Boston University Lifebook - Academic Policies

Academic Accommodations (Procedure for Requesting Academic Accommodations on the Basis of Disability)

At the Beginning of an Academic Program
Once a student has been accepted to an academic program at Boston University, such student should immediately begin the application process for obtaining accommodations. As the review and development of accommodations may take several weeks, students are strongly encouraged to initiate the process well before classes begin. The following steps must be completed:

1. Medical Documentation
Boston University requires that students seeking accommodations provide appropriate medical documentation of their disability in order for Disability Services to: 1) Determine eligibility as a qualified individual with a disability; and 2) determine appropriate academic accommodations for that student.

In general, medical documentation must be provided by a physician or other appropriate professional. For information on the required qualifications of evaluators, please see the appropriate Disability Verification Form available from Disability Services. This documentation should consist of a current report or evaluation prepared by the appropriate professional, along with a completed and signed copy of the appropriate Disability Verification Form (available from Disability Services). The documentation must:

a. Specify the particular medical diagnosis, including when the diagnosis was made and the likely duration of the condition;

b. Describe in detail the student’s functional limitations created by the diagnosis; and

c. Indicate accommodations that are recommended for the student, along with explanations as to why these accommodations would be useful.

Evaluators are encouraged to include appropriate medical reports, relevant medical history, test scores where relevant, and any other medical or educational records or data that would be useful in determining and providing appropriate accommodations and services. Information regarding the contents of documentation may be found in the appropriate Disability Verification Form. In some cases, Disability Services may ask you or your physician/evaluator to submit additional information.

2. Accommodation Formulation
Once a student’s eligibility is established, Disability Services proceeds to formulate those academic accommodations that will best assist the student in meeting the requirements of his or her particular academic program. The goal of this process is to ensure equality of access and opportunity for students with disabilities. In reviewing the specific accommodation requested by the student or recommended by the physician/evaluator, Disability Services may find that while a recommendation is clinically supported, it is not the most appropriate accommodation, given the requirements of a particular student’s academic program. In addition, in light of our considerable experience in providing accommodations, Disability Services may also propose clinically supported accommodations that would be appropriate and useful for the student, but which neither the student nor the evaluator have requested.

3. Dean’s Authorization
At the completion of the review process, Disability Services seeks approval of the recommended accommodations from the Dean of the School or College in which the student is enrolled. The Dean reviews these recommendations to ensure that the accommodations are consistent with the fundamental requirements of that particular student’s degree program. Please note that no accommodations can be provided until this process is completed. The University does not waive program requirements or permit substitutions for required courses. For example, several degree programs at the University have foreign language or mathematics requirements; the University considers these degree requirements to be fundamental, and therefore they will not be waived.

If the student changes degree programs, a new Dean’s authorization must occur for the new program. As each degree program has different requirements, accommodations may be appropriate for one program, but not for another. For example, a student transferring from the College of Communication (COM) to the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) would need authorization from the Dean of CAS, even if such authorization had already been obtained from the Dean of COM. A student enrolled in more than one degree program through the Boston University Collaborative Degree Program (BUCOP), in a combined B.A./M.A. program, or through a combination graduate program, must obtain Dean’s authorization from the Dean of each School or College. Please note that students from the College of General Studies, after completing their two-year program and moving on to another School or College, must obtain Dean’s approval from their new School or College.

In the event that a student becomes eligible for additional accommodations, a new Dean’s authorization must be obtained for those additional accommodations.

At the Beginning of Each Semester
Once the Dean’s approval is in place, the student must comply with the following process each and every semester:

1. Request for Accommodation Form
At the beginning of each semester, students requesting accommodations for their courses that semester must complete a Request for Accommodation Form. Through the Request for Accommodation Form, the student provides the following information:
a. Basic identity information such as name, ID number, e-mail address, telephone numbers, local and permanent addresses;
b. The specific accommodations requested; and
c. The course and section numbers, course names, as well as the name of the faculty member teaching the course, for each course in which the student is enrolled in the current semester.
Please note that the requested accommodations are limited to those for which the student has received prior approval (including Dean’s authorization) through the application process and must be on file with Disability Services.

2. Accommodation Letters
For students enrolled in most Schools and Colleges,* once the accommodations are approved and a Request for Accommodation Form has been submitted, Disability Services prepares an accommodation letter for each faculty member teaching each course in which the student is seeking accommodations. This letter informs the faculty member that the student has a disability and recommends that the student be provided with certain specified academic accommodations. Faculty members are authorized to provide students with accommodations only on the basis of an accommodation letter addressed specifically to that faculty member from Disability Services.
The student is to present the accommodation letter to the faculty member, and is expected to discuss the implementation of the accommodations with that faculty member. For example, if a student is eligible for extended time on examinations in a separate distraction-reduced environment, the faculty member and student would discuss the arrangements for taking examinations under these conditions. The faculty member may have questions or concerns that should be raised at this time. Students are encouraged to arrange a private conversation during the faculty member’s office hours rather than approaching the faculty member before or after class. If a faculty member believes that the approved accommodations are inconsistent with the academic standards of the course, or would interfere with the faculty member’s methods of instruction and evaluation of student performance, he or she is entitled to raise those concerns with the student in order to come to a satisfactory resolution. The adjustment process is premise upon an open and productive dialogue between faculty member and student. In the event that the faculty member and student fail to agree, the Office of Disability Services should be contacted immediately for advice and assistance.

Students are expected to pre-sent accommodation letters to faculty members within the first few weeks of the semester. Accommodation letters must be presented no later than two weeks prior to an examination in order to permit faculty members to prepare and implement accommodations.
Absent extraordinary circumstances, faculty members are not required to provide examination accommodations to students who fail to present the accommodation letter with less than two weeks notice prior to an examination.
Occasionally, a student’s documentation arrives after the semester has begun. In such circumstances, the student must present the accommodation letter as soon as possible after the completion of the staff review.

July 23, 2004