Accomodations in College

Americans with Disabilities (ADA) and its amendments (ADA) require that reasonable accommodations be made available to college students who have current documents of disability and who request learning and/or testing accommodations.

Students must disclose the need for accommodations and present up-to-date documents of the disability to the disability services office at the college or university. Students should request accommodations as soon as possible so accommodations can be put in place before the Placement English and Math Exams. 

Some colleges and universities will accept an IEP or 504 Plan as evidence of the disability, but it does not mean they will follow the document. These documents will no longer be applicable at the college level. They can just be used as evidence of a disability and accommodations. The college or university will develop its plan of reasonable "academic adjustments" (accommodations) that provide equal access to their education. 

Example of Academic Adjustments:

• Extended time of completion of the program

• Substitution of courses to other courses that could satisfy the same purpose

• Adaptation of how the course is conducted, extended time for assignments and exams, and quiet area for testing, etc.

• Reduce course workload without changing the content of the course and exam.

• Provisional auxiliary aids and services, note takers, readers, recording devices, taped texts, sign language interpreters, etc.