Application Process for Accommodations

Incoming new and transfer students are encouraged to complete this application process two months before the beginning of their first semester. Currently enrolled students may initiate the process at any time but should be aware that any approved accommodations are not retroactive. Both incoming students and those who are newly disclosing a disability and requesting accommodations must follow this process:

  1. Complete the Application for Accommodations (PDF) and email it to Accessibility@CUChicago.edu. Please note, this is only the first step in the process and does not guarantee accommodations.
  2. Once you have completed the Application for Accommodations, schedule an intake appointment via email with the Director of Academic Support. A face-to-face meeting is ideal. If you are off-campus, a virtual meeting may be scheduled. Please allow at least 30 minutes for this appointment. The purpose of this meeting is for you to disclose your disability and share information about how your disability has affected you or is affecting you as a student. Your self-report about the impact of the disability is an essential component of the accommodations process.

Self-advocacy Tips

  • Being prepared to describe how your disability impacts your learning.
  • Familiarizing yourself with the documentation of your disability that you will be submitting. Being ready to discuss your strengths, challenge areas, and other recommendations made by your medical professional/evaluator is important.
  • Having in mind responses to the following:
    • How your disability specifically impacted your capacity as a student in the past
    • What are areas of strength/challenges as a learner
    • Accommodations you’ve received from previous educational institutions that have been helpful/not helpful
    • How you learn best
    • What specific accommodations you’re requesting
  1. Submit professional documentation of the disability from a licensed medical professional via email or fax. Under FERPA, medical and/or mental health disability documentation submitted with requests for academic accommodations will become part of the student’s academic record.
  2. After meeting with Academic Support in CULearn/ CC248, the director will decide on a student’s eligibility for accommodations. After the intake interview and the review of the disability documentation, the student will be notified by email of one of three possible outcomes:
    1. Requested accommodations have been approved: If the student’s request is approved, they will receive instructions on registering for those accommodations.
    2. More information is needed to evaluate the student’s request: If additional information is required, the student will be notified.
    3. Requested accommodations have not been approved: When a request is not approved based on the initial information provided, the student will be able to engage in further dialogue with Academic Support before a final determination of eligibility is made.
  3. The student should understand that academic accommodations are initially approved by the Academic Support for a general college course. For any particular course, the professor who receives the accommodation letter has a say in determining whether a specific accommodation is reasonable and appropriate given the course objectives and expectations for completing course content.
  4. Once astudent has been determined eligible for specific accommodations, Academic Support will generate a letter of accommodation to communicate the student’s eligibilityto that student's current professors. If the student makes a change to their academic schedule, they are responsible for immediately communicating that information to Academic Support.

In addition, before the start of each new term or semester, it is the student’s responsibility to email Academic Support or set up a face-to-face meeting to request new accommodation letters for the semester. The Academic Support will generate an email that will then be sent to the student’s course professors, notifying them of the student’s approved accommodations.

Note: Academic Support staff email the accommodation letter to officially notify the instructors of the accommodations for which an individual student has been approved. The student initiates a conversation with each professor to discuss the student’s particular needs and maintains this communication with the professor and with Academic Support when needed throughout the semester.