St. Olaf College ensures its students are not discriminated against solely on the basis of disability, as instructed by Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADAAA, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
If a student has a disability preventing equal access to the College’s programming, accommodations are often a way to help ensure the student has the same opportunity to participate and engage.
Students must meet with an Access Specialist to engage in the interactive process to determine if requested accommodations are appropriate. The student’s self-report, historic information, and third party documentation are used to inform on relevant access issues.
It is the student’s responsibility to gather and present the documentation to their Access Specialist. It may also be helpful to sign a Release of Information form so that the Access Specialist can follow up with the provider for any additional information.
Third-party documentation should generally contain:
- A clear statement of the diagnosed disability including the DSM-V diagnosis, if applicable
- A description of the functional limitations the disability imposes; the symptoms’ frequency, intensity, and duration.
- Documentation should reflect current and relevant details to describe how the condition impacts the student at the current time and in the current circumstances.
- Documentation should be from a qualified professional practicing in the area in which the disability is diagnosed and who is not related to the student.
- If assessment instruments were used, documentation should include the relevant scores that were used to make the diagnosis
- St. Olaf College welcomes suggestions for accommodations from the provider, but ultimately the college is responsible for determining reasonable accommodations as instructed by ADA and other applicable disability law.
Verification of Disability Form
Your provider may choose to use the Verification of Disability Form to deliver pertinent documentation. Because your medical records are protected by HIPAA, your provider will need you to sign a Consent to Release Information at their office before they can fill out this verification form.
Submitting Documentation
To submit documentation please either use the Verification Form linked above or email it to dac@stolaf.edu.
Alternatively, documentation can be mailed or faxed using the information below, or hand-delivered by the student to Tomson 153 (The Academic Success Center) clearly addressed to Disability and Access Staff.
For more information, please reach out to Disability and Access Staff using the following contact information:
email: dac@stolaf.edu
phone: 507-786-3288 (7-1-1 for MNLink Relay)
fax: 507-786-3923
Mailing address:
Disability and Access
St. Olaf College
1520 St. Olaf Avenue
Northfield, MN 55057-1098