Accommodation Eligibility Documentation Guidelines

In reviewing documentation for accommodation eligibility, our office is looking for information that is identifying the disabling condition for which accommodations are being requested, provided by an appropriately-licensed professional, and dated. Signatures are not required.

Helpful Information

• Consult with us! We are often able to approve accommodations using documentation already in a student’s possession! Please feel free to send us what you have already before going to the time or expense of obtaining additional information for our review.
• If you do not have any form of documentation, our office can share what local options are available to seek appropriate documentation.
• While it is helpful to have documentation that is recent, a disability will be considered ongoing in duration unless the documentation indicates otherwise.
• Providing a record of academic accommodations previously provided by other institutions can be helpful for SDS in assigning accommodations. Some 504s and IEP’s may also include a diagnosis and date from a licensed professional. If this is the case, we may be able to accept this as documentation. Please note that some college accommodations will differ from High School accommodations. 
• If the relationship between the accommodation(s) requested and the disability is not intuitive or if the requested accommodation modifies a degree requirement, you may be asked to provide additional documentation.
• Contact your Access Consultant if you would like to make any changes to your accommodations at any time. They can advise you on whether additional documentation is needed for your request. Additional documentation is needed for some accommodations (including but not limited to: Memory Aid, E-text, and World Language Substitution) to specifically link the disabling condition to the functional limitation.
• We will review documentation only after you are accepted as a student at the University of Iowa. 
• SDS does not accept the following as documentation:
  • Information that is illegible 
  • Information from non-appropriately licensed professionals 
  • Research articles 
  • Documentation that is provided by a member of the student’s family

Text Anxiety Documentation Gudelines

Beginning with the revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 2008, test anxiety is no longer considered a disability under federal law. 

If you are applying for academic accommodations related to anxiety, your assessor must diagnose you with an anxiety disorder that is more general (such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and must include examples of areas of your life with anxiety creates a disability beyond the testing situation.

World Language Substitute Documentation Guidelines

In reviewing documentation for accommodation eligibility, our office is looking for information that is identifying the disabling condition for which accommodations are being requested, provided by an appropriately-licensed professional, and dated. Signatures are not required.

Documentation for World Language Substitute

Some students have a disability that may prevent them from successfully meeting the world language requirement toward their degree. World Language Substitution as an accommodation is unique in that it is an agreement between SDS and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Tippie College of Business, and the College of Education to consider providing substitution courses for this requirement based on a recommendation from our office. 

For most disabilities a measured impact of the disability specifically on learning a foreign language must be established. A letter recommending substitution classes is typically not sufficient. The documentation must measure why learning a foreign language is more difficult than other academic tasks that are less impacted by the disability. Typically, this requires a complete Psychoeducational or Neuropsychological testing battery, current within the last five years or completed using adult testing norms. Anxiety about taking a foreign language class or speaking a foreign language in class is not considered a disability in this regard, nor is lack of preparation or recent exposure to a language.

Students are encouraged to begin the process of requesting substitution courses for the World Language requirement early in their academic career.  It may take time to obtain the necessary documentation for this accommodation and to make the arrangements to complete the substitution courses with the help of an academic advisor.

Helpful Information

• Consult with us! We are often able to approve accommodations using documentation already in a student’s possession! Please feel free to send us what you have already before going to the time or expense of obtaining additional information for our review.
• If you do not have any form of documentation, our office can share what local options are available to seek appropriate documentation.
• While it is helpful to have documentation that is recent, a disability will be considered ongoing in duration unless the documentation indicates otherwise.
• Providing a record of academic accommodations previously provided by other institutions can be helpful for SDS in assigning accommodations. Some 504s and IEP’s may also include a diagnosis and date from a licensed professional. If this is the case, we may be able to accept this as documentation. Please note that some college accommodations will differ from High School accommodations. 
• If the relationship between the accommodation(s) requested and the disability is not intuitive or if the requested accommodation modifies a degree requirement, you may be asked to provide additional documentation.
• Contact your Access Consultant if you would like to make any changes to your accommodations at any time. They can advise you on whether additional documentation is needed for your request. Additional documentation is needed for some accommodations (including but not limited to: Memory Aid, E-text, and World Language Substitution) to specifically link the disabling condition to the functional limitation.
• We will review documentation only after you are accepted as a student at the University of Iowa. 
• SDS does not accept the following as documentation:
  • Information that is illegible 
  • Information from non-appropriately licensed professionals 
  • Research articles 
  • Documentation that is provided by a member of the student’s family