Disability Services at UMR

The University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR) Student Services and the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (UMTC) Disability Services work together to provide information and accommodations for UMR students who have disabilities.

Disability Services offers a variety of accommodations for students, staff and guests. Students must be registered with Disability Services to receive accommodations.

Intake Process

Registering to receive services is easier than you might think. There is one key step: call or email to schedule an appointment. Here is the general registration process.

1.  Contact DS - Current and prospective UMR students should schedule an intake appointment with Kendra Weber. Call 507.258.8008 or email weber362@umn.edu

2. Bring documentation - Bring to the appointment documentation you have that describes your disability. If you don’t have any documentation on-hand, or have difficulty getting it from your health care provider, come to the appointment and Disability Services (DS) will assist you.

3.  During the intake meeting complete registration paperwork. This will be shared with an appropriate disability specialist at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. You will also schedule a phone appointment with this specialist to discuss your disability, potential accommodations and strategies that have been helpful for you in the past.

4. Your disability specialist will determine your eligibility for services and, if appropriate, identify reasonable academic accommodations.

5.  Follow-up as necessary - If there is a need for additional medical documentation or a need for follow-up paperwork, your disability specialist will discuss that with you and help make a plan for accomplishing those tasks.

Please note: it is important to plan ahead and register for services before they are needed as there are many things that can delay setting up accommodations.

To schedule an intake appointment, or for more information, contact UMR DS at 507.258.8008 or weber362@umn.edu

Disability Services handbook (PDF) (link: http://r.umn.edu/prod/groups/umr/@pub/@umr/documents/content/umr_content_183527.pdf ) 
 

U of M Documentation Guidelines

Students and staff who seek accommodations at the University of Minnesota must provide documentation from appropriate licensed professionals to Disability Services (DS). This information assists DS in determining if the employee or student has a disability, and is therefore eligible to receive reasonable accommodations. The following guidelines are not intended to prescribe or dictate how a condition is diagnosed, but rather to serve as a guide to understanding what information DS needs, and why.

A DS Specialist is available to consult with any potential client regarding documentation needs, or to better understand these guidelines. Some individuals may have already obtained some type of documentation because it was necessary for other purposes (for example, an evaluation may have been done as part of an “IEP” in secondary school); others must begin the process when the first contact is made with DS.

The cost of obtaining documentation is borne by the student or employee. DS may require additional information if the initial documentation is inadequate to determine the extent of the disability or to support the need for requested accommodations; the cost of this additional documentation is also borne by the employee/student. If DS desires a second professional opinion, then DS bears the cost.
Advance planning is often necessary to have certain accommodations in place when needed, so it’s best to address questions and concerns early in the process. To arrange a consultation with a DS Specialist, call (612) 626-1333 (V/TTY).

In general, the documentation should:

• Be provided by a licensed professional, qualified in the appropriate specialty area; the report should be on letterhead, dated and signed.
• Include both diagnostic information and an explanation of the current functional limitations of the condition. It should be thorough enough to indicate whether or not a major life activity is “substantially limited,” that is it should explain what the extent, duration, and impact of the condition is.
• In most cases, it should be relatively recent; a suggested guideline is less than 3 years old. Documentation of conditions that are permanent or non-varying (e.g., a sensory disability) may not need to be as recent, but some chronic and/or changing conditions require even more current information to provide an accurate picture of functioning.
• Be detailed enough to support the accommodations that are being requested. Accommodations are determined by assessing the impact of the person's disability on academic or work performance.
• For a variable or progressive condition, include the degree and range of functioning
• Address the impact of medication or other treatments on major life activities.

Accommodations and Services

Electronic Accommodation Letter

Students who are eligible for accommodations will receive an accommodation letter. It is recommended that the student deliver the letter to each professor and together decide how the accommodations will be arranged.

Your disability specialist will provide you an electronic copy of your accommodation letter. This letter will be attached as a PDF document in an e-mail sent to your UMN e-mail account. Additional attachments may be provided with resources for you and your instructor.

If you would like to request accommodations for a course, it is your responsibility to deliver the letter to your instructor. You may e-mail the attached PDF file directly to your instructor or print out copies of the letter for each class and deliver them in person. Be sure to include all informational attachments with your letter.

 
E-mailing Accommodation Letter

If you e-mail the letter to your instructors, we recommend including a short message to introduce yourself and arrange a meeting to discuss how the accommodations will be provided. You may also use this as an opportunity to ask other questions you may have about the course.

Suggested E-mail Template

Subject: Course Number / Student Name and ID#

Dear Professor ______________:

I am registered for your “course name” for spring semester, 2011, and am forwarding you an accommodation letter from Disability Services. I will check your office hours and stop by so we can talk about my accommodations.

I also wanted to ask __________________________________________________________

Thank you.

Student Name

E-mail/phone

What is a reasonable accommodation?

An accommodation is a modification that is made to a course, program, service, job, activity, or facility that eliminates or minimizes disability-related barriers to allow for equal access.

There is often more than one way to accommodate a situation or activity. In order for an accommodation to be considered reasonable, however, it must meet four criteria:

1. It must not compromise essential requirements of a course, program, job, activity, or facility.
2. It must not cause an undue administrative or financial hardship.
3. It must not compromise safety to you or others.
4. It must not fundamentally alter a course or program.

Discussing Accommodations with Instructors

Discussing academic concerns or disability-related accommodations with professors can be difficult, especially the first time. Here are some suggestions to help you prepare for your conversation.

• 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 instructor. Arrange the meeting early in the semester.
• Start in your comfort zone. If it feels overwhelming to bring letters to all of your professors, start by approaching the ones you are most comfortable around. As you gain confidence, set up appointments with the others.
• Organize your thoughts, or even role play, prior to the meeting. Think about your accommodation requests or any information you may want to discuss. You may want to do some role-playing with your disability specialist to plan how you will respond to questions about your accommodations.
• Let the accommodation letter be your guide. Focus the discussion on your accommodations, not your disability. You do not need to disclose your diagnosed disability to receive accommodations.
• 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.
• Reconnect with your disability specialist if you need to. If you find you are unable to schedule an appointment with your instructor, or are experiencing barriers of any kind, contact your specialist to discuss the situation. Ask your instructor to contact your disability specialist with any questions you do not feel comfortable answering.