Self-disclosure
It is your responsibility to provide notice to the University of the nature of your disability and to assist the University in identifying appropriate and effective accommodations and auxiliary aids.
Purpose of documentation
The University may require documentation of your disability and the need for the requested academic adjustment. Documentation should be provided by a licensed professional qualified to assess the disability. Please use these guidelines to ensure that the documentation provides the information needed.
The guidelines offered are based on standard documentation guidelines used by many private colleges and universities throughout the state of Washington, and those available from the Washington Association on Postsecondary Education and Disability. These guidelines help verify the existence of your disability, to better understand your specific needs, and to help determine the appropriateness of the requested academic adjustments.
Intake Meeting
If you wish to request accommodations based on a disability, you will need to: (1) provide a copy of your documentation (mail, email, fax), (2) complete an intake form, and (3) meet with our DSS Staff. The purpose of the meeting is to:
- Meet you.
- Review your documentation together to make sure all necessary information is provided, identify any missing information, and clarify any vague information.
- Discuss your previous accommodations that you received in other educational settings and their effectiveness.
- Allow you to ask questions.
- Inform you about University processes for requesting and receiving approved accommodations.
At the end of the intake interview (assuming adequate documentation was provided), you will receive the following:
- A document listing your approved accommodations
- Guidelines for each arranged accommodation with information on how to request and receive the accommodation
In some cases, additional documentation may be required before reasonable accommodations can be identified. Approved accommodations may change and may be adjusted based on your changing needs. For example, if accommodations are no longer required, you will not be entitled to those accommodations.
Links
Confidentiality
To the extent reasonably possible and as required by law, DSS protects information submitted by you. Information contained in documentation or discussed during appointments will be treated with as much confidentiality as reasonably possible. This information may be shared with other University employees (to the extent permitted by FERPA) by Disability Support Services on a need-to-know basis so that employees can fulfill their professional responsibilities to provide approved academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and other accommodations. Disability-related information will not be shared with persons outside the University without the student’s written permission unless the student becomes a danger to self or others, by court order, or as otherwise allowed or required by law.