Student Faqs
How is college different from high school with regard to services for students with disabilities?
There are several differences that students should familiarize themselves with in preparation for college. Please look at the section on the Differences Between High School and College, and also the section on
the Differences in Legal Rights in Secondary and Postsecondary Education.
Are 504 Plans and IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) accepted for use in documentation at disability at the college level?
On its own, 504 plans and IEPs are not accepted as complete documentation of a disability and will not be enough to receive accommodations. The DSS office has published ?Documentation Guidelines? (see Documentation Guidelines for your particular disability), which describe acceptable documentation; however, the information in 504 plans or IEP?s may be useful in understanding the prior academic experiences of the student. Testing used to document a disability may be considered if it is current (usually within three years) and administered by a professional practitioner, and if such testing and evaluation meet guideline requirements and are deemed adequate to the College in documenting a substantially limiting physical or mental impairment. Click here for detailed informationabout the guidelines for documentation
Will I receive the same accommodations that I received in high school with a 504 Plan or IEP?
Requested accommodations must be consistent with LMU?s academic goals and standards. Accommodations are approved on a case-by-case basis, based upon individual student?s requests. Therefore, accommodations may vary, are required to be reasonable, and are subject to the current needs of the student. Students should not assume that accommodations provided in high school will be provided in college.
When do I contact DSS office to disclose a disability?
If you are an incoming Freshman or transfer student, once accepted to the university and you have decided to attend LMU and have sent in your deposit, please send in your documentation to the DSS office. Doing this well in advance of your starting at the university allows us time to receive your documentation, review it, and contact you if any additional information is needed. If you are currently a student and have a documented disability, please bring in your documentation at your earliest convenience.
It generally takes approximately two or more weeks to obtain an answer with regards to if the requested accommodations will be granted or not. The time before accommodations are given may could be much longer than this if additional information/documentation is needed, and there is a possibility that even with documentation, accommodations may not be granted because the disability does not cause a substantial limitation.? (to understand this term more, please refer to the ADA ). If accommodations are granted, then a meeting with the student will be arranged to fill out the proper paperwork to receive these accommodations.
Are Housing Accommodations Available? What do I need to do in order to be considered for housing accommodations?
New or retuning students may make a request for on-campus housing accommodations at any time; however, LMU"s opportunity to provide the accommodations that you need may be limited if the request is made after rooms have been assigned for the academic year in question. Accordingly, new students are encouraged to contact the DSS Coordinator as soon as they know they will be attending LMU. It is strongly recommended that both new and returning students contact the DSS Coordinator to discuss their on-campus housing needs before the Application for University Housing is due. In the information materials provided, usually a few weeks before the housing selection process, to returning students a deadline will be given to contact and provide documentation to the DSS office if you hope to be considered for housing accommodations. Late requests will be considered, however, students may be placed onto a waiting list if they provide documentation after the deadline. While LMU will make every effort to accommodate your housing needs at any point during the year, requesting housing accommodations at the earliest possible date will help us to ensure that you receive the on-campus housing accommodations that you need. Finally, housing accommodations are based on the disabled students needs. Therefore, requests that are not considered reasonable may be denied.