Documentation Guidelines

Each student who is interested in seeking accommodations through the Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) should submit updated and current documentation. Understanding the unique nature of disabilities, and their impact on the student seeking accommodations, documentation guidelines will vary on an individual basis. Students must provide OAS staff with documentation that both identifies the disability and its functional limitations & clearly specifies the requested accommodation(s).  Documentation must be from a licensed medical or mental health professional who has knowledge of the disability and of the specific student. The professional must be trained and qualified to render a diagnosis and recommend accommodations for that particular disability.  Documentation cannot be written by a family member.

Documentation should:

• Be no older than 3-5 years and ought to include a recent evaluation, by a credentialed professional, who is not a family member.
• Be typed with the provider’s official letterhead, dated, and signed.
• Ideally, be in the form of either psychoeducational or neuropsychological testing.
• Discuss reasonable accommodations that can be supported in a higher-educational setting.

Documentation can:

•  Include Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and/or 504 Plans but must clearly state college-appropriate accommodation recommendations. There are cases where IEP/504 plans are not sufficient and additional documentation may be requested after review.

Documentation must:

• Have provider contact information, either in the form of letterhead or within the signature on the report.
• Clearly state the disability diagnosis.
• Clearly state the functional limitations resulting from the disability.
• Discuss how these limitations impact academic performance and/or one’s campus/housing experience.
• Clearly state recommendations for college-appropriate accommodation(s). Recommendations should make evident how the disability impacts the student and what accommodations and services are being requested.

Documentation that will not be considered:

The following are examples of documentation that will not be considered in our accommodation review process:

• Screenshots from a patient portal
• Photos of medication bottles
• A list of your prescription medication without context about the diagnosis
• Letters without an official letterhead or direct provider contact information 
• Letters written by family members or guardians
• HEIC files (the Office of Accessibility Services is not able to open these file types - please convert to PDF or jpeg)
• Medical test results without narrative descriptions
• Summary of hospital/doctor visit

Please refer to the listed Documentation Guidelines resources below for more information.