Students With Disabilities

Our Mission

The Student Success Center provides qualified students with disabilities reasonable accommodations and resources in order that they may have equal opportunities for success. Partnerships between faculty, staff and students with disabilities provide equity and access to the resources available to all students.

Under the American Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, which was amended as ADAAA in 2008, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973), Judson University will make every effort to provide qualifying students with reasonable accommodations based on individual needs and a licensed clinician’s recommendation. All students seeking academic accommodations must provide documentation that is current and from a doctor or licensed clinician. Judson University is only required to accommodate a student's disability if the student has disclosed their disability to the ADA/504 Compliance Coordinator and provided the required documentation.

The most effective way to show that you qualify for reasonable ADA/504 accommodations in the current school term is to obtain a letter from a licensed medical professional/clinician who is familiar with you and your type of disability and has completed applicable, supporting documentation that validate the specific disability. The summary letter must outline the disability, test results, limitations to learning, and reasonable academic accommodations in order to meet the needs of post-secondary coursework.

The documentation must reflect your abilities and limitations at the academic post-secondary level at the time you request the accommodation. Please note: The post-secondary school does not have to make changes or adjustments that fundamentally alter the academic prescribed coursework or graduation requirements under the American Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, which was amended as ADAAA in 2008, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973).

Under ADA and Section 504, reasonable accommodations or minor academic adjustments may include the following based on required documentation:

• Assigned note takers
• Audio books
• Extended time on tests (time and 1/2)
• Testing in a quiet testing room
• May leave class for short intervals
• Use of calculators
• Sign Language Interpreters for academic coursework
• Computer use for essay exams

Students are afforded:

• Confidentiality of their records
• Accommodations for which they have been approved
• Permission to request changes to their accommodations
• The choice of which classes they may use all or some of their accommodations

Service and Emotional Support Animals

As outlined in the Non-Discrimination and Non-Harassment Policy, Judson University provides reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. The University allows individuals with service animals access to buildings on campus, including campus housing. The University will allow qualified students with disabilities to have an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) in campus housing on a case-by-case basis according to the policy outlined below.

Service Animals

Per Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Judson University allows a person with a disability to be accompanied by a service animal in all places where students and members of the public are permitted to go, except where animals are specifically prohibited due to a health or safety hazard. Service animals are defined as dogs (miniature horses where reasonable) that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting a person to sound and alerting/protecting a person who is having a seizure. The provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship does not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of defining a service dog. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.

Emotional Support Animals (ESAs)

Per the Fair Housing Act, Judson University provides reasonable accommodations for a student with a disability to have an emotional support animal in campus housing. An emotional support animal is an animal that is necessary to afford a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling when there is an identifiable relationship or nexus between the person’s disability and the assistance the animal provides. Emotional support animals include species other than dogs and miniature horses. Typically an ESA is prescribed to an individual with a disability by a healthcare or mental health professional and is an integral part of a person’s treatment process. ESAs are generally only allowed within a student’s residence in campus housing, though requests for the ESA to accompany the student to other campus locations will be considered on a case by case basis. Requests should be made to the Dean of Student Academic Support Services, located within the Student Success Center. There must be a link between the animal and a disability. Emotional distress resulting from having to give up an animal because of a “no pets” policy does not qualify a person for an accommodation under federal law.

Any questions regarding accommodations at Judson University may be directed to the ADAA Compliance Coordinator at ADA@judsonu.edu.