What is considered a disability? 

• A disability is any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, and communicating are considered major life activities under the law.

• A person is considered to have a disability if they “have a disability, have a history of a disability, or if the person with the disability is perceived by others as having a disability.”

• At Accessibility Services we assist students with temporary, chronic, and enduring disabilities. Conditions that may be considered a disability include: ambulatory limitations, visual/auditory impairments, migraines, fibromyalgia, bipolar disorder and other mood disorders, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury, pregnancy and post-partum, cancer, learning disorders, sensory processing disorders, seizures, and ADHD.

• Conditions that typically are not considered as a disability include: acute illnesses such as the flu, pneumonia, and COVID with symptoms lasting less than two weeks, care for other family members with disabilities, car accidents, death in the family, financial insecurity, housing insecurity, test anxiety, and unforeseen circumstances.

• It is discriminatory by law for any institution to deny admittance to a student who meets the enrollment criteria and are otherwise qualified to participate in their degree program.

• It is discriminatory by law for persons within the institution and the institution if reasonable accommodations are not granted to a student deemed as having a disability.

What are disability accommodations? Are they “unfair” to other students?

• Academic Accommodations are determined by a counselor/Accessibility Services through interview(s) and documentation and with students and their treatment providers. Students must self-identify to receive accommodations and they are not required to receive them.

• Accommodations serve to help students overcome barriers caused by their disability that may prevent them from learning.  Unlike in the K-12 setting, accommodations are meant to level the playing field and provide access, but they do not guarantee student success.

• The requested accommodations must be “reasonable,” which is defined as mitigating the impact of a student’s disability without compromising the integrity of an academic course or program. They should not "fundamentally alter the nature of the course or program curriculum" or cause an “undue burden” on the institution.

• Examples of reasonable accommodations include assistive technology, use of particular instructional strategies, extended time to take tests, extended time to submit assignments,

• Mitigating measures such as medication, assistive technology, prosthetics do not affect whether someone is eligible for accommodations for school or work purposes.

• Accommodations should not be viewed as giving student special privileges: instructors are expected to approach students with disabilities (SWDs) with the same academic expectations and grading standards as non-SWDs.

What steps should I take when I receive an Accommodation Letter?

1. When a student has been approved for accommodations, you will receive an email from the counselor of accommodations for the current term. The email indicates that the student has been deemed to have a disability, and we are required by law to provide them an accommodation.

2. If the accommodations are confusing, concerning, or they fundamentally alter the nature of your course, please contact the counselor who sent you the accommodation immediately.

3. Upon receipt of this email, please reply to all within 2 days that you have received it and will be implementing the accommodations. If you have questions or concerns and will not implement them immediately, please indicate this in the email as well. If instructors do not respond within 2 days, the instructor’s supervisor will be copied on a reminder email to the instructor.

4. Contact your student to discuss the accommodation. The nature of your course and the student’s current medical condition may lead to alternatives that would create equal access for that student in your class. Therefore, you may find another way to implement an accommodation. This is fine as long as the student agrees. Please consider sending the student an email with the agreed upon accommodations.

5. Instructors are expected to approach SWDs with the same academic expectations and grading standards as non-SWDs.

6. Instructors are not required to implement additional accommodations beyond what is listed in the letter, nor are they expected to modify the length, difficulty, or amount of work for the student.

7. Maintain confidentiality of the student’s status as having disability accommodations. When speaking with the student, allow the student to lead in the discussion. However, do not discuss their accommodation needs in front of others.

What if a student requests disability accommodations but I do not have an accommodation letter?

• It can be confusing to determine when you should send a student to the counselor for disability accommodations or not. First, determine if the student’s situation is one that requires them to apply for accommodations or not.

• If the student presents you with a chronic, episodic, or temporary medical condition, tell them that you will be happy to assist them, but that they need to speak with Accessibility Services to apply for accommodations.
  • Temporary conditions that students may be eligible for accommodations include broken bones, ligament damage, pain resulting from accident/incident that has lasted beyond 2 weeks, pregnancy, post-partum, surgery and other medical procedures, unknown cause leading to decrease in cognitive functioning, and changes in medication leading to decreased functioning.
  • Chronic conditions that students may be eligible for accommodations include attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, auditory processing disorders, back pain, bipolar, cancer, cognitive impairments, major depression, diabetes, hearing impairments, learning disabilities, migraines, post traumatic stress disorder, seizures, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment.

• You do *not* need to send a student to apply for disability accommodations if they have:
  • an acute illness lasting 1-2 weeks or
  • experienced an unforeseen circumstance such as death in the family, lack of transportation, work, family situation, or more. 

• In these cases, utilize your normal course procedure, syllabus, or department guidelines on whether you will allow a student to make up past work (regardless of whether they have an accommodation or not).

• If you are ever unsure, please call your counselor.

What if a student requests to make up past work and they *do* have a disability accommodation?

Academic accommodations are *not* retroactive. Students are told this by Accessibility Services, but they may ask you to allow them to make up past work.

1. If the student has a disability accommodation in place, utilize your normal course procedure, syllabus, or department guidelines on whether you will allow a student to make up past work (regardless of whether they have an accommodation or not).

2. If you do allow them to make up past work (e.g., because this practice aligns with your normal procedure), inform the student that this is your class policy, not an accommodation that they are being granted by you.

3. If you do not allow them to make up past work, explain to the student that is not your department’s or course policy so they cannot make up the missed work.

4. NB: We may send you an email informing you that an accommodation will be put into place but that we are awaiting documentation. In these cases, it is reasonable for you to begin the accommodations at the point you receive that email.

5. NB: There may be cases where we may ask you to allow a student to make up past work. Examples: late implementation due to error on College’s or treatment provider’s part; student would otherwise receive a medical leave of absence, but the disability department is handling their health situation in the absence of this policy.

What if a student presents me an accommodation letter from a past semester?

• Do not implement accommodations for a student if they do not have a current accommodation letter. You should have received a current letter from an Accessibility Services/counselor.

• Please direct the student to Accessibility Services to have their accommodations renewed for the current semester.

Are pregnant or post-partum students eligible for accommodations?

Yes, pregnant and post-partum students are eligible for accommodations under Title IX. The accommodations requested may include: non-penalized class absences; ability to make up past work; extensions on assignments; or a request for an incomplete. At Berkeley, please send pregnant or post-partum students (~3 months post birth) to speak with Katherine Wu (KNW@BerkeleyCollege.edu) for the application and to get accommodations in place.

How can I help students know that disability accommodations are available?

Consider making an announcement in the beginning of the semester regarding disability accommodations. For example:

Any student who feels that they may need an accommodation for a medical, psychological, or physical disability should contact me to talk. Many of our students receive disability accommodations and if you think you might qualify, please contact me and I will help you get in contact with our Office of Accessibility Services.

Actually, many students who may qualify for disability services do *not* seek accommodations due to the stigma or fear of loss of confidentiality. The process of getting accommodations and the reason you have an accommodation is entirely confidential. Only the counselor and Accessibility Services will know for what reason you have an accommodation.

If you are not sure if you qualify, it doesn’t hurt to speak with a counselor to find out. Whether you end up with formal accommodations or not, you may find many other resources available to support you during your time at Berkeley.

You can contact our campus counselor…

MDL/NWK:      Sandra Coppola, SEC@BerkeleyColleg.edu, 973-826-5598

NYC:   Vincent Mas, Vincent-mas@BerkeleyCollege.edu, 914-377-5545

ONL:       Santa Rock, SGR@BerkeleyCollege.edu, 973-826-9085

WPK:   Sandra Coppola, SEC@BerkeleyColleg.edu, 973-826-5598

What can I do if a student appears to have an undiagnosed learning or cognitive disability?

• Speak with the student privately.
• Approach the student the same way you would as any other student who is having difficulties (e.g., note that they seem to be struggling, what are they having difficulties with in your class, have they had these sorts of difficulties in past classes, what helped them in the past).
• Listen to their responses. They may disclose they have a disability. If they do, ask them if they know about Accessibility Services on campus and direct them and/or contact Accessibility Services regarding the student.
• If the student does not mention they have a disability, continue to focus on study strategies, tutoring, and other solutions that may help them succeed in your class. Feel free to contact CAS and the counselors regarding your observations of the student so that these support services become aware of the student.