Students with Disabilities
Case Western Reserve University is committed to providing all students (see
below) with opportunities to take full advantage of the university's educational
programs. We recognize that students with documented disabilities may need
assistance or accommodations in order to achieve this objective.
This document outlines the policies and procedures used in determining a
student's eligibility for disability services. These procedures are applicable
to all undergraduate students and all graduate students registered through the
School of Graduate Studies, MSASS, the FPB School of Nursing, and the School of
Medicine. Students in graduate programs at the Weatherhead School of Management,
the School of Dental Medicine and the School of Law should consult with their
student services' personnel for policy information.
Definitions
Students are defined as those who are matriculating into or enrolled in
courses of study on the Case Western Reserve University campus. This includes
students who are not seeking a Case Western Reserve University degree, such as
those taking courses for continuing education or enrolled in an adult education
program sponsored by a campus office.
A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more major life activities, or having a record of such an
impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. A physical or mental
impairment is defined as any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic
disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body
systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; respiratory; special sense organs;
cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genitourinary, hemic and lymphatic;
skin; and endocrine, or any mental or psychological disorder such as mental
retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific
learning disabilities.
Major life activities include functions such as caring for oneself,
performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing,
learning, and working.
A specific learning disability is a disorder in one or more of the
basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language,
spoken or written. A specific learning disorder may manifest itself in imperfect
ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical
calculations. Such disorders include conditions such as perceptual disabilities,
brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.
Learning disabled does not include persons who have learning problems, which are
primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; of mental
retardation; of emotional disturbance; or of environmental, cultural, or
economic disadvantage.
A temporary disability is an acute illness or injury that impacts
the student's ability to access the physical campus and/or the academic
curriculum.
Initiating the Process
Students are never obligated to self-disclose their disability to Disability
Resources, other staff members or faculty. However, students with disabilities
who wish to obtain accommodations, auxiliary aids and/or services, must
self-disclose their disability and direct their request(s) for
accommodation(s) to the office of Disability Resources in
Educational Services for Students (ESS). ESS is located in 470 Sears
Building. The office phone number is (216) 368-5230.
In order to proceed with a determination of eligibility for services and the
provision of applicable and reasonable accommodations, students must disclose
their disability using the disclosure form available through the Disability Resources webpage. Newly
admitted undergraduate students may also access the disclosure form through the
orientation checklist. Under separate cover, students must submit documentation
of their disability to the office of Disability Resources. (See below for
information regarding necessary documentation.)
Temporary Disabilities
Students should be aware that the university is not obligated to provide
accommodations for students with temporary disabilities, but will attempt to do
so when feasible.
AAs a courtesy, Disability Resources will attempt to provide services to
students who experience acute illness or injury that will allow them to access
the physical campus as well as the academic curriculum. For instance, if a
student breaks the wrist of his/her dominant hand, Disability Resources may be
able to provide a scribe for a test for the student. However, as is the case for
permanently disabled students, the student would be responsible for all
out-of-class work. Disability Resources may be able to provide access to
assistive technology during regularly scheduled computer lab hours.
If the injury or illness necessitates handicapped parking accessibility,
and/or campus transportation services, the student should contact Disability
Resources in ESS for assistance. Undergraduate Studies and Disability Resources
will coordinate efforts to assist student needing any other services as a result
of their temporary injury or illness. Graduate students should work with their
respective departments and Disability Resources in ESS to obtain assistance in
the event of a temporary illness or injury.
Documentation
In order to seek appropriate accommodations for a disability, students are
required to provide written documentation of their disability. Documentation
must be from a qualified professional who has knowledge of the disability and of
the specific student. The professional must be trained and qualified to render a
diagnosis and to recommend accommodations for that particular disability. Since
students with disabilities are a heterogeneous group, no single professional
group is qualified to offer documentation for all disabilities. In fact,
documentation concerning a student's needs may come from multiple sources. One
individual may make the diagnosis, but a different professional may determine
the practical limitations of that diagnosis. For example, a physician may
diagnose a student with rheumatoid arthritis, but an occupational therapist may
determine the physical limitations the student encounters in daily living.
Complete documentation should include a diagnosis of the disability and a
prognosis indicating the current status of the disorder as well as the
expectation for the stability of the condition. Information should also include
an explanation of the nature of the physical or mental impairment and its impact
on any major life function. Any psychological or physical test data relevant to
the diagnosis should be included. Finally, any history and/or recommendations
for accommodations should be part of the documentation. Students are responsible
for obtaining and providing Disability Resources with the documentation from a
qualified professional. In addition, students may be asked to sign a release of
information form, authorizing the qualified professional to disclose information
to a professional staff member from Disability Resources.
Determining Eligibility and Accommodations
UUpon receipt of the documentation, the professional staff of Disability
Resources will review it to determine the following: 1) that the source of the
documentation is appropriate, 2) that the documentation is complete, 3) that the
information in the documentation is current, 4) that the student is a qualified
person with a disability, and 5) that the documentation supports the requested
accommodations. A professional member of Disability Resources will ordinarily
have an initial meeting with the student to obtain complete information on the
disability and the requested accommodations. If the documentation is incomplete
or insufficient to make a determination, the staff member will either contact
the student's health care provider for additional information or request that
the student obtain and submit additional documentation. The office of Disability
Resources may consult with appropriate university and community professionals
when considering eligibility and reasonable accommodations. The professional
staff of Disability Resources will then determine the student's eligibility and
interact with the student as outlined in the following section to determine any
necessary and reasonable accommodations.
In order to determine reasonable accommodations, the staff will give
consideration to the student's preferred method. However, another suitable
method of accommodation may be provided. If a requested accommodation is
unreasonable, is an undue burden on the university, poses a direct threat to the
student or others, or would result in a fundamental alteration of any university
program, Disability Resources will determine a reasonable alternative
accommodation(s), if any exists, to accommodate the student.
Arranging Accommodations
Students who are eligible for disability services and who need to make
arrangements for accommodations must make an appointment with the office of
Disability Resources to develop a plan at the beginning of each semester.
Academic accommodations are determined via an interactive process based on the
student's requested accommodations, the review by the professional staff of
Disability Resources, the documentation from the qualified professional, and the
course schedule of the student for the particular semester.
Accommodations are not made retroactively.
In most instances, a memo from the student and a professional staff member
from Disability Resources will be provided to the professor or teaching
assistant for courses in which accommodations are needed. The memo sets out the
classroom accommodations to be made for the student for that semester. No
diagnosis is mentioned in the memo to the professor or teaching assistant. The
student is responsible for giving the professor or the teaching assistant the
memo and using it to initiate a dialogue about implementing the reasonable
accommodations. As a result of this dialogue, the student and the professor or
teaching assistant will determine reasonable methods for making the
accommodation(s). Students are expected to self-advocate during this process;
however, the professional staff of Disability Resources is available to assist
both the student and the professor or teaching assistant in determining which
accommodation method will be used.
Students needing non-academic accommodations such as housing modifications,
special room assignments or housing releases, handicapped parking, responsive
transportation, or other programmatic or physical access should follow the same
guidelines for documentation as described above. Once a determination of
reasonable accommodations is made, a staff member from Disability Resources will
complete the appropriate paperwork and make the necessary contacts with the
other University departments. Students are responsible for following
all required procedures for obtaining services or products from other university
departments.
Appeal Process
SStudents who are denied eligibility or who are dissatisfied with an
accommodation method may request that the associate director of Disability
Resources reconsider the decision.
If students are still dissatisfied after the associate director reconsiders
the issue, an appeal may be made to the Assistant Vice President of the
University Office for Equal
Opportunity and Diversity, who is the university's designated Section 504
and the Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance Officer. The University
Office for Equal Opportunity and Diversity is located in 312 Adelbert Hall.
The appeal request should be made within five (5) business days of receipt of
notification of denial of eligibility or a decision on an accommodation method.
The appeal must be submitted in writing to the Assistant Vice President for
review and should state the grounds for the appeal.
TThe review by the assistant vice president will include meeting with the
student, a meeting with the associate director of Disability Resources and other
members of the Disability Resources staff as appropriate, and a review of the
file and supporting documentation. The assistant vice president may also meet
with faculty members and other persons with information about the issue. Based
on this review, the assistant vice president will make a determination in
writing, to grant or deny the appeal and/or to refer the matter back to the
associate director for further consideration consistent with the assistant vice
president's decision. The assistant vice president's decision will be forwarded
to the student and the associate director of Disability Resources. The decision
of the assistant vice president is final.
During a pending appeal, the student will be provided with the initial
accommodations, if any, determined by the associate director.
Grievance Procedures for Disability Discrimination Complaints
CCase Western Reserve University has adopted an internal grievance procedure
for handling complaints of discrimination on the basis of disability. Students
who feel they have been discriminated against on the basis of disability may
contact the assistant vice president of Equal Opportunity and Diversity. The
assistant vice president of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, or designee, will
investigate student complaints of disability discrimination. In resolving such
complaints, the university will use the
Informal Grievance Process as
outlined in the Handbook for Undergraduate Students.
Confidentiality and Protection of Privacy
AAll documentation provided to Disability Resources in Educational Services
for Students to determine eligibility for disability services and appropriate
accommodations is kept confidential. This information is not part of the
student's academic file. It will only be shared with other administrators,
departments, staff, and faculty who have a legitimate educational interest in
the information and require information on academic restrictions, necessary
accommodations or safety requirements. In other instances, students will be
asked to sign a release of information form when they want information to be
shared with other university departments, staff, or faculty. If a student
presents documentation to university departments other than ESS, that
documentation may be forwarded to Disability Resources in ESS.
Disability Resources in ESS is the department at Case Western Reserve
University responsible for determining eligibility for disability services. It
is not necessary for the student to disclose the diagnosis of the disability to
any other Case Western Reserve University department, staff, or faculty in order
to be accommodated.
Last updated: July 2007