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Student Accessibility Services

The University of Dallas is committed to respecting the dignity of each person. As St. John Paul II explains, “human beings, independently of the conditions in which they live or of what they are able to express, have a unique dignity and a special value from the very beginning of their life until the moment of natural death.” But the recognition of the dignity of each person cannot remain simply a slogan. “People with disabilities,” for example, “must be enabled to participate in social life as far as they can, and helped to fulfil all their physical, psychological and spiritual potential.” Efforts to assist the disabled, moreover, must consider the needs of the individual. “Indeed, justice calls for continual and loving attention to the lives of others and a response to the special and different needs of every individual, taking into consideration his or her abilities and limitations.” (Message of John Paul II on the occasion of the International Symposium on the Dignity of the Mentally Disabled Person, January 5, 2004).

As part of its implementation of its commitment to the dignity of disabled students, and in compliance with applicable laws such as Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (ADA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Section 504), the University of Dallas provides reasonable accommodations in order to provide students with disabilities meaningful access to the benefits provided by the University.

Disability Accommodation Procedures

  1. Students with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation to facilitate access to and participation in University programs, events, classes, and administrative activities should submit their request to the ADA/Section 504 Coordinator, who is responsible for overseeing the University’s compliance with the ADA and Section 504. Requests should generally be submitted online at udallas.edu/ada-request, but students should always feel free to come by, call, or email the ADA/Section 504 Coordinator in order to discuss accommodations or the accommodations procedure.
  2. A student requesting a disability-based accommodation will also need to submit appropriate documentation supporting the requested accommodations. Please keep in mind the following:
    1. Requests for accommodation are not considered until both the request and the documentation has been received.
    2. Requests for accommodation generally must be submitted each academic year. A letter granting an accommodation will specify the applicable time period of the accommodation granted.
    3. It may be necessary to submit additional documentation with subsequent requests for accommodation.
  3. The ADA Committee reviews requests and their supporting documentation. The Committee is responsible for identifying qualifying disabilities and appropriate accommodations.
  4. The ADA/Section 504 Coordinator will notify the student of the Committee’s decision. Assuming that accommodations were approved, the ADA/Section 504 Coordinator will issue the student a letter of accommodation.
  5. With most letters of accommodation for in-class accommodations, the student will need to submit a copy of the letter of accommodation to each of his or her instructors in order to make use of the accommodations in that course. The instructor and the student will meet to discuss reasonable accommodations in light of the essential or fundamental instruction being pursued in the course.
  6. If the student and instructor are unable to come to an agreement regarding reasonable accommodations, the student should notify the ADA/Section 504 Coordinator. If the ADA/Section 504 Coordinator is unable to mediate a resolution to the disagreement, the disagreement may be submitted to the Dean of the relevant college or school.
  7. Non-academic accommodations, as well as some academic accommodations, follow a slightly different approval structure that is laid out in the letter the student receives.

Documenting a Disability

In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation based on disability, a student must submit appropriate documentation of the student’s disability and related functional limitations for which he or she is requesting accommodation(s). It is the student’s responsibility to initiate contact with the ADA/Section 504 Coordinator and to submit appropriate documentation in a timely manner.

The University evaluates supporting documentation based on the following factors:

  • Does the submitted documentation provide a clear diagnostic statement that describes how the student’s condition was diagnosed, information about the functional impact of the diagnosis, and suggestions of appropriate accommodations provided by a licensed or otherwise properly credentialed professional who has undergone appropriate and comprehensive training, has relevant experience, and has no personal relationship with the individual being evaluated?
  • Are all documentation materials and evaluations personally typed and signed by the professional? Diagnoses written on prescription pads, handwritten, or stamped with a signature will not be accepted.
  • Is the documentation current? Common sense and discretion will be used in accepting older documentation of conditions that are permanent or non-varying. General speaking, however, there should be appropriate documentation that is not older than three years.

For certain disabilities and accommodation requests, the University provides detailed guidelines and verification forms to assist students in gathering the documentation needed to establish a qualifying disability and entitlement to reasonable accommodations.

Reasonable Accommodations

The academic accommodations student receive vary according to individual need and course content. Accommodations may not be necessary in all courses, or the specific accommodations may vary. Possible accommodations may include, but are not limited to:

Note-taking assistance.

Extended time on in-class assignments, quizzes, and exams.

Distraction-reduced testing environment.

Student may need to have written material read aloud or put into an accessible format.

Priority seating assignment.

Flexibility to take breaks during class due to disability.

Captioned/subtitled videos.

Allowance of assistive devices in the classroom or on assignments and exams.

A sign language interpreter.

Test scribe.

Test reader.

For more information, please see the Student Disability Services web page or contact the ADA/Section 504 Coordinator:

Student Disability Services

https://udallas.edu/sds

Dr. Inelda Acosta

Student Disability Services Coordinator, ADA/Section 504 Coordinator 

Cardinal Farrell Hall, 106 

1845 E Northgate Dr, Irving, TX 75062
Telephone Number: 972-721-5056

Email: iacosta@udallas.edu; ada@udallas.edu