Information for Prospective Students and Families

Middlebury College has adopted the following two-stage process for making reasonable accommodations to promote the accessibility of its programs for students with qualifying disabilities:

1. Certification

a. Prior to matriculation, each admitted student receives a Special Needs Identification Form. Each student requesting accommodation must complete this form, which requires, among other things:

i. a description of the disability, including the manner in which the disability limits major life activities relevant to a student's participation in Middlebury's programs;

ii.a description of the specific accommodations requested. (Additional copies of this form are available from Student Accessibility Services.)

b. The form must be accompanied by documentation consisting of report(s) from objective professionals qualified to diagnose the disability at issue, verifying the nature and extent of the disability, and the manner in which the disability limits major life activities relevant to a student's participation in Middlebury's programs (see Documentation, below).

c. The Special Needs Identification Form and documentation should be submitted to Student Accessibility Services immediately in order to facilitate the accommodation process being completed in as timely a manner as reasonably possible.

d. The ADA Committee reviews the request for accommodation, and the accompanying documentation, and pursues one of the following courses of action:

i. certifies the student's eligibility for accommodation under the ADA; or

ii. finds that there is insufficient evidence to certify the student's eligibility, and

(a) denies the student's request for accommodation and informs the student of the available channels of appeal; or

(b) requests additional information.

2. Accommodation

Once a student has been certified as eligible for accommodation, the ADA Committee:

a. reviews the student's request for accommodation(s);

b. works with the student, and other appropriate members of the College community, to formulate a proposed course of action that would constitute a reasonable accommodation of the student's disability, in view of the nature and extent of the disability, the student's compensatory skills, and course or program requirements;

Note: The ADA Committee reserves the right to recommend accommodations that differ from the specific approaches suggested by the student, or by individuals documenting the student's disability, so long as the accommodations proposed by the ADA Committee achieve the objective of program accessibility as required by law.

If accommodations acceptable to the student cannot be developed through cooperative dialogue, the student may appeal the decision of the ADA Committee through the Appeals Process described in Section G of this document.

Student Responsibilities:

It is the responsibility of the student to initiate the certification process described in the ADA Policy (http://www.middlebury.edu/studentlife/doc/ada/policy) by:

1. completing the Special Needs Identification Form in a timely manner;

2. ensuring that Student Accessibility Services has received appropriately current, adequate and comprehensive medical and/or psychological documentation of a disability and the manner in which it limits a major function relevant to the student's participation in Middlebury's programs.

A student who has received disability certification must work cooperatively with designated staff and faculty to determine and sustain reasonable and appropriate academic accommodations. Once a written accommodation plan has been agreed upon by the student and the ADA Committee, the student is responsible for taking reasonable steps to ensure that the plan is meeting his or her special needs.

Students are therefore responsible for:

(1) communicating with faculty;

(2) keeping appointments with faculty and designated staff to avoid delays in implementation; and

(3) conferring with faculty and Student Accessibility Services regularly regarding the effectiveness of accommodations.

If a student perceives a need for additional accommodations or for the modification of existing accommodations, the student must request, in writing, a revision of the accommodation plan. Such requests should be addressed to the ADA Committee through Student Accessibility Services.

Providing proper accommodations requires timely student input. Immediate accommodations may be impossible to facilitate. Students who have received disability certification are encouraged to contact their professors at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for the academic accommodations for which they have been approved. Such arrangements should be made at least 5 business days in advance of when the requested accommodation will be needed. It may not be possible to arrange accommodations requested on shorter notice.