Accommodation Verification Letters and Confidentiality

Accommodation Verification Letters

Once a student has registered with Access Services and is found eligible for accommodations, the office will prepare an Accommodations Verification Letter. Students are encouraged to arrange individual meetings with faculty members as soon as they receive the letter to meet privately to discuss the accommodations. 

Accommodations listed on the accommodations verification letter must be implemented as stated. Faculty may not make changes to the accommodations or fail to implement them for any reason. If there are questions or concerns about an approved accommodation, faculty should reach out to Access Services but, in the interim, implement the accommodation as stated. If a faculty member believes that an accommodation fundamentally alters their course, more information will be shared about the Fundamental Alteration procedure.

Accommodations are not retroactive; however, they should be implemented immediately upon receipt of an accommodations verification letter.

Should a student approach you privately and share that they had accommodations in the past or may need accommodations without sharing an accommodations verification letter, it is extremely important that you direct them to Access Services before implementing any accommodations.

Confidentiality Note

Disclosure of a disability is voluntary. Information about disability status and accommodations is highly confidential. It does not become part of the student's academic record at the College and is not released without written consent unless required or permitted by law. Information about a disability is shared with members of the campus community only with permission of the student, on a need-to-know basis. We are not able to share any clinical information except in cases where the student has provided explicit permission and where more information would be helpful in implementing accommodations.

If you receive an accommodations verification letter from a student, please do not share information about a student's disability with others unless the student has given you permission to do so. Please avoid discussing accommodations in front of a student’s classmates or other faculty and staff. We encourage you and the student to meet individually to discuss your course and any accommodations.