How Do I Request My Accommodations For The Semester?

Accommodations are not automatically provided each semester. The accommodation process is entirely student-centered and student-driven: the student has complete control over whether their accommodations are put in place for a given class. Consequently, for each course they are taking, it is up to the student to decide which, if any, of their accommodations they will need to use in the course.

Before a student can use any accommodations in a given class, they first need to activate their accommodations for that class to make the accommodations available. The student does this by using a specific website maintained by ARC to generate their accommodation letters at the beginning of each semester. The student does not have to write anything: the letter is already written for them. They are simply using this website to give ARC permission to send the letter on their behalf.

When the student uses the website mentioned above to request that Their accommodation letters be sent out, the letters are sent via email to the assigned faculty for each class, with a copy to both the student and their ARC Accommodations Specialist. The purpose of the letter is to notify faculty that the student has accommodations available that they may decide to use.

Here is a sample accommodation letter for your reference. Notice that the letter includes no specific information about the student’s disability; it only gives the student’s name and a list of their approved accommodations.

In order to use certain accommodations, such as Extended Testing Time, Attendance Adjustment, and Course Materials in Accessible Electronic Formats, the student will need to follow the written and verbal instructions that ARC provided when the accommodation was first put in place. More information about accommodation-specific processes can be found in the Agreement Forms area and also under the Accommodations tab of our website.