Student Affairs » ARC

Procedure for Requesting Accommodations

Georgetown does not discriminate or deny access to an otherwise qualified disabled student on the basis of disability, and students with disabilities may be eligible for reasonable accommodations and/or special services in accordance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. However, students are responsible for communicating their special needs to the Academic Resource Center. The University is not responsible for making special accommodations for students who have not requested an accommodation and adequately demonstrated their disabilities. Also, the University need not modify course or degree requirements considered to be an essential requirement of the program of instruction.

To request an accommodation on the basis of any disability, whether a physical, psychological or learning disability, a student must take the following steps:

1. Declare his or her disability by submitting appropriate written documentation regarding that disability from a qualified professional to the Academic Resource Center.

1. In the case of a physical or psychological disability, this documentation must be current medical documentation from a qualified professional that provides a specific diagnosis, describes symptoms, demonstrates an impact on a major life activity (i.e. learning, walking, sight), lists recommended educational accommodations, and provides a rationale for each accommodation.
2. With respect to documentation of learning disabilities or attention deficit disorder, Georgetown follows the guidelines developed by the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and the Consortium on ADHD Documentation, as adopted and modified by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). These guidelines describe the documentation that is necessary to validate a learning disability or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the need for reasonable accommodations. In general, testing must be current (within three years), comprehensive, and include a specific diagnosis. Each accommodation recommended by the evaluator must include a rationale. Complete guidelines are available through the Educational Testing Services website at www.ets.org/disability/, or students may request copies of the documentation guidelines by contacting the Academic Resource Center.

The documentation and information regarding the student's disability will remain confidential and will be released only if and to the extent that the student provides the Academic Resource Center with written authorization to release such information, or in the unlikely event that disclosure is compelled by legal process. The University reserves the right to request a second professional evaluation (at its own expense) of the student's disability. Based upon the materials submitted by the student and a review by the appropriate University personnel, the University will determine the appropriate reasonable accommodation.

Students are advised to register with the Academic Resource Center upon enrollment and at the beginning of each semester for which they are requesting services. A reasonable amount of time is required to evaluate the documentation, review the request, and determine the appropriate accommodations.

2. If the University determines that an accommodation is appropriate, the student shall consult with administrators in the Academic Resource Center and the appropriate University personnel, including in cases of academic accommodations, the student's academic dean's office, to identify what services will be provided as a reasonable accommodation. In most cases, the Academic Resource Center will provide the student a letter describing the nature of the accommodation he/she requires as a result of his or her disability.

1. To facilitate this process, a student must complete and sign a release of information form provided by the Academic Resource Center. This form gives the Academic Resource Center permission to share, as necessary, information about the student's disability with the University personnel who will be involved in providing the accommodation to the student.

3. After these steps are completed, the student is responsible for meeting with the University personnel who will be arranging for the accommodation to discuss the recommended accommodations. In the case of academic accommodations, the student should plan to meet with his or her professors at the beginning of each semester. The student should give the letter from the Academic Resource Center that verifies the student's disability and the recommended accommodations to the faculty or staff members with whom they meet.

4.  Students with disabilities or medical conditions are required to register with the Academic Resource Center (ARC) by presenting medical documentation in accordance with prescribed University guidelines. Consequently, students who present an accommodation letter to you are instructed by an ARC administrator to meet with you during your office hours to ensure their confidentiality and to discuss the accommodations outlined in the letter. To assist you in the implementation of the accommodation(s), we want to highlight details:

v     After you read the accommodation letter, please sign it and keep the yellow copy for your files. The student is responsible for returning the white copy to the Academic Resource Center in order for the accommodation(s) to be implemented.

v     If the accommodation is extended time for tests, then there are two available options. You should decide which option works for both you and the student.

o       The first option is for you, the professor, to provide the time and space for the student to take the exam.

o       The second option is for the student to take the exam in the Academic Resource Center testing facility. The student has been instructed how the process works to reserve a spot in the ARC, and he/she should show you a reservation form. If this is the option that works for both of you, then it is the student’s responsibility to make sure that the reservation form is completed. You must complete the section marked for professors and then sign the form. The student returns the white copy to the ARC, and the yellow copy is for your files. I want to emphasize that the responsibility to submit a completed reservation form seven days prior to the exam to the ARC lies with the student.

v     If a student note-taker is needed, please make sure to solicit for a volunteer as soon as possible. The ARC does have a firm policy in place for the student who needs the notes. The student should be taking his/her own set of notes (unless this student has a physical condition that prohibits his/her ability to write), attending class, and picking up the notes weekly from the ARC. The note retrieval system is monitored to ensure that students are complying with the ARC policy.

v     If there is an accommodation listed in the letter that causes concern, please do not hesitate to contact one of the ARC administrators.

v     Finally, if an issue arises during the semester regarding a student who has presented an accommodation letter to you, please consult with an ARC administrator.

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