Diagnostic Testing & Disabilities Services: Procedures

After a student gains admittance to the University, the student is assigned an academic advisor.  During advisement, the students are provided the opportunity to voluntarily disclose a disability.  The student is directed to the Office of Testing and Diagnostic Services to complete a program application.  If accompanied by proper documentation, the completed application constitutes the initial self-identification process and request for accommodations.  Faculty and staff (i.e. University offices, Student Support Services, Admissions, and Counseling Center) should refer any student who discloses a disability and/or requests accommodations to the Office of Diagnostic Testing and Disability Services.

According to legal standards, documentation must be very thorough in order to secure accommodations.  Even if a student has a diagnosis of a disability, accommodations cannot be granted without proper documentation.  The documentation must describe an impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities (thinking, speaking, hearing, working, seeing, performing manual tasks etc.) compared to the average person in the general population; it must show that the limitation pertains directly to the educational/workplace accommodation or service being requested.  Documentation must be provided by a professional qualified to make the diagnosis, be presented on letterhead stationery, state the specific diagnosis/disability, include the professional’s recommendation (if any) for accommodations needed and list any medications the person is taking for the disability.  A recent high school Admission, Review, Dismissal (ARD) or Individual Education Program (IEP) may be used as documentation.  Providing appropriate documentation of the disability is the student’s responsibility, although Office staff may assist in the process. 

The University is under no obligation to provide accommodations while awaiting the documentation. The University encourages students to request testing or accommodations as early in the semester as possible.  In the event the student chooses to delay registering with the Office of Diagnostic Testing and Disability Services, the University will not provide retroactive accommodations, but will upon the student’s request begin the procedure for approving and implementing future accommodations.   

Any admitted student, 18 years of age or older, who is experiencing academic difficulties and suspects that the academic limitations may be due to a learning disability may be referred for diagnostic testing.  Following and interview and application process, if accepted for testing, students may be administered a psycho-educational battery of diagnostic tests which includes a standardized test of intelligence and tests to determine their developmental levels in the areas of reading skills, reading comprehension, math calculation, math reasoning, written language, oral expression, and spelling.

Within a week of the receiving or gathering documentation of the disability, the Office of Disability Services will provide to the student a written response granting or denying the requested accommodations.  The Letter of Request for Reasonable Accommodations is given to student to give to faculty and/or staff for implementation.        

All documents, forms, diagnostic testing protocols, and other written information regarding the student’s disability are considered confidential and will be stored securely in locked file cabinets for up to 5 years.