Requesting Accommodations

Accommodation Procedure

Students who wish to receive accommodations are expected to meet with the ADA Compliance Officer / Director of Disability Services during the first few weeks of classes to set up accommodations. Students requiring alternative format books, sign interpreters and captioning should contact the Staff several weeks before the semester begins to ensure timely accommodations. A collaborative effort between the student, Disability Services Staff, and the faculty should produce a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability. (Visit the reasonable accommodations page for more information on accommodations.)

To complete the major steps of requesting accommodations a student must:

  1. Submit documentation. The student must schedule an intake appointment with the Director of Disability Services to discuss available support services and the process for requesting accommodations and/or classroom adjustments. In order to fully evaluate requests for accommodations or auxiliary aids Simmons College will need documentation of the disability that consists of an evaluation by an appropriate professional and describes the current impact of the disability as it relates to the accommodation request. Documentation MUST be submitted PRIOR to the intake appointment.
  2. Request service at the intake appointment. Submission of documentation is not the same as the request for services.
  3. Participate in the determination of reasonable and appropriate accommodations by completing a Student Academic Accommodation Request (SAAR) form with the ADA Compliance Officer / Director of Disability Services (or their designee) for EACH course in which you wish to receive accommodations. Once the accommodations for each course have been determined, the student and the ADA Compliance Officer / Director of Disability Services must both sign the completed forms.
  4. The student must then take each form to the instructor of the course for which it covers. It is encouraged that the student meets privately with the instructor so that they may discuss the matter confidentially.
  5. The student should discuss with the instructor the specifics of how each accommodation will be provided during the course of the semester. If there are concerns, either about the accommodation or the manner in which it is to be provided, either the student or the instructor should contact the ADA Compliance Officer / Director of Disability Services immediately.
  6. If there are no concerns, the instructor must sign off on the SAAR form. The student leaves one copy with the instructor for their records, retains a second copy for their own records, and returns the completed SAAR to the ADA Compliance Officer / Director of Disability Services. This completed copy MUST be submitted and on file with the ADA Compliance Officer / Director of Disability Services to ensure that the accommodations requested will be provided fully.

Accommodation letters must be obtained EACH semester for EACH class in which a student wishes to receive the accommodations. Students who have already registered with the Disability Services office and who have previously received accommodations still need to meet with the office each semester. Due to the large number of students with disabilities being served at Simmons, it is suggested that students make an appointment with the ADA Compliance Officer / Director of Disability Services well in advance. While every effort will be made to respond to crisis situations, it is still the responsibility of the student to make an appointment and fill out accommodation forms in a timely manner. Accommodations are not retroactive. Faculty members are not obligated to provide any accommodation to a student without the required forms.