Procedures for Securing General Accommodations
1. A student must provide current (within three years, except in the case of traumatic brain injury which is more than one year post injury) comprehensive documentation of a disability to the Dean Denyse M. Wilhelm, Assistant Dean of Academic Resources and Disability Services, ADA/504 Coordinator in Kollett Hall's Filene Center for Academic Advising and Career Services. This documentation is used to establish eligibility for accommodations is confidential.
2. Students requesting accommodations for the first time must meet with Dean Wilhelm to discuss and to complete an accommodations request form.
Students who have requested and received accommodations in prior semesters at Wheaton and plan to continue using the same accommodations do not need to meet with Dean Wilhelm each semester. Instead, in order to provide the accommodations, students should complete the accommodation request form and return it to Dean Wilhelm in a timely manner. If the student is requesting new accommodations, they will be required to meet with Dean Wilhelm before accommodation letters will be written.
3. Dean Wilhelm will compose letters to the student's faculty informing them of the requested accommodations. However, the letter will NOT be sent to the faculty member. The purpose of having the student take primary responsibility for securing accommodations with their professor actively moves them to increased self advocacy. This places the responsibility in the hands of the student and ensures the student of when precisely the faculty was notified.
Dean Wilhelm will make every effort to write accommodation letters one week from the requested date.
4. The student is expected to make an appointment with his/her faculty at the beginning of the semester to discuss his/her accommodation requests. The student should be prepared to discuss his/her strengths, weaknesses, and the type of accommodations that will be necessary. Dean Wilhelm will assist students who want help preparing for these discussions with their faculty.
5. If a student chooses not to meet with his/her faculty in the beginning of the semester but later decides that he/she wants to use accommodations, the student is expected to obtain an approved accommodation letter from Dean Wilhelm, and provide the faculty member with the letter at least one week prior to exams. Without timely notification, neither faculty nor the college can assure accommodations will be provided.
6. It is the student's responsibility to check with his/her faculty member before each exam to make sure arrangements for accommodations are in place.
There are different procedures for requesting accommodations for final exams. These written procedures will be sent to your Wheaton mailbox at least three weeks before finals begin. The student is responsible for completing the accommodation request form and submitting it to Dean Wilhelm for approval. Once approved, Dean Wilhelm will forward the accommodation request to the Registrar.