Accessibility Resources
For Students
Accessibility resources staff in the Academic Support Center are dedicated to providing equal access to the College’s curriculum, academic programs, academic services, and academic facilities. We partner with students to empower ongoing development, teach strategies for academic success, educate the campus community about disability as diversity, and encourage a welcoming climate.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) states that a person with a disability is someone who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a history of such an impairment, or is perceived by others as having such an impairment. For more information about ADA basics: adata.org/faq/what-definition-disability-under-ada
Academic Accommodations
Getting Started
Interactive Process
Documentation Guidelines
Academic Accommodations
Academic accommodations are adjustments to courses, programs, and services that provide equal access and improve a student’s ability to fully engage in the college experience.
- Academic accommodations cannot fundamentally alter the requirements of the college’s standards, course, or program requirements.
- Academic accommodations cannot lower the standards of a course or modify the content or rigor of a course.
- Academic accommodations are not retroactive.
Examples of possible academic accommodations are listed below but is not an exhaustive list of accommodations. Academic accommodations are determined through our interactive process detailed below.
- Testing accommodations
- Materials in alternative format
- Advanced copies of notes and slides
- Note-taking accommodations
- Assistive technologies
- Attendance accommodations
- Assignment accommodations
- Speech accommodations
- ASL interpreter
Getting Started
The first step in requesting academic accommodations is to make an appointment with the accessibility resources staff. Each student’s situation is unique and is handled on a case-by-case basis through the interactive process. Documentation is not needed to start the academic accommodation process.
Students can make an appointment online at: accessibility.gustavus.edu and choose Schedule an Appointment where you will be prompted to log in using your Gustavus credentials. In the Appointment Availability drop-down menu, choose Initial Accessibility Resources. If this is your first visit to the Academic Support Center, you may need to first select “Register with the ASC” to be added to our system.
There is no comprehensive list of disabilities that are eligible for services. We serve students with a variety of disabilities including, but not limited to:
- Learning disabilities
- Mental health conditions
- Chronic health conditions
- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
- Blind/low vision
- Autism spectrum disorders
- Deaf/hard of hearing
- Physical and mobility disabilities
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
- Temporary injuries and health conditions (e.g. concussion, broken arm)
Interactive Process
The initial appointment with the accessibility resources staff will be a time to engage in the interactive process. The interactive process is a structured interview with each student to assess the impact of their disability on their academics and create individualized academic accommodations. Documentation that describes the impact of the disability will often aid the student and staff in this process. Students can return for another appointment at any time to review their academic accommodations, explore any additional accommodations, and discuss any challenges they are experiencing with their accommodations.
The goal of the initial appointment is to:
- Discuss with accessibility resources staff the impacts of your disability on your academics and establish reasonable academic accommodations to give equal access to your courses.
- Create an accommodation letter with the student’s academic accommodations that will be shared by the student with their professors.
- Educate the student on how to share their academic accommodations with their professors.
Documentation Guidelines
The student is the best source of information about the impacts of their disability on their academics. Documentation that describes the impact of the disability will often aid the student and staff in this process. Documentation is not needed to start the academic accommodation process.
- Presenting documentation as soon as possible in the process is beneficial to both the student and accessibility resources staff.
- Staff will work with the student to determine what documentation is needed and can request records by having the student fill out a release of information form.
- If a student’s disability is apparent, additional documentation may not be necessary.
- Accessibility resources staff may request additional information to substantiate a disability.
The Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) has states that documentation may come in many forms. Documentation from external sources may include:
- Educational records: Accommodation history, reports, assessments, and evaluations created by school psychologists, teachers, or the educational system.
- Medical records: Records attesting to a disabling condition used for the purposes of documentation need to be on identifying letterhead and signed by a qualifying provider.
Documentation may be submitted to the Academic Support Center by any of the following means:
- Upload via our online services page
- Bring documentation to an appointment
- Email: ascsupport@gustavus.edu
- Fax: 507-933-7227
- Mail: