Requesting An Academic Accommodation
If you are a new student or are requesting an accommodation for the first time please use Accommodate to submit appropriate documentation of your disability. To do so, please follow the process outlined in the guide to complete the intake form.
If you need to update your documentation, please do so through Accommodate for review by the ADA Committee. Follow the steps outlined in this guide to submit updated documentation.
The University has adopted the Educational Testing Service’s (ETS) documentation guidelines. The guidelines can be found on our required documentation page.
- Academic accommodations are assessed on an individual basis and are backed by appropriate documentation.
- Access and opportunities, not alterations in academic expectations, can provide students the chance to learn and grow in an accommodating environment.
- Accommodations are not retroactive; instructors are not obligated to adjust previous penalties if an accommodation letter is provided later in the term.
Documentation and requests should be submitted to the Office of Student Support and Success (OSSS) through Accommodate.
First year students will have access to Accommodate after May 1st to complete the Intake form and upload all supporting documentation.
What Happens Next?
The University’s ADA Committee will review your documentation to determine eligibility for any accommodations. Please note that sufficient time is required to review all documentation. If additional documentation is needed, an OSSS staff member will contact you by phone once the review has been completed. Please check your Scranton email account frequently for any communications.Information about Test-taking Accommodations
These accommodations for exams, quizzes, tests, and timed in-class assignments can be implemented in many ways. As all other accommodations, test-taking accommodations are discussed and implemented on an individual basis.
Sometimes, a student will come to the OSSS to use our test-taking facility which provides reduced distractions and caters to taking extended time to finish. To request to take an exam in the OSSS, students need to access accommodate and follow the steps available in this document. Other times, students find that making arrangements with the professor to meet their accommodation needs.
All accommodations decisions will be reached through an interactive process between the ADA committee, University of Scranton professionals, and the student.
Information about Note-taking Accommodations
Accommodations related to note-taking are available for students and suited to their specific needs. There are many ways to accommodate this process, including but not limited to:
- Peer support and use of a “note-taker”
- Use of a computer
- Use of Assistive Technology: smart pen or recorder or app of similar nature paired with smart device
Examples of Academic Accommodations
- Note-taking assistance
- Extended time on exams
- Proctored exams in the OSSS testing facility
- Exams in alternate format
- Distraction reduced testing environment
- Early access to requisite readings
- Priority registration
- Breaks
- Extensions on assignments on a case by case basis
- Reducing course load
- Assistive Technology (tape recorder, print enlargers, etc)
- Use of a word processor for essays
- Books in an alternate format (pdf, audio)
- Use of a calculator