Disability Services

By law, students with disabilities are not required to identify themselves as having disabilities either formally or informally outside of requesting accommodations from Learning Support Services.  

Students seeking accommodations must:

1. Identify themselves to Learning Support Services as students with a disability.
2. Complete an Online Application for Services and, when required, submit appropriate documentation to substantiate their disabilities.
3. Make an appointment to meet with a Learning Support Services representative to discuss their academic program and any adjustments that may be necessary.  

All academic accommodations are provided at no expense to the student and is based upon the individual student’s need.  

Learning Support Services staff determine appropriate academic accommodations and make arrangements to provide appropriate auxiliary learning aid assistance and support services to students with documented disabilities. Documentation detailing the nature of disability-related barriers will be requested in most circumstances (see documentation guidelines for more details). Documentation may be acquired after the accommodation has been implemented in situations where appropriate. Examples include but are not limited to time sensitive/emergency requests, requests where documentation has been received but not reviewed, or requests where documentation is forthcoming. In scenarios where accommodations have been approved on a provisional (temporary) basis, the approval will be for one semester. Provisional accommodations will not be renewed without additional assessment conducted by the appropriate LSS staff member or, alternatively, the submission of the requested documentation.  

Due to the technical standards associated with the School of Nursing, accommodations approved for McMinnville or OCE campuses will not automatically transfer the School of Nursing. Intake processes for the School of Nursing are coordinated by the Office of Learning Support Services on the School of Nursing campus in Portland.  

Intake Meeting

Upon a student’s request for services, Learning Support Services will meet with a student with disabilities so that course requirements and appropriate academic accommodations can be discussed. Topics that generally need to be addressed as early as possible are accommodations related to exams, note-taking procedures, and materials in alternative formats.  

The Interactive Process

Learning Support Services may inform faculty members that a student with a disability will be in a class. However, such intervention is conducted only upon the request of a student, which is typically done online through LSS Online Services. LSS will notify professors of a student's required accommodation though an official notification letter.  The student is encouraged to consult with the related faculty members to ensure that the notification letter has been received and confirm the logistical details of how the accommodations are to be implemented. Professors who wish to engage in negotiation of an accommodation or feel that they cannot implement an accommodation must consult with LSS. Confidentiality is maintained within the Learning Support Services Office, so verification of a disability can be made only upon the student’s written release. Without such a release, Learning Support Services is unable, by law, to discuss the specific nature of the student’s disability.