Responsibilities
Office of Disability Support Services Responsibilities:
- Determine eligibility for services.
- Authorize appropriate academic accommodations.
- Assist faculty with regard to disability specific issues.
- Answer faculty questions.
- Help faculty resolve disability related disputes.
All students who identify themselves to faculty as a student with a disability or suspect they have a disability should be encouraged to identify themselves to the Coordinator of Disability Support Services (DSS) on their campus. Faculty should not provide any accommodation without first receiving accommodation letters from the Disability Support Services office.
Student Responsibilities for Requesting Accommodations:
- Register with Disability Support Services.
- Provide current documentation of the disability to the DSS Coordinator.
- Discuss accommodation needs with the DSS Coordinator.
- Give accommodation letters to professors.
- Monitor effectiveness of accommodations.
Faculty Responsibilities:
- Provide the accommodations, that are listed on the student's accommodation letter.
- If a student with an invisible disability requests an accommodation without the DSS accommodation letter, have the student contact the DSS office to obtain appropriate accommodations.
- If a student with a visible disability requests an accommodation that appears appropriate (such as allowing a student to sit in the from of the classroom or providing large print materials), the faculty/staff should have the student contact the DSS office. In the meantime, faculty/staff should provide the accommodation, however also contact the DSS office to see if the accommodation request is appropriate.
- Respect student's privacy.
Questions about Appropriateness of Accommodations
If you have questions about accommodations, please contact the DSS office for clarification. In the meantime, continue to provide the accommodation listed on the student's accommodation letter until the issue has been resolved.
Official Identification and Certification of Disabilities
Identification
Students are responsible for self-identification.
- Students may elect to contact the Coordinator of Disability Support Services for formal identification at any time during their enrollment at VCU. Students are strongly encouraged to request accommodations at least four weeks prior to the first day of classes. Accommodations may not be available on the first day of instruction for students who do not request them at least four weeks prior to the first day of classes.
- Accommodations begin at the point that the professor receives the accommodation letter. Accommodations are not retroactive and hence will not apply to the part of the semester in which the letter was not received.
Certification
- Students with visible impairments may be required to present documentation upon request of the Coordinator. Reports from physicians or other medical professionals must be presented to the Coordinator, and are used for official identification and the determination of appropriate academic accommodations.
- Students with hidden disabilities such as learning or psychological disabilities or mental impairments may be required to present extensive and current documentation of their disability to the Coordinator for official identification. Examples of documentation could include psychiatric reports, psychological reports, and/or educational assessments.