Steps for Requesting Accommodations

Disability Access Center (DAC) provides accommodations for Clark students who experience disabilities to engage in their education.  "Accommodations" are academic adjustments or supports. Examples of accommodations are sign language interpreters, extended time for tests, a reader, or alternate format (i.e. braille, e-text, large print).  All accommodations are provided free of charge.  

Student should following these steps in order to request accommodations.  Due to confidentiality, no other individuals, including parents, case managers, etc., can request accommodations on a student’s behalf. 

Step 1: 

Complete a Getting Started Form. This basic form consists of contact information and five brief questions. If you have your documentation ready, you can also upload it after this questionaire. 

Step 2:

Provide Disability Access Center (DAC) with current disability related documentation if you have it.  DAC asks for documentation of your disability and/or temporary health condition to be turned into DAC by uploading it from the link you get emailed after completing the Getting Started Form. Documentation from an appropriate professional is very useful in determining accommodations.   

OR

If you do not have any documentation and cannot get documentation: Complete the Disability Declaration Form and upload it from the link you get emailed after completing the Getting Started Form. Disability Access Center (DAC) staff can exercise professional judgment, in lieu of documentation, many times but some types of accommodations could be limited without professional documentation. Here are situations where you can use this form instead:

• If a student experiences barriers to getting a diagnosis or a student has a challenge tracking down documentation from several years ago. 
• If a disability is apparent and the need for a requested accommodations can easily be established, documentation may not be needed. For example, some students who are wheelchair users may just need alternative furniture. 

Step 3: 

Meet with Disability Access Center for an Access Meeting. Currently DAC is booking 3 weeks out at the start of Fall term 2024.  *If you have a temporary disability with an urgent situation (upcoming surgery) please contact us to request a Tempoary Access Meeting which may be available sooner. 

The intent of the access meeting is to be an interactive process with discussion your disability to help us create an appropriate accommodation plan for you.  Determinations are on a case-by-case basis, based on received documentation and the discussion at the meeting. Many times the accommodation determinations will be made during the initial meeting.  (Once in a while, an accommodation requires consultation with another Disability Access Center staff member. In these cases, we will notify you of this approval/denial within 7 business days of the initial appointment.)  Students can requests a second Access meeeting later on if they want to revisit their accommodaiton plan, we call these Review Meetings.

Generally, students schedule this meeting right after they register for courses; as Disability Access Center staff can better finalize your accommodation plan when we know what courses you are taking. However, if you need Assistive Technology support with the registration process, plan to request Braille materials, need ASL interpreters for your classes, or think you need testing accommodations on the placement exams, please go through these steps before you register. 

Note:  You will need to know what your student email address is and what your myClark@Clark lab password is for this meeting. If you have not set up your myClark@Clark lab password please try to before your DAC Access Meeting. Visit the TechHub website for support with either of these. Both of these are used at your Access Meeting for your accomomdation Student Portal called myAccess.

Step 4:

Request Your Accommodations Each Term. You will need to request accommodations to Disability Access Center each term that you would like the accommodations to be in place.  Students request accommodations each term in myAccess.  Students can also schedule their exams for testing accommodations in myAccess.  We will introduce you to myAccess student portal during your Access Meeting.

Questions about these steps? 

Please contact us with any questions, visit our Disability Access Center homepage for the various ways to contact us: email, phone, or in person.

Long COVID

• We are discovering more symptoms of long COVID that can impact mental and physical wellbeing.  Long COVID is becoming recognized as a health condition and Disability Access Center views it as a temporary disability.
• Students experiencing Long COVID with impacts on major life activities (ie learning, concentrating, sleeping, etc.) can engage with Disability Access Center by going through the steps listed above. Accommodations that exist for other disabilities may also be beneficial for those experiencing Long COVID. Disability Access Center staff will consider accommodations for a term or so and/or during students temporary impacts. 

Pregnancy-related Accommodations

A student who experiences medically-necessary absences related to pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or recovery from any of these conditions can request accommodations, such as flexibility with attendance, flexibility with deadlines, and ergonomic seating. Students seeking a pregnancy-related accommodation can follow the steps in this Requesting Accommodation process. We invite you to contact Disability Access Center for any questions.