Accessibility & Accommodations

Students in higher education with disabilities are protected by different laws than students in high school. Unlike high school, at the postsecondary level of education, there are no separate programs for students with disabilities. These students attend regular classes, complete the same exams, and are subject to the same course requirements. College students with disabilities must assume responsibility and advocate for their disabilities themselves.

Postsecondary institutions require verification of disability. In order to be eligible for services, there must be a clear identification of disability in documentation that is reasonably recent. The Office of Accessibility & Accommodations reserves the right to set the documentation recency requirement based on the nature of the student’s disorder and requested academic adjustments.

Contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations to disclose your disability and begin the application process for services prior to starting school. The Coordinator of Accessibility will guide you through the process of applying for accommodations.

• Student Responsibilities
• High School vs. College
• Academic Reference Guide
• Housing Reference Guide
• ESA Reference Guide

Eligibility: 

To be eligible for disability-related services, a student must be determined to be a qualified person with a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Coordinator of Disability Services makes this determination.

Under the ADA and Section 504, a person has a disability if they have: (a) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities (such as walking, standing, seeing, speaking, hearing, sitting, breathing, reading, learning, thinking, performing manual tasks, taking care of oneself); (b) has a record of such an impairment; or (c) is regarded as having such an impairment.

Eligibility: 

To be eligible for disability-related services, a student must be determined to be a qualified person with a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Coordinator of Disability Services makes this determination.

Under the ADA and Section 504, a person has a disability if they have: (a) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities (such as walking, standing, seeing, speaking, hearing, sitting, breathing, reading, learning, thinking, performing manual tasks, taking care of oneself); (b) has a record of such an impairment; or (c) is regarded as having such an impairment.

To receive academic accommodations, a student with a disability affecting their academic performance must self disclose their disability to the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations. Students will then be asked to provide documentation supporting their request for accommodations.

Culver-Stockton College provides reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities to provide them equal access in obtaining an education. Accordingly, instructors will work with the student in accordance with their documented letter of accommodations.

Please note, instructors will not make such accommodations without obtaining a letter of accommodations from the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations.

• Academic Application
• Guidelines for Documentation
• Alternative Testing Policy & Guidelines
• Flexible Attendance Guidelines
• Testing Procedures for Students

Culver-Stockton College provides reasonable accommodations to students with documented disabilities in accordance with The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Requests for accommodations, such as single rooms, emotional support animals, etc., must be made with the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations. The Office of Residential Life cannot make any accommodations until approval is received. Please note that approval does not guarantee space will be available.

Accommodations are evaluated on a case by case basis. Please be advised that requests for particular housing assignments and/or living environments based on a student’s preference, rather than a need for access, will not be honored. For example, a student with anxiety or ADHD requesting a single room to serve as a quiet place to study represents a preference, but not a necessity for accessibility. Additionally, single room accommodations are reserved for students with documented needs, for whom a standard housing assignment with a roommate is not accessible due to their disability. Single rooms will not be granted in suite style living.

Housing accommodations are valid for one academic year. Students must apply each year in order to be considered for accessible housing. New and previously approved students will need to submit up to date documentation with their request that reflects current functionality and access concerns.

Accommodation requests are due by:
Fall Semester: March 1 
Spring Semester: November 1

• Housing Application
• Guidelines for Documentation

Culver-Stockton College provides reasonable accommodations to students with documented disabilities in accordance with The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Requests for accommodations, such as single rooms, emotional support animals (ESAs), etc., must be made with the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations. The Office of Residential Life cannot make any accommodations until approval is received. Please note that approval does not guarantee space will be available.

Requests for ESA accommodations are evaluated on a case by case basis. Please be advised that requests for particular housing assignments and/or living environments based on a student’s preference, rather than a need for access, will not be honored. Two residence halls on campus have been identified for the placement of students with an ESA: Sperry Hall for first-year students and Weldon Hall for upper-division students. ESAs will not be permitted in Greek housing. The approval of an ESA does not guarantee the student a single room. 

ESA accommodations are valid for one academic year. Students must apply each year in order to be considered for accessible housing. New and previously approved students will need to submit up to date documentation with their request that reflects current functionality and access concerns.

Please note: form letters or letters purchased from the internet for a set price do not provide the information necessary to support an ESA request and applications with such letters will be denied.

Accommodation requests are due by:
Fall Semester: March 1 
Spring Semester: November 1

• ESA Application
• Guidelines for Documentation
• ESA Policy
• ESA Code of Conduct
• Animal Waste Management Guidelines

Culver-Stockton College is committed to promoting full participation and equal access to college programs and activities for all individuals with disabilities and to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

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 the health and safety of others, and provided that the presence of the animal does not constitute a fundamental alteration to the nature of Culver-Stockton College’s policies, practices, and procedures, including the college’s academic requirements. The college may place other reasonable conditions or restrictions on a service or assistance animal depending on the nature or characteristics of the animal.

• Service Animal Policy

Culver-Stockton College will take necessary steps to ensure that a person with a disability is provided access to any program or activity provided by the College. As the scheduling of classes and arrangement of housing may require advanced planning, any student seeking accommodations due to their disability should contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at least two months prior to the beginning of the semester in which they are requesting services.

The Office of Accessibility & Accommodations at Culver-Stockton College strives to provide equal educational opportunities for students with disabilities as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, as amended, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. In order to do so, every effort is made to balance the need for reasonable accommodations for access as demonstrated by appropriate documentation with the required skills and abilities necessary to succeed in various areas of study.

Decisions about reasonable accommodations needed for access involve a careful review of documentation by the Assistant Director of Student Success, Coordinator for Accessibility. On some occasions, experts may be consulted to review documentation to ensure that requested accommodations are reasonable and consistent with the documented disabilities and need for access.

Students who have concerns or complaints about College-provided disability accommodations, denials, or the accommodation process, or who have complaints regarding compliance with approved accommodations by Culver-Stockton College employees, are directed to this complaint procedure. While students are strongly encouraged to follow the steps in this procedure, a student need not go through each step before making a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education.

• Grievance Procedure