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Support Services for Students with Disabilities

Policies and Procedures

Cross-registration & Requests for Accommodations

It is important that students be aware of all policies and procedures of the college or university at which he/she will cross register. Each institution may have different policies regarding accommodations for a specific disability. This information is available and accessible on the institution’s web page. Students requesting accommodations should be informed of the following guidelines:

•	Student must present documentation of the disability to the Disability Support Service provider of the course-registered institution. This documentation must meet the requirements of the cross-registered institution.
•	Student should meet in a timely manner*, prior to the first day of classes, with the Disability Support Service provider of the institution to which he/she is cross-registering in order to facilitate accommodation needs.
•	Student must present a letter from his/her home institution to the Disability Support Provider of the institution to which he/she is cross-registering, which outlines:

	1.	Issues which arose on his/her home campus;
	2.	Accommodations which he/she received at the home campus;
	3.	A list of strategies that have been successful and those which have not.

Each institution reserves the right to modify previous accommodations based upon its in-house policies.

* A timely manner is contingent upon each individual case. For example, a minimum of one week is required to accommodate extended or distraction-reduced test time; a minimum of one month is required to accommodate requests that require modification of architectural barriers, interpreter services, etc. Each institution will work as diligently as possible to accommodate students.

Course Substitution Procedure for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities may petition for permission to substitute a specific course with an appropriate replacement, including a course taken on a pass/fail basis, when she/he has met all the following criteria.
· Appropriate documentation stating a clearly diagnosed disability must be on file in the Academic Support Services office.

· Significant difficulty in the course of study in question must be documented, either at the high school or college level. Previous grades or statements from tutors, teachers or learning specialists, and/or data could evidence verification of difficulty.

· In the case where a student is currently enrolled in the course in question, students must demonstrate a good faith effort by regularly attending class, enlisting the support of faculty and/or tutors, completing all assignments on schedule, and disclosing and requesting accommodations from the outset. If, despite a good faith effort, the student's performance in the course in question falls significantly below other courses in the given semester, a petition request is considered. A student designates the course to be taken pass/fail normally at pre-registration but no later

· A student must have attained sophomore status and be in good academic standing in order to petition the committee. Petitions for first-year students will be heard only if the student is currently enrolled in the course in question.

Student Procedure

1. Submit all appropriate records and documentation to the Office of Academic Support Services. Note: A Modern Language Aptitude Test or tests of auditory processing may be required if a student is petitioning an accommodation for the foreign language requirement.

2. Submit a letter of petition attached to the petition form requesting the accommodation to the SOS committee. A copy must be delivered to the Office of Academic Support Services in order to activate the petition process.

3. The letter of petition should include the following information: type of accommodation being requested, an explanation of the disability, how the disability affects this particular course, history of difficulty in this course of study, description of the student's good faith effort, and any recommendation from the instructor or evaluator.

General Information

· Courses enrolled on a pass/fail basis shall not be used in computing the GPA but will be counted as credit toward graduation.

· Student data is reviewed by the Assistant Dean of Academic Support Services and the Standing on Students (SOS) committee. Decisions are based on the severity of the disability, and the degree of evidence supporting the requested accommodation.

· The results are mailed to the student within one week of the committee's decision. If the request is granted, the student will be asked to schedule an appointment with the Assistant Dean of Academic Support Services to discuss appropriate course substitutions.

· A student may appeal any decision by following the procedure outlined in the Lehigh University Student Handbook.

· The university is not required to waive courses that are essential to a particular program, or specific requirements that are essential to a particular course. This is also true if the requirement is directly related to professional licensing.

For Disability-Related Grievances see Academic Resource Guide in the Student Handbook


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