Access Services

Accommodations

Common Accommodations

The majority of work at the Office of Access Services (AS) revolves around providing reasonable accommodations to qualified students with disabilities registered with our office. Reasonable accommodations are adjustments that provide students with disabilities equal access to programs, activities, and services that students without disabilities have during their time at Saint Mary’s University.

A common misconception of faculty, staff and students is that students who receive accommodations are receiving an unfair advantage over students without disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are there to allow the student with a disability an equal learning opportunity to their peers, not added advantage. Accommodations center on providing access, not success. Therefore, the student is responsible for their own academic success.

The following is a list of accommodations students may be approved for by the Office of Access Services. This list is in no way meant to encompass all accommodations offered at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, since reasonable accommodations are determined for each student on a case by case basis during the interactive process.

Extended Time (50%) for Exams and Quizzes

The student is given time and a half to complete their exam either with the faculty member or through AS. If the class is given an hour (60 minutes) to take an exam, the approved student will have time (60 minutes) and a half (30 minutes) as their testing time period (90 minutes in total).

Extended Time (100%) for Exams and Quizzes

The student is given double the time to complete their exam either with the faculty member or at the office. If the class is given an hour (60 minutes) to take an exam, the approved student will have double the class time (120 minutes).

Reduced Distraction Environment

This allows the student to take their test in a separate testing area from the class in order to reduce the amount of distractors in the room (number of students, sounds, etc.). Professors are able to provide a reduced distraction testing location as long as the testing environment is similar to the one given to the class and ideal. For example, some professors will allow the student approved for reduced distraction testing to take their exam at the department’s main office, monitored by an administrative assistant/staff member. When this cannot be provided, students can request to take their exam at our office. Students must submit an exam request form at least three business days in advance of the exam to allow the AS team enough time to prepare for the exam.

Winona

Testing in the Access Services Testing Center (ASTC)
Students are responsible for communicating with their professors that they wish to take exams in the ASTC. Students are also responsible for filling out the Student Testing Form for each test they wish to take in the ASTC at least 72 hours in advance of their scheduled exam time.

Testing Agreement Form
- Please fill out the Testing Agreement form when you become approved for testing accommodations.

Student Testing Form
- Please fill out the Student Testing Form for all exams and quizzes to be taken in the ASTC at least 72 hours in advance of your scheduled exam time.

SGPP

Students are responsible for communicating with their professors to coordinate any exam and quiz logistics related to their testing accommodations. If a student and their faculty are not able to determine a plan for testing accommodations, students are responsible for notifying Access Services so that alternate arrangements can be made with our office. Students must fill out the Access Services Student Testing Form for each test they wish to take with AS.

Testing Agreement Form
- Please fill out the Testing Agreement form when you become approved for testing accommodations.

Student Testing Form
- Please fill out the Access Services Student Testing Form if a faculty member is not able to carry out your testing accommodations and you need to schedule a test with Access Services.

Limited Flexibility on Assignment Due Dates

What is the accommodation of Limited Flexibility on Assignment Due Dates?
Course policy states that students are expected to complete and hand in assignments on the due date listed by the faculty member. At times, students may experience a severe flare-up of their symptoms that does not allow them to complete the work and submit it on time. The amount of extended time given on assignments depends primarily on what is agreed upon by the faculty member and student as reasonable. In addition, this accommodation does not apply in certain situations due to either impacting other students or other assignments, such as group work, discussion board posts, peer review sessions, or capstone projects and assignments that will evolve to larger scale projects.

Who is eligible for Limited Flexibility on Assignment Due Dates?
Qualified students with a disability whose symptoms may occasionally impact the ability to complete or hand in assignments on time, might be eligible for limited flexibility on assignment due dates. No specific disability automatically warrants the approval of additional time on assignments and as such, the interactive process requires the student to communicate with the Office of Access Services on barriers they experience as a result of their disability.

Alternate Format Textbooks & Course Materials

When standard print is a disability related barrier, students can request that their textbooks and other printed academic materials (such as syllabi, PowerPoints, articles, etc.) be converted to an alternate, electronic format. There are several options available for alternative format text such as:

PDFs to use with speech to text software
Screen reader accessible documents
Large print
Braille

A request must be submitted by the student via the Alternative Textbook Request Form for every book that they need an alternate format for. Please note that it can take up to 6 weeks to obtain alternate format textbooks and materials, so please submit your requests in a timely manner.

Lecture Recording

In some cases, qualified students with disabilities may be approved for an accommodation to record their class lectures. The student is responsible for adhering to the guidelines laid out in the Lecture Recording Agreement Form.

Under Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, institutions of higher education must provide auxiliary aids and services to students with documented disabilities and not deny equal access to the institution’s programs, courses and activities. For a variety of disability related reasons, some students are not able to take adequate notes during class, while others need longer time to process spoken content. Audio recorders are a legitimate auxiliary aid as a supplement or substitute for note-taking for some students with disabilities and to allow others who need it the ability to capture the spoken content of the class for further review.

See the Classroom Recording Policy for more information.

Academic Accommodations for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI/Concussion)

This policy applies to all students who suffer a concussion and need classroom accommodations as a result. The purpose of this policy is to outline the procedures that students must follow when they have sustained a concussion and need classroom accommodations as a result of that injury.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Policy

Temporary Disability Verification for Students Form

American Sign Language Interpreter/CART Services/Closed Captioning

If you are approved for these accommodations, a request must be submitted online by the student or faculty to request these services using the Closed Captioning, CART, and Interpreting Service Request Form . CART and ASL interpreter requests should be made at least 72 hours in advance. Closed-Captioning requests should be made with as much advance notice as possible, as it can take several days to process these requests.

Priority Registration

Students approved for this accommodation are connected with their respective academic adviser and the registrar office either via the specialist or director, to allow them to register for classes regardless of the total credits accumulated. Priority registration is designed for students to create a schedule that best allows them for rest between classes, spreads classes out throughout the week, preference for morning/day/evening classes, take classes in close distance of each other, etc. Students with holds on their accounts will not be able to utilize priority registration until the hold has been resolved.

Service Animal

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota adheres to the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) in allowing use of service animals for students, staff, and visitors. Service animals assisting individuals with disabilities are generally permitted in all facilities and programs on any Saint Mary’s University campus. For more information on service animals, visit the ADA Website.

Emotional Support Animal (ESA)

Emotional Support Animals (ESA) or Comfort Animals may be used as part of a medical treatment plan as therapy animals and determination is made on an individual basis. These animals are not considered service animals under the ADA, which makes them ineligible to bring to campus; however, through the interactive process, alternative accommodations/solutions would be discussed. ESAs only apply to Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota students’ residence situations because ESAs fall under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) rather than ADA. For more information on ESAs, visit the US Department of Housing & Urban Development’s website.

All housing accommodations, including requests for ESAs, go through the office of Residence Life.

Service and Emotional Support Animal Policy

Emotional Support Animal Request Form

Housing Accomodations

All housing accommodations are coordinated through the office of Residence Life. You will need to submit the Housing Accommodation Request Form to begin the process of obtaining housing accommodations.

Dietary Accommodations

All dietary accommodations are coordinated through the office of Residence Life. You will need to submit the Dietary Accommodation Request Form to begin the process of obtaining housing accommodations.

Accessible Parking

Qualified students with disabilities may request an accessible parking accommodation if they experience a barrier that requires them to be able to park close to university buildings. Students are responsible for making an accessible parking request every semester by submitting the Accessible Parking Form.

Temporary Conditions

Services are extended to students with temporary conditions only for the time that their access to Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota classes, coursework, and programs is significantly limited as a direct result of those temporary conditions. The eligibility process is the same as for permanent disability. Please visit the Students page on the Access Services website to begin this process.

Temporary conditions include but are not limited to the following circumstances:

Extended illness
Complications due to pregnancy
Recoveries from surgeries that are extensive
Short term injuries due to accidents including:
- Broken bones
- Sprains
- Concussive conditions
  - Please read SMU’s Concussion Policy

Additional Information

Accommodations Must Be Renewed Every Semester

Qualified students with disabilities that are registered with Access Services will each have a Notice of Accommodation (NoA) that lays out their approved accommodations. NoAs will be shared with faculty either directly by the student or in an email from Access Services, depending on the student’s preference, at the start of a new semester or term. Students must complete the Renewal of Approved Accommodations Request Form each semester in order for their NoA to be updated and shared with faculty.

Discussing Your Accommodations with Professors

It is expected that the student will initiate a conversation with the professor regarding their needs and accommodations for their classes as soon as possible. Students are responsible for discussing their accommodations with their professor.

Discussing academic concerns or disability related accommodations with professors can be difficult, especially the first time. Below are steps to help you with this process.

Schedule your meeting as early in the semester as possible
- Find a time during scheduled office hours, or by appointment, to meet privately with your professor. Arrange the meeting early in the semester. You can invite Access Services to be a part of this meeting if you would like.
Start in your comfort zone.
- If it feels overwhelming to talk to all your professors, start by meeting the ones you are most comfortable around. As you gain confidence, schedule the other meetings.
Organize your thoughts, or even role-play, prior to the meeting.
- Think about your accommodation requests or any information you may want to discuss.
Let the accommodations be your guide.
- Focus the discussion on your accommodations, not your disability. You do not need to disclose your diagnosed disability to receive accommodations.
Discuss testing arrangements with your professor.
- This would be a good time to talk about when and where you will be taking your exams. You will want to discuss testing times if your class schedule does not allow you to take your exams at the same time as the class (i.e. night classes or back-to-back classes.
Be open to suggestions or comments from instructors.
- Accommodations often require a collaborative effort and instructors are frequently able to offer creative suggestions for implementing accommodations.