Documentation Guidelines

Purpose

These documentation guidelines have been provided to support students in obtaining appropriate documentation from qualified professionals. While appropriate documentation of a disability is only one part of determining eligibility for accommodations, the provision of this documentation supports the disability service provider to understand the impact of the disabilities, access needs, and potential accommodations. Institutions might also request documentation for the following reasons:

• to verify the existence of a disability;
• to support the request for each specific accommodation;
• to review the nature of the disability or disabilities and its’ impact in the post-secondary environment; and
• to assist in the collaborative determination of eligibility for auxiliary aids and services to minimize the impact of the disability.

An Individualized Education Plan (IEP), 504 Plan, or General Education Initiative from a secondary school may not provide thorough information for the documentation of disability and needed accommodations. Please refer to the institution’s documentation guidelines for the required information. There are differences between high school and college documentation and accommodations. Please refer to the Differences Between High School and College form for more information.

Disability Resource Center (DRC) provides academic, programmatic, and physical accessibility and services to students with disabilities. DRC frequently assists students with many different medical conditions and diagnosed disabilities including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, seizure disorder, traumatic brain injury, depression, anxiety, arthritis, gastrointestinal conditions, deafness, hearing loss, and blindness. It is important to note that this is not an exhaustive list; thus, we welcome all students with disabilities to seek out our services. Eligibility for accommodations and services are established through information obtained from the student’s self-report and submitted documentation. The documentation must be on letterhead, typed, dated, and signed. The information must be from a qualified/licensed professional (e.g., physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, mental health counselor, etc.), who is unrelated to the student, and whose credentials permit the evaluation of the disability. The following guidelines are provided to assist students in obtaining documentation to establish the need for reasonable accommodations:

• A clear statement of the medical and/or psychiatric diagnosis (i.e., ICD-10, DSM-5) with a description of the student’s current symptoms (if applicable, specify if the diagnosis is in partial or full remission);
• Date of the initial diagnosis and/or date of the most recent visit with the student for this diagnosis;
• Information regarding the functional impact or limitations of the condition or disability on the student’s learning and other major life activities;
• The impact of medication on the student’s ability to meet the demands of the postsecondary environment, if relevant;
• The expected duration, stability, and/or progression of the disability;
• For students who experience flare ups or intermittent symptoms, describe the current severity, duration, and frequency;
• For students with a documented learning disability: documentation ideally includes a comprehensive evaluation of intelligence and academic achievement, with standardized scaled scores and composite scores to support the diagnosis or eligibility classification. This is commonly included in a psychoeducational evaluation conducted by a school psychologist or
  a licensed psychologist;
• Suggest recommendations for accommodations and/or services that the student may require and describe how the student’s disability necessitates the need for the specific requested accommodation.

Further assessment or additional documentation may be necessary, if the documentation does not support the requested accommodations. Please contact DRC at (970) 351-2289 if you have any questions. All documentation is considered confidential and should be sent to:

University of Northern Colorado
Disability Resource Center
Michener L-80
Campus Box 139
Greeley, CO 80639
970-351-2289
Fax: 970- 351-4166
drc@unco.edu

Types of documentation that may be helpful to include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Educational, psychological, or medical records;
• Reports and assessments conducted by healthcare providers, clinical psychologists, licensed social workers, or school psychologists;
• Documents that outline use of academic accommodations such as an Individualized Education Program (IEP), Section 504 Plan, and psychoeducational evaluations.