Learning Support Services (LSS) works to ensure that enrolled students at the University of Charleston receive reasonable accommodations for documented disabilities in compliance with provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act of 2008. LSS also provides special information for faculty.
Whom Do I Contact If I Need Accommodations?
A Disability Coordinator acts as a liaison between students and faculty, identifying appropriate accommodations for students with documented disabilities. The goal of all concerned is to help students achieve their full academic potential. To make an appointment with the Coordinator, contact the Academic Success Center.
The University, recognizing that disclosure of a disability is a personal and private decision, relies on students with disabilities to self-identify; the University makes no preadmission inquiries about disabilities. All documentation is held in the strictest confidence and not shared with other University offices without the consent of the student.
Students requesting accommodations should submit documentation to:
Academic Success Center
University of Charleston
302 Clay Tower Building
2300 MacCorkle Avenue, S.E.
Charleston, WV 25304
Examples of Accommodations
Reasonable accommodation of a disability will vary with each student's needs. Some examples of accommodations include the following:
- Extended time for tests
- Administration of oral tests
- Use of assistive devices, such as calculators or computers
- Note takers
- Recorded textbooks
- Use of recorders in class
- Use of a microphone by faculty
- Special seating locations
- Special housing accommodations
- Special meal plan accommodations
Students should consult with the Disability Coordinator as early as possible in the semester to ensure their needs are met. Students with disabilities may also derive benefit from the tutoring and review services provided by Academic Success Center for all students at the University of Charleston.
Guidelines for Documentation
Students requesting accommodations must submit documentation of their disabilities from an appropriate, licensed professional qualified in the appropriate specialty area. Some examples of such persons are physicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists. Often this documentation can be forwarded from the student's high school. Students are responsible for the cost of diagnosis and for any costs associated with copying or supplying the information for submission to the University of Charleston.
The University of Charleston uses the Guidelines for Documentation of Learning Disability in Adolescents and Adults developed by the Association on Higher Education and Disability as a standard for documentation requirements. For more information please consult this document, which appears in the Publications section of the organization's web page.
In general, documentation should include a specific diagnosis and a rationale for each accommodation requested. In cases of LD or ADD/ADHD, raw test score data should be submitted in case the University of Charleston chooses to seek a second opinion. To ensure that the accommodations supplied are appropriate for the student's current level of functioning, the documentation submitted must be less than three years old. Exceptions can be made for conditions that are permanent and are not developmentally related. Hearing or vision loss would be examples of such conditions.
No accommodations will be provided without documentation. In addition, the University will be unable to provide accommodations in the classroom if the student does not give permission to notify faculty that accommodations are needed. This notification can be accomplished without disclosing the exact nature of a disability.