PNWU Process for Determining and Documenting Disability Accommodations

Step 1: Information about how to apply for accommodations, including a form for doing so will be integrated into the disability website. University IT will ensure that searches for “Disability” “Accommodation” “Reasonable Accommodation” “504 Plan” are directed to the disability specific website. 

Step 2: Students will complete the PNWU Student Disability Accommodation form which will be automatically mailed to the Office of Disability Services email inbox. All student inquiries will receive:  

(1) an autogenerated confirmation of receipt AND  

(2) a response by a PNWU employee within 5 business days.   

Appointments will be scheduled within 7-10 business days; final determination will be made within 14 business days of receiving documentation and completing an access meeting, barring any extraordinary circumstances. PNWU personnel require AT LEAST 48 hours during the typical business week to implement already approved accommodations. Student applications cannot be processed last-minute. Approved accommodations cannot be implemented on short notice.  

Step 3: Once received, the Director of Student Success and Disability Services (Director) will reach out to the student to schedule an ACCESS MEETING. The access meeting is used to collect first-person account of disability and how the student is, or may be, impacted in the program of study. This should be scheduled within 7-10 business days. 

Step 4: During the Access Meeting the Director and the student will discuss potential accommodations and the interactive process. They will also make them aware of the process for obtaining an accommodations letter and disclosing the approved accommodations to faculty.   

Step 5: Following the meeting, the Director  will meet with faculty or program personnel, as needed, to determine whether the accommodation fundamentally alters the course. This determination must be made with a good faith effort. If something is noted as essential, the Director  and the faculty must document the reasoning for the denial and offer an alternative that could potentially reduce the barrier to the course, if one is available.  

If the faculty, institution, or the Director  feel a requested accommodation is a fundamental alternation or that it places an administrative or financial burden on the institution and plan to deny an accommodation, the institution will seek a second opinion from similar programs across the country via a specialized list-serve (e.g., AHEAD or the Coalition) and document the review/response or receive a written second opinion from a qualified disability consultant. 

In the event of a denial, the student will be provided a letter that includes information on why the accommodation was denied, how to appeal a decision, and how to request new accommodation as needed.  

Step 6: If no meeting is needed to discuss this item, then the Director  representative will render a determination and formalize this in writing to the student via a letter verifying approved accommodations.  

Step 7: The student will be provided the accommodation letter via email. A “how to” PDF on sharing the letter with faculty will be included in the email.  

Step 8: All interactions with the student will be documented using the guidance in the AHEAD documentation guidelines for student notes.  

Step 9: Approximately 30 days following the initial approval of accommodations, the Director  will reach out to the student to inquire about the effectiveness of the accommodation in removing barriers.  

Step 10: Students who need to revise their accommodations will engage in the process again, starting with Step 3.

PNWU Process for Determining Disabilities
Disability Documentation Guidelines
Disability Privacy
Student Grievance Procedure Under ADA
Technical Standards