Transition from High School to College

High school and college are both school settings, but they are very different experiences (to learn more, visit this document). If you received accommodations in your K-12 education, you will notice key differences in how you access accommodations in college. The reason for this is that two different federal laws guide and protect people with disabilities: the IDEA, which talks about facilitating success, guides K-12; the American's with Disabilities Act (ADA), which focuses on facilitating access, guides life outside of K-12, including postsecondary education. 

So what does that mean for you?

• You will meet with members of the Accessibility and Disability Services (ADS) Team to certify your eligibility for accommodations by submitting documentation of a disability and you will also share information about how you experience your disability in different settings.

• When your ADS coach delivers your Accommodation Verification Letter (AVL) to you, you will send the letter to your faculty and schedule a meeting with each professor to discuss how accommodations will work in each class.

• Typically, ADS coaches don’t discuss anything about your disability status with parents, guardians, care providers, or anyone else unless you give your express written permission to do so. This happens only in rare circumstances.

• For the most part, responsibility for communicating about accommodations shifts to you, and this is why your ADS coach is skilled in holistic coaching.