Student Accommodations
A reasonable accommodation at Willamette University is a modification or adjustment to the tasks, environment, or the way things are usually done that provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in all aspects of campus life. Accessible Education Services strives to advance access for students with disabilities in the University's academic, housing and residential, and campus resources and programs. Each student’s accommodation is considered individually, and on a case-by-case basis. Accommodations are not retroactive, so we encourage students to contact the Accessible Education Services (AES) office as early in the semester as possible.
A reasonable accommodation does not impose an undue hardship on the operation of the program, fundamentally alter the nature of the academic standards, pose a threat to personal or public safety, or take the place of classroom attendance and participation.
Academic accommodations are individualized to address students unique experience with navigating the educational environment at Willamette University. AES does not have a standard list of available accommodations and instead invites students to meet with AES to go over a the variety of options. While accommodations may look different for each student, it can be helpful to the note the most commonly utilized accommodations.
- Testing accommodations
- Note Taking applications
- Accessible Technology
Students registered with Accessible Education Services (AES) benefit from support in their academic, professional, and personal endeavors in order to succeed. Often, these students do not know where to look or what resources are available to them. The AES office aims to assist these students to locate and effectively use any and all resources available in order to succeed.
If you have not contacted Eric Thomas, Bon Appétit’s General Manger, please do so as a first step to determine what adjustments can be implemented to minimize and/or eliminate exposure to allergens. Eric can be reached at eric.thomas@cafebonappetit.com.
Students with dietary restrictions must work with Bon Appétit before an accommodation request with Accessible Education Services (AES) will be evaluated. Students navigating disability experiences that are confidential in nature should work with AES initially.
AES uses the housing accommodation request process (see Disability Housing Accommodations on Frequently Requested Accommodations below) for modifications to meal plans for disability-related reasons as it is part of room and board.
Temporary medical accommodations such as a broken leg or the flu, or issues requiring short term treatment or hospitalization are not commonly regarded as disabilities, as only in rare circumstances would the degree of the limitation and its expected duration be substantial. Accessible Education Services encourages students experiencing any temporary illness or injury that will result in missed classes, exams, or assignments to contact their professors directly as soon as possible to discuss the need for academic assistance. We have created a Guide for Supporting Students with Temporary Disabilities to help navigate needs while dealing with temporary impairments.
A student with a temporary medical condition, other than as described above, that is expected to substantially limit a major life function might qualify for a temporary medical disability. For example, we encourage all students who have experienced a recent concussion to make an appointment with Accessible Education Services as soon as is practical to assess the need for short term services. All students with a qualifying temporary illness or injury are required to have appropriate documentation of the injury or illness on file in the Accessible Education Services office.
Pregnant and Parenting Students
If you are a pregnant or parenting student, please refer to the Pregnant and Parenting Students webpage for support information or email Amanda Hanincik, Title IX Coordinator, or Lisa Logan, GRAC Director.
Here is a list of services that may be available to assist you while you recuperate, regardless of whether or not you qualify for a Temporary Medical Disability:
Campus Safety Transportation
Students experiencing any type of mobility problem are welcome to contact Campus Safety at Salem at 503-370-6911 and Campus Safety at PNCA at 503-621-2061 regarding on-campus transportation options. In Medical Emergencies, Campus Safety Officers are available to transport students (and a friend or helper) with non-life threatening illnesses/injuries to and from Urgent Care or Hospital, help them into the building, and assist with sign-in. Transportation may also be available to a nearby orthopedic clinic for scheduled appointments. Students are encouraged to request Safety Escorts for travel after dark on campus and up to two blocks off campus.
Housing
If space is available, students with a temporary mobility impairment may be reassigned to a lower floor of their residence or moved to a different building, if applicable. Contact the Housing office in person in Matthews Hall or by email housing@willamette.edu or phone at 503-370-6212.
Software
Dragon Naturally Speaking is an acclaimed speech recognition program. It converts speech to text allowing you to navigate your computer and create documents without the use of a keyboard. It may be available for temporary use through Disability Services.
One-Hand Typing is another alternative for students. It is a program based on pre-established muscle memory and allows students to improve their productivity from an injury or other setback.
Additional Assistive Technology applications will assist students with temporary injuries that may affect their ability to type and can benefit from the Speech-to-Text/Speech Recognition apps listed there.
Willamette University, founded in 1842, has some older, inaccessible buildings. If you are a student with a mobility disability, permanent or temporary, please contact the Accessible Education Services (AES) office to discuss your mobility needs. We will work with Facilities Management to remove barriers to your access to classrooms, or will determine an appropriate mobility accommodation with you. Classroom locations will be moved if the barrier cannot be removed. At this time, inaccessible classrooms for CAS are Fine Arts East, Fine Arts West, and Walton 21. The remainder of the classrooms in all colleges are accessible.
Currently, mobility accessible rooms in Housing are available on the first floor of Belknap Hall, Shepherd House, Terra House, Lausanne Hall, Kaneko Commons, Wish House, and the first six floors of the University Apartments. All of the sororities are accessible on the first floor only. Lounges and bathrooms on those floors are also accessible. Laundry facilities are not accessible in all of these residences but a general campus laundry facility is available in Montag Center.
Section 504 of Part 2. Title 34 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, section 104.44[2](d) states specifically, “Recipients (post secondary education programs that receive or benefit from Federal financial assistance) need not provide attendants, individually prescribed devices, readers for personal use or study, or other devices or services of a personal nature.” Willamette University’s position is that personal needs necessitating an attendant are the responsibility of the student.An Emergency Evacuation Procedure for individuals with mobility impairment is in the Emergency Preparedness Guide - Fire Alarm Response section.
Specific Accommodation Processes
Certain accommodations require completing a specific process in order for AES to evaluate the accommodation. Guidance and types of documentation required for these processes are listed below. If you are looking for information outside of these specialized accommodations, please refer to Student Accommodations or New to AES.
Please follow our Housing Accommodation Request Process to request disability-related housing accommodations. Please allow adequate time to process requests that may require Accessible Education Services to contact your medical provider.
Accessible Education Services seeks to ensure consistency in evaluating requests while simultaneously exploring each individual situation before making recommendations to Residence Life and Housing. It is our practice to determine the housing accommodation that provides the most traditional Willamette college experience. The learning environment and residential living are central to the Willamette University experience and mission. On-campus residences provide out-of-class living and learning spaces where socialization occurs; they are not the primary resource for studying. (See WU study areas.)
The process for seeking housing accommodations due to disability can be lengthy. We encourage you to submit your request as early as possible. If submitted less than a month in advance of move-in or housing selection, the request will still be considered, but options for accommodation will be considerably more limited. Approval may take longer if the documentation does not fully support the request as necessary due to a disability.
The following forms are referenced in the Emotional Support Animal Guidelines and are used in the process of requesting an ESA:
Under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), a person with a disability may keep an emotional support animal (ESA) in the individual’s dwelling when there is an established need for the therapeutic nature of the animal that is connected to the individual’s disability. Refer to Willamette's Emotional Support Animal Guidelines to learn about ESAs and the process of requesting ESAs in campus residences. A student may qualify for this accommodation if: (1) the student has a documented diagnosis; (2) the animal is necessary to afford the student with an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their dwelling; (3) there is an identifiable and documented nexus between the diagnosis and the assistance that the animal provides. The Residence Life and Housing office will be in contact regarding ESA responsibilities and registration upon approval from Accessibility Education Services.
Students with disabilities who require the use of service animals are permitted to bring such animals on campus provided they do not pose a substantial and direct threat to health or safety of others, and provided that the presence of the animal does not constitute a fundamental alteration to the nature of Willamette’s policies, practices, or procedures, including Willamette’s academic requirements.
Students wishing to utilize a service animal in campus housing are encouraged take the following steps:
- Review Willamette's Service Animal Guidelines for detailed information on bringing service animals to campus.
- We encourage students to contact the Residence Life and Housing office at 503-370-6212 to register their animal prior to arrival. Students who choose to register their animal will be asked for information included in this sample registration form.
- Review the Service Animal Owner Responsibilities in Campus Residences document.
We also encourage those students to contact the Office of Accessible Education Services at 503-370-6737 or accessible-info@willamette.edu.
Students are responsible to attend classes regularly and meet all deadlines for assignments and exams. Faculty have the right to establish policies to regulate attendance, assignment due dates, and tests. However, if a student has a disability or health condition that is episodic or cyclical in nature and causes random flare-ups of acute symptoms, they may occasionally miss class or fail to adhere to a scheduled deadline. In these instances, modifying attendance requirements, assignment deadlines and/or exam dates, may be considered a reasonable accommodation. The number of reasonable absences and lengths of extensions will vary and is based on the interactive or participatory nature of a course, as well as any applicable college, department, and accrediting agency regulations. Please read our Flex Accommodations Policy and Guidelines for clarification around roles and expectations of students and instructors.
To request this accommodation, please download and complete the form above. Upon completion of this form, please make an appointment to see the Assistant Director/Director of Accessibility Education Services.
For Faculty: Once a Flex Accommodation has been granted, professors will complete and return the Accommodation Agreement Form. This form covers both attendance and deadline extension accommodations.
- Remote Attendance Policy
For Students Seeking a Remote Attendance Accommodation: Please check out our remote attendance policy above for further information and how to request this accommodation.
Qualifying for a Substitution
To qualify for a substitution to the Study in a Language Other than English requirement students should have a recent full psycho-educational or neuropsychological assessment and there must be a clearly demonstrated need, such as a significant impairment in phonemic ability, processing speed, auditory memory and retrieval, working memory, etc., that cannot be successfully addressed by accommodations for the class.
Accessible Education Services (AES) personnel will review all disability documentation, history of language learning and related information to determine if there is a body of documentation sufficient for determining eligibility for a language learning substitution. A waiver of language learning in high school alone does not ensure eligibility.
Procedure
Students seeking a substitution for the requirement are encouraged to complete a petition as early as possible after enrollment at Willamette University. They will begin the process by presenting documentation to Accessible Education Services, and their eligibility will be determined. If an exception is granted, the Registrar will note the exception on the degree audit as well as the approved substitution courses.
Form of Substitution
Students receiving an exception to the foreign language requirement may instead take two courses, including any combination of particular language courses as well as courses that focus on the language, history, art, religion, philosophy, cinema, politics, economics, society, or culture of peoples whose experiences are rooted in the same language other than English. At most, one of these courses may be a traditional language course. The goal of these courses would be to expand students’ cross-cultural awareness and knowledge. Students will work with their academic advisor to determine which courses will be used for substitution. These courses will be approved by the two Associate Deans and a representative from one of the foreign language departments, and will be listed on the student’s degree audit.
The two-part petition form will be provided through the AES office and the Associate Dean for Curriculum and Student Success.