Georgetown College Accommodation Process
Disability Services
400 East College Street
1st floor Highbaugh Hall
Georgetown, KY 40324
Phone: 502.863.7073
Email: [email protected]
Fax: 502.868.8882
The mission of the Office of Disability Services is to work toward a campus community where students with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of College life. We work collaboratively with students, faculty, staff, and administration to create inclusive environments.
What is an Accommodation?
Accommodations are adjustments made to a policy and/or to the environment to ensure students with disabilities have equal access to course material, information, activities, programs, housing, and other campus facilities. In other words, accommodations try to circumvent barriers that interfere with a disabled student’s ability to have an equal experience as students without disabilities.
What is a Disability?
A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. In other words, a condition of the body or mind that prevents, impairs, interferes, or limits a person’s ability to engage or participate in certain tasks or actions.
Registering with Disability Services
If you are facing disability-related barriers that prevent access to education and/or an equitable campus experience, Disability Services (DS) would like to engage in a conversation with you. Please contact DS as soon as possible as accommodations are not retroactive. To get the process started, please complete and submit the DS Student Information Form.
Requesting Accommodations
Accommodations can be requested for all facets of the college experience, including academics, housing, dining, on-campus work, parking, etc. The documentation requirements for different requests may differ, but the DS Coordinator is available to walk you through the process.
Accommodations are not automatic; a meeting with Disability Services staff is essential. Together we will explore how your disability impacts you in the living and learning environment of Georgetown College, what accommodations might circumvent barriers, address the specific limitations of your disability, and how to notify the appropriate department/s.
Accommodations are not retroactive, so it is in your best interest to initiate this process early.
Please be aware that accommodations will not lower the academic standards, compromise the integrity of, or fundamentally alter any program. Therefore, academic accommodations may vary, depending on the learning outcomes and design of a course.
Documentation
Documentation will help guide the conversation, but we encourage you to reach out even if you currently do not have any documentation. You, the student, are the primary source of information regarding your disability. Although documentation is needed to support and substantiate accommodation requests, the lack thereof should not delay you from seeking support.
If you have a medical or psychological condition, your healthcare provider or therapist can complete the DS Verification Form, or use it as a guide for writing a statement that gives enough information to make an informed decision about your accommodation request/s. IEP or 504 Plans from high school are not transferable to Georgetown College, but they may offer helpful information. If you have a learning disability and were tested in K-12, the school psychologist might have a copy of the assessment you can share with us.
Documentation must be completed by a credentialed healthcare professional licensed therapist to (1) verify the presence of a disability (a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits at least one major life activity), (2) describe the severity and functional limitations or the current impact, as well as (3) confirm the relationship between the disability and the requested accommodations/s.
Privacy
Documentation and sensitive student information will be kept private by the Office of Disability Services. As a general rule, the nature of a student’s disability is not shared with others. Limited information, such as disability-related needs or approved accommodations will be disclosed to appropriate campus partners (e.g. Residence Life, Faculty, Housing Accommodation Team, Chef/Dietician, etc.) on a need-to-know basis in order to coordinate accommodations. All information shared is subject to FERPA guidelines.