Academic Accommodations
Academic accommodations are modifications and/or adjustments designed to remove barriers due to a disability and promote access within courses, educational programs, and academic requirements at Saint Louis University.
This page provides information on applying for accommodations at SLU.
Apply for Academic Accommodations
- Complete the Academic Accommodations Request Form. These request forms will be submitted via DocuSign. If you need a hard copy of the
Academic Accommodations Request Form, please request a copy through a staff member.
Complete an Academic Accommodations Request Form - Submit documentation of your diagnosis or disability. Information must be typed on official letterhead and signed by a qualified professional. Documentation guidelines are provided in the next section.
- Schedule an appointment with one of the staff members in the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources. Students can schedule an appointment with one of the Center’s staff members by logging into their auth.slu.edu account.
To schedule an appointment with a staff member:
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- Log into auth.slu.edu.
- Select EAB Navigate.
- Click on “Schedule an Appointment.”
- Select "Student Services."
- Select "Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources."
- Select "Academic Accommodations."
- Select the in-person or virtual option.
- All virtual appointments will be conducted via Zoom. Students who select the virtual option will receive a Zoom link in their SLU email.
- Select an appointment time.
- Please note that all appointment times are listed in Central Standard Time (CST).
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Documentation Guidelines
Documentation can be in various forms, including: a 504 plan or Individualized Education Plan (IEP) from high school, a comprehensive, diagnostic assessment/evaluation, or a letter from a treating provider. Documentation should be as current as possible to ensure appropriate accommodations are considered. For documentation (if not a 504 plan or IEP), the following guidelines should be followed:
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- Information needs to be typed on physician/diagnostician letterhead and signed by a qualified professional.
- A statement of the diagnosis or disability.
- Functional impact or symptoms associated with the diagnosis/disability. This helps inform our office of which accommodations may be reasonable and appropriate.
- Severity and/or expected progression (if applicable).
- Current medications and any related side effects (if applicable).
- Current and/or past accommodations (if applicable).
- Any recommended accommodations.
Documentation may be submitted by:
- Email to accessibility_disability@slu.edu.
- Email to a member of CADR's staff.
- Fax to 314-977-3486.
- Hard copy to the Busch Student Center, Suite 331.
View, Renew or Change Accommodations
If you have approved academic accommodations, you can view them via your Letter of Academic Accommodations. This letter is drafted and sent by a CADR staff member upon initial approval or renewing academic accommodations. You can access your letter via your confirmation email, or you can contact CADR to obtain a new copy of your letter.
Accommodations must be renewed annually before the fall semester. The cycle begins and ends each August. The Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources will send communication via email to renew your academic accommodations as a reminder. Students must complete the Academic Accommodations Renewal Request Form, submitted online via DocuSign.
Academic Accommodations Renewal Request Form
If you are continuing the same accommodations from previous semesters, you are welcome, but not required, to meet with a staff member in the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources. If you would like to discuss or request other accommodations, please schedule an appointment with the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources via EAB Navigate.
Students with approved accommodations are welcome to change, add to or adjust their accommodations. To do this, students must schedule an appointment with a staff member in the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources to discuss these changes/adjustments. Documentation may be required for any adjustments or changes depending on the request.
Frequently Asked Questions
Student disability documentation and information are confidential.
You only need to share documented disability and related information with staff in the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources to determine reasonable accommodations. Professors, academic advisers, and other staff members at SLU do not need to know about your specific disability; they only need the necessary information about your accommodations.
Your approved accommodations will be visible to instructors in Banner. No other information, such as medical diagnosis or case notes, will be visible.
In some situations, it may be necessary for staff members from the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources to disclose some aspect of your diagnosed information to a faculty member, academic advisor or another counselor if that disclosure will immediately support the SLU personnel in doing their job in a way that benefits you. Such disclosure is legitimate within the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Saint Louis University FERPA guide.
The Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources will weigh each situation carefully and share only information necessary to address the circumstance. In most cases, when information is disclosed to a SLU employee, it is for one of two reasons:
- You spoke to the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources yourself and asked that they speak with the SLU employee.
- The SLU employee contacted the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources to seek guidance on supporting you best. Note that the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources makes every attempt to advise SLU employees without such disclosure.
If the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources feels that the revelation of some information will not improve how the SLU faculty member or staff person will do their job, or if the staff feels that doing so may lead to discrimination or hindrance of your educational rights, then we will not disclose any diagnosis information.
Academic accommodations will only be discussed with parents or guardians if the student authorizes that access through the Student Consent of Disclosure of FERPA Records Form. Even with this authorization, the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources will initiate contact with parents and/or guardians only when information from them is needed to facilitate reasonable accommodations.
Academic transcripts and academic accommodations are separate. Academic transcripts do not in any way indicate if you received accommodations. Information will only be relayed outside Saint Louis University with your written permission.
The Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources can provide copies of your accommodation records from Saint Louis University. This may help determine academic accommodations if you attend another institution after leaving SLU. You will need to contact the Center at 314-977-3484 or accessibility_disability@slu.edu to provide the contact information of the location to send the files.
Accommodations provided to students within the United States are related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The ADA governs activities within the United States. Classes outside the United States may not necessarily allow you the same access to accommodations due to different laws. If you have a disability and are weighing different campus options, please contact the study abroad office at goabroad@slu.edu to discuss opportunities that best fit your needs.
For the SLU campus in Madrid, the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources at the Saint Louis campus can easily forward accommodations upon request. You are responsible for contacting the counselor in Madrid to discuss the process there. Your documentation on file in the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources will not automatically transfer to other institutions abroad. Determine who the contact is for the program you will be attending and work with both the study abroad and the Center's staff at SLU on transferring information.
Once the documentation is sent, you must communicate with the contact abroad to determine any accommodations.
Congratulations on your acceptance! Students can apply for accommodations when they wish to do so. If students want to have accommodations approved before the semester begins, it is encouraged that the application process begins before your SLU 101 orientation or the summer before your first semester of classes. The Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources staff is available to meet with incoming students throughout the summer.
We will review all accommodations provided in high school. Depending on the case, we may be able to match the accommodations. This is determined by the information provided by the student and the accommodations available.