How to set up your accommodations

STEP 1.

Contact Student Accessibility Services

Tell us about you and ask us about our documentation requirements.

Student Accessibility Services

Phone: (780) 479.9242

Toll Free: 1.866.479.5200, ext. 242

Email: sas@concordia.ab.ca

New students can contact us as soon as they have accepted their offer to study at CUE. Current students can contact us at any point. 

Please note that the process of putting supports in place can take several weeks, so it is important to contact us as soon as possible. We strongly encourage students to submit their documentation at least 4 weeks prior to the academic term for which they require accommodations. 

Some accommodations, like ASL interpreters and/or CART services, accommodations for field research or practicums, etc., require additional time to set up, in which case we recommend submitting documentation at least 10 weeks in advance. 

Students who submit documentation past these recommended deadlines or during the semester may experience unavoidable delays in accessing accommodations, which could impact their academic performance.  

STEP 2.

Documentation

Collect and submit any documentation relevant to your disability, your history, or your previous supports in school. The documentation gives SAS further information about how disability-related barriers impact your academics.

Your documentation should be no older than 3 years and must be signed by a medical professional (i.e. psychologist, medical doctor, psychiatrist). Please submit documentation by email (sasdocuments@concordia.ab.ca).

The documentation must include:

• A clear diagnosis (including DSM code)

• State the nature and severity of your disability and its functional impact on your learning. Also, how the diagnosis was arrived at. 

• Recommendations for the supports that will help remove the learning barriers caused by your disability. Note: prescription notes, or IPPs  are not valid documentation.

If you do not have documentation, the SAS Advisor will be happy to suggest some next steps. 

If you need a letter template for your doctor/psychologist/ psychiatrist, please click here

For FAQS about documentation, please click on the FAQ tab 

STEP 3.

Intake & Individual Service Plan

Upon receiving proper documentation, the SAS Advisor will contact eligible students to complete their annual Individual Service Plan. This is the contract agreement between Concordia University of Edmonton and students who use accommodations. All students accessing Student Accessibility Services are required to complete an Individual Service Plan each new academic year. 

The first appointment or intake provides you with an opportunity to discuss how SAS will support you, as well as funding options through Student Aid Alberta. Here's a list of topics SAS will discuss with you:

1. How each recommended accommodation will work. SAS will set up supports based on the recommendations listed in your supporting documentation. It is important to discuss how your accommodations will work and ask any questions. 

2. An opportunity to talk about the supports (if any) you currently have or had in the past that helped you through your academic journey. 

3. How to book your exams with Student Accessibility Services. 

4. Informing your instructors: SAS recommends students to reach out to their instructors and briefly discuss their accommodations set up by SAS. 

Individual Service Plan Form: Once the accommodations are set up, Student Accessibility Services (SAS) will create an Individual Service Plan (ISP) form for the student to sign. This form can be found by logging into Student Online Services. This form will have your diagnosis and the accommodations that we set up for you. You need to sign this form every year. Instructors will not be able to see this form, as it contains sensitive information.

LAS General Agreement: These agreements provide a list of the student's and instructor’s roles and responsibilities relating to SAS. These agreements must be signed every year.

Confidentiality Agreement: This agreement lays out what information SAS can share and how we collect data. 

Audio Recording  and Notes Agreements: These agreements are needed for those students approved for note taking support(s). For example: audio recording and/or instructor notes. 

HOW TO FIND AND SIGN THESE FORMS (FOR INSTRUCTORS)

Please view and sign any SAS forms you may have through your SAS Online Services page (courses-Learning Accommodations).

Note: Not all these forms will apply to everyone. For example, audio recording agreements only apply to students with audio recording of lectures as an accommodation.