OBTAINING ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS

1. Disabled students who require accommodations must seek assistance at the Office for Students with Disabilities in a timely manner, usually prior to the start of classes or as soon as a disability becomes known. Those who desire an admissions modification must request it on the application form.
2. Disabled students will provide documentation of their disability and how it limits their participation in courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities of the University.
3. The Office for Students with Disabilities will file official documentation of the disability, including information about the manifestations of the disability.
4. The Office for Students with Disabilities will ensure that disability-related documents are kept confidential and shared with University personnel on a limited and need-to-know basis only.
5. The Office for Students with Disabilities and the disabled student will discuss the interaction between the disability and the academic environment and determine the reasonable accommodations. Consultation with faculty, staff, and outside professionals regarding essential elements and reasonable accommodations will occur in situations that are new, complex, or sensitive.
6. The Office for Students with Disabilities will outline the process for the provision of reasonable accommodations and will present this verbally and in writing to the student. In determining reasonable accommodations the following questions will be answered: what accommodations will be provided; why will they be provided; when will they be provided; who is responsible for providing them; and how will they be provided. Standard policies and procedures, established by the Office for Students with Disabilities, for auxiliary aids and services (e.g., sign language interpreting, document conversion, exam modifications, academic assistance) will be included in the plan.
7. The Office for Students with Disabilities will prepare memos for faculty members certifying that the student has a disability and stating the determined reasonable accommodations. The student will review the memo before it is distributed and will be asked to retain a copy for his or her files. The provision of accommodations is often shared among faculty, the student, and the Office for Students with Disabilities; the memo details the provision of the recommended accommodations, including who is responsible for the provision of the accommodations; when the accommodations will be provided; and how they will be provided. The memo also invites faculty to contact the Office for Students with Disabilities if there are concerns or questions about the accommodations. Instructors will be expected to assist with the provision of accommodations when reasonable and necessary. Instructors are not expected to compromise essential elements of the course or evaluation standards.
8. The student with a disability will deliver the memo to faculty or the Office for Students with Disabilities will mail the memo with the consent of the student. If faculty are unavailable (e.g., on sabbaticals or summer leaves), the student will consult the appropriate department chair. If neither faculty nor the department chair are available, the student should immediately request assistance from the Office for Students with Disabilities.
9. Disabled students will be responsible for contacting the Office for Students with Disabilities if reasonable accommodations are not implemented in an effective or timely way. The Office for Students with Disabilities will work with University personnel and disabled students to resolve disagreements regarding recommended accommodations.
10. Students with disabilities who believe they have been discriminated against on the basis of their disability should contact the Office for Students with Disabilities; if this is not possible, the student should contact the office of the vice chancellor for student affairs (see "University of Minnesota Grievance Procedure and the Americans with Disabilities Act,").