Accommodation Request

Students who will be requesting reasonable accommodations for a disability must first be accepted for admission to Belmont University. Eligibility must then be established through the Office of Accessibility Services before services can be provided. All disability accommodations are determined on an individual basis considering the student's specific request, diagnostic documentation, history of accommodations and course requirements.

Any student requesting reasonable accommodations for a disability will need to submit their specific accommodation request(s) along with a copy of their current diagnostic documentation of the disability to the Office of Accessibility Services for review using the Accommodation Request Application.

Note: It may take up to 2 weeks to review your information/documentation. However, during peak times, such as beginning of the semester, the application review process will take longer. Students are strongly encouraged to request accommodations as early as possible prior to attending Belmont University. Students may request accommodations at any time, however there may be a delay in receiving the accommodation plan.

Belmont University's Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) uses the following written documentation guidelines to determine a student's reasonable accommodation request for a disability. To make a request for services, students are to forward their current diagnostic documentation and accommodation request to the Office of Accessibility Services for review. Documentation must be completed by a licensed clinical professional and include the following information:

• All documentation must be provided on the official letterhead of the professional describing the disability and include the assessment date, as well as the signature of the evaluator.
• Each document provided must include the name, title, and professional credentials of the evaluator, including information about their license or certification.
• The documentation must adequately verify the nature and extent of the student's disability in accordance with current professional standards and assessment tools, include the student's current functional impact of the impairment, and state any history of receiving accommodations.
• All documentation must clearly substantiate the need for each of the student's specific accommodation requests. For example, if academic accommodations are requested, learning must be one of the major life activities substantially limited.
• Students requesting services for the manifestations of multiple disabilities must provide supporting information on each condition.
• If the original documentation is incomplete or insufficient to determine the extent of the disability or the accommodation, the university has the discretion to require additional documentation. Any costs incurred in obtaining additional documentation are incurred by the student.

Insufficient documentation can result from one or more of the following:

• Out-dated documentation with insufficient information
• Documentation developed by a relative
• Inappropriate professional making the diagnosis
• No diagnosis given
• For a Learning Disability or Attention Deficit Disorder, no IQ test data or no achievement test battery (with scores) administered to support the diagnosis
• Average range of test scores (having no scores representing a significant limitation)
• An unsigned report
• Report not written on evaluator's letterhead
• No functional limitations identified (for instance, how the diagnosis affects the student and how it relates to the accommodation request)
• Diagnosis based upon one subtest score with no additional support.

Note: An Individual Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan from high school will not meet the documentation guidelines alone. A physician's letter or note alone is not sufficient to document Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), nor can prescribed medication be used to document a disability. In general, please know it is not acceptable for such documentation to include a diagnosis or testing performed by a member of the student's family.

Click the appropriate link below to print and review specific documentation guidelines:

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Deaf/Hard of Hearing Diagnoses
• Learning Disability
• Psychological Diagnoses
• Physical, Systemic or Health-Related Disabilities
• Visual Impairment

Once approved, students will receive an Eligibility Letter via email. This letter will include the accommodations the student has been approved for and any next steps.

If more information is needed to evaluate the accommodation request, the student will receive an email explaining what additional information is needed.

After receiving the Eligibility Letter, students receiving academic accommodations will need to complete their orientation meeting. To schedule the orientation meeting, students should follow the directions listed in the Eligibility Letter they received via email.

Note: Students receiving housing accommodations only will not need to schedule an orientation meeting