Disability Documentation Requirements
In order to provide reasonable and appropriate academic accommodations to those students at the Institute who have disabilities, Student and Disability Services requires documentation which shows the current disability and its impact on academic functioning. Therefore, the documentation the student provides to Student and Disability Services must include the following information:
- Documentation must be current. The determination of what is current documentation depends on the nature of the disability. However, in most cases documentation should be within the last five years. Student and Disability Services reserves the right to make appropriate modifications to this time frame.
- The name, title, and professional credentials of the evaluator including information about license or certification, as well as, area of specialization, employment, and state in which the individual practices. Professionals conducting the evaluation/assessment must be qualified to do so, and it is essential that they have experience working with adult populations.
- Reports must be on letterhead, typed, dated, and have the original signature of the evaluator. Reports must be written in English or translated into English by a qualified translator.
- Reports need to include the names of any standardized tests administered, the scores derived from these tests and a discussion of the data that clearly indicates the presence of a disability. Student and Disability Services reserves the right to determine which tests are acceptable for diagnosing the disability. Standardized tests must be based on adult norms.
- The report must clearly state the specific diagnosis of the disability. Terms such as “suggest” or “is indicative of” are not acceptable.
- The evaluator must describe the impact of the diagnosed disability on a specific major life function/activity (especially as it relates to academic performance).
- The diagnostic report should include specific recommendations for reasonable academic accommodations and a detailed explanation of the rationale for each recommended accommodation as related to the specific functional limitations.
- If medications are taken, these should be listed as well as their potential side effects.
- If symptoms involve cognitive recall (memory), appropriate testing needs to be conducted. Testing for specific learning disabilities may be appropriate.
- A doctor’s prescription pad note is not sufficient documentation in and of itself but can be included as part of a more comprehensive evaluative report.
It must be understood that evaluation reports themselves do not automatically qualify a student for disability services with Student and Disability Services. All of the items listed above must clearly show the presence of a disabling condition and clearly justify the need for reasonable accommodations. Student and Disability Services will make the final decision as to whether reasonable and appropriate accommodations are needed and can be provided to the student.