Accommodations for Learning Disabilities

Students who are seeking accommodations are required to provide documentation to the Dean of Students Office. The documentation must include information which can be used in establishing the need for appropriate accommodations. A student with a disability is one who: a) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of major life activities; b) has a record of such impairment; or c) is regarded as having such impairment.

Acceptable Documentation

Learning disability(ies) evaluations must include a comprehensive summary of the student’s educational, medical and family history as well as a report of behavioral, neurological and personality disorders that relate to the learning disability(ies). Evidence of a specific learning disability and actual test scores must be provided. Grade equivalents are not acceptable. Comprehensive testing must be administered for documentation to be acceptable. At a minimum, assessment data must be provided in the following areas:

Aptitude

Acceptable instruments include, but are not limited to the following: Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III), Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery - Revised: Tests of Cognitive Ability

Achievement

Current levels of functioning in reading, mathematics and written language are required. Acceptable instruments include, but are not limited to, the following: Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised: Test of Achievement, Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test, Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised

Cognitive Processing Abilities

Specific areas of information processing must be assessed. Acceptable instruments include, but are not limited to, the following: WAIS-III and Woodcock-Johnson, Psychoeducational Battery Revised: Test of Cognitive Ability, Wechsler Memory Scales-Revised.

Qualifications of Persons Conducting the Assessment

Learning disability evaluations must be provided by licensed professionals such as educational psychologists, school psychologists, neuro-psychologists, learning disabilities specialists and medical doctors with training in the evaluation of learning disabilities. Diagnostic reports must include the name, title, and credentials of the evaluator and should be presented on letterhead. Reports by special education teachers and/or tutors are not acceptable.

Age of Documentation

Accommodations are primarily based upon assessment of the current impact of the student’s disability(ies) on his/her academic performance. Therefore, learning disability documentation should have been completed within three years. If evaluation documents are more than three years old, students may be required to provide a more recent diagnostic assessment.

Implementing Recommended Accommodation

Upon receiving the learning disability evaluations, the Dean of Students Office will review the recommendation(s) for accommodations and support services and will consult with the Director of Counseling Center for further review of the recommendations. Appropriate accommodations will be offered only after meeting with the student and may require further interviews with selected members of the University’s administration.

Release Forms

If a student needs accommodations that require the Dean of Students Office to contact faculty, administrators or outside agencies, the student will be asked to sign a release form. The signed release form allows the Dean of Students Office to share information on the student’s disability(ies) with appropriate professionals.

Duration of Accommodations

Accommodations are made only during the semester(s) when a student is actively participating in coursework. A student will not be granted accommodations if his/her accommodation request pertains to academic performances prior to the diagnosis of a learning disability(ies.)

Responsibilities of Students Seeking Accommodations

It is the student’s responsibility to arrange for testing and to incur the cost of evaluations. It is strongly recommended that a student with a learning disability(ies) submit documentation to the Dean of Students Office at the time of admission to the University. Any student with a disability(ies) must keep a copy of his/her disability documentation for his/her own records.

Students in the College or Sawyer Business School should submit documentation to:

Suffolk University, Dean of Students Office, 8 Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108 Phone (617) 573-8239, TDD (617) 557-4875, Fax (617) 742-2582.