General Documentation Principles
- The Office of Disability Services uses a combination of information to determine eligibility and reasonable accommodations. Documentation of a specific disability does not translate directly into a specific accommodation or set of accommodations, instead reasonable accommodations are determined on a case-by-case and course-by-course basis.
- Ensuring that accommodations provide effective access requires a deliberative and collaborative process that is responsive to the unique experience of each individual, as advised by the Americans with Disabilities Act, Amendments Act, 2008.
- The rationale for seeking information about a student’s condition is to support the higher education professional in establishing disability, understanding how disability may impact a student, and making informed decisions about reasonable accommodations.
- Documentation assists the Office of Disability Services staff to:
- establish a student's eligibility for services
- understand the impact of a student’s condition(s) in an academic environment
- and determine strategies and reasonable accommodations to facilitate equal access.
- Documentation should be reviewed by examining the functional limitations of the disability on the student and how this supports the need for reasonable accommodations.
- Disability documentation should be treated in a confidential manner and shared only on a need-to-know basis according to both State and Federal laws and regulations.
General Documentation Guidelines
With these principles in mind, the guidelines for documentation are recommended for Rutgers University to enhance consistency and provide students, parents and professionals with the information needed to assist students in establishing eligibility for services and receiving appropriate accommodations. The guidelines are broad enough to allow for flexibility in accepting documentation from a range of perspectives given the different educational environments within Rutgers University. Please refer to the following specific documentation guidelines for more comprehensive criteria:
