General Documentation Guidelines
Documentation provides a tool to help the Center for Academic Success (CAS) staff establish a student's eligibility for services, understand the impact of a student's condition(s) in an academic environment, and determine strategies and reasonable accommodations to facilitate equal access. CAS uses a combination of information to make case-by-case determinations regarding eligibility and accommodations, including student self-report and documentation prepared by professionals.
The following forms of documentation can be utilized to support accommodation requests:
- Psycho-educational/Neuro-psychological reports
- Medical and health records
- School records (e.g. Individualized Education Plans, 504 Plans and Summaries of Performance)
- Observation and interaction
- Student self-report
Components of professionally prepared documentation:
- Completed by a qualified professional
- Clearly stated diagnosis
- Reflect current functioning
- Indicate functional limitations of the condition(s)
- Recommendations regarding appropriate accommodations
Components of student self-report:
- Description of diagnosed condition(s)
- Description of previous educational experiences
- Description of past use of accommodations or services
- Description of condition's impact related to the academic environment
Not all documentation will contain all of these elements, but the more information we have, the easier it is to determine which accommodations are appropriate and beneficial.