appropriate accommodations are in place by the start of your first semester: 

• June 1 (for Fall semester)
• December 1 (for Spring semester)
• April 1 (for Summer semester)

For academic and campus community environment accommodations, you will be notified by mail and Penn College email of eligibility for Disability and Access Resources' accommodations and/or services based on the documentation review. You are responsible for contacting the office to schedule an initial appointment with a member of the Disability and Access Resources staff. This should occur during the first few weeks of each semester to discuss the need for services and to obtain Course Accommodation Request forms. You are responsible for requesting your course accommodation forms to be sent to your course instructor each semester.