Registration & Eligibility for Disability Accommodations

Disability Accommodation Process

1. The student registers with DSS to determine eligibility for consideration of reasonable accommodations. (UND IDM login required to complete DSS Application).
2. Submit documentation to establish your disability. We recommend you ask a professional who knows how your disability affects you to submit supporting documentation. This person could be a diagnosing or treating professional, a Special Educator or a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor.
3. The student and a Disability Access Coordinator (AC) engage in an interactive process to identify the barriers caused by the disability and which accommodation may be appropriate and reasonable.
   • Discuss accommodation history
   • Explore evidence of disability
   • Identify functional limits or barriers in the academic setting
4. The student is given a document that verifies the need for accommodations and identifies the accommodations supported by DSS.
5. The student requests the accommodations from the professor and, together, they discuss how those accommodations will be provided.
6. The AC is available to consult and assist in problem solving.
7. The student must update the DSS verification document every semester.
8. The DSS verification document is reviewed each semester by you and your Disability Access Coordinator (AC) to make sure it is relevant to your current courses.

Eligibility for Disability Accommodations

UND Disability Services for Students (DSS) models the national Association for Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) for direction regarding disability eligibility. This includes who is eligible to receive accommodations, how those determinations are made, and by whom. The AHEAD guidance interprets the Amendments to the ADA, with the stated purpose ‘to make it easier for people with disabilities to obtain protection under the ADA.

Documentation to support a request for classroom accommodations may take a variety of forms, formal and informal. It is part of an interactive, deliberative process to gather evidence to establish disability and identify barriers to learning with connection to the disability. It may include, but not be limited to student self-report, history of having used accommodations, observation and interaction with Disability Services professionals and records from medical and educational professionals.

Federal legislation acknowledges that postsecondary institutions may request a reasonable level of documentation to support specific accommodation requests without requiring extensive evidence from medical/psychological professionals. The goal of documentation is to support a student’s request for a specific accommodation in cases where other attempts to find evidence of disability fails to show connection between disability and the accommodation.

Qualifying for Accommodations

How to Qualify for Accommodations

• Have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as learning, seeing, hearing, speaking, walking or breathing. Presence of disability alone does not necessarily qualify an individual for accommodations.
• Experience functional limitation(s) caused by the disability that significantly limit or prevent access to the University's programs, services or facilities.

Criteria for Accommodations

• The determination process is done on a case by case basis and is accomplished through discussion with the student and review of the disability documentation.
• There must be a logical link between the functional limits of the student's disability and the specific accommodation. For example, a student with a print disability may need an audio format for exams or textbooks.