The Basics
The Office of Disability Services at Southwestern Christian University is located in the basement of the Learning and Living Center (LLC). Serving upward of 500 university students, the department coordinates reasonable, appropriate academic accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
Submission of appropriate documentation of a disability is mandatory for receiving any level of accommodative services and must accompany a Request for Accommodation Form (RAF), found on this website.
The type of documentation required depends on the nature of the disability and can be in the form of Neuropsychological or Psycho-educational Evaluation Reports from professional evaluators, Re-evaluation Reports by high school psychologists, OR professional letters from treating physicians, therapists, counselors, or specialists.
Professional letters must include the following:
- Diagnosis
- History of the disability
- Current treatment regimen, including medication (if any)
- Impact of the disability in a learning environment
- Recommendations for accommodations as viewed by the professional
Documentation along with a recent IEP or a Section 504 Plan (if available), is reviewed by the Director of the Office of Disability Services. Accommodations offered in higher education under the ADA can be very different from those provided in K-12 under IDEA because each university student must fulfill all the requirements of the course and the major. Examples of appropriate accommodations may include extended test time, alternate testing site, note-taking services, books in alternate format, sign-language interpreting, or use of a reader or scribe for exams. All access to academic accommodations is student-driven; self-advocacy is a critical element of success at the university level for a student with disabilities. For further information visit the Office of Disability Services or click on links throughout this website.