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Student Accessibility Services: Supporting Students with Disabilities

 

If you are a student with a diagnosed disability or if you had an IEP in high school, SAS may be able to provide you with Academic Accommodations and support to help remove potential barriers to learning that may occur as a result of your disability. 

Unsure if SAS is right for you? Email sas@nipissingu.ca and request a Prospective Student Appointment.

Self-Identification Form

Not sure where to start? Use the following checklist to get started, and we will guide you along the way. We urge you to get in touch with us before your first semester begins, but we will work with students at any time.

  1. Student completes the Self-Identification Form and submits any supporting documentation to SAS. Documentation can be emailed to sas@nipissingu.ca. 
  2. An Accessibility Consultant will review the documentation and will contact the student with next steps and/or to schedule an Intake Appointment.
  3. An Accessibility Consultant meets with the student to discuss their accommodation needs. Appointments are available via audio/video conferencing, telephone or in person on campus.
  4. Together, the student and Accessibility Consultant create an Individual Accommodation plan.

Here is a Transition Timeline to help students registering for the September term.

Learning Disability **

A psycho-educational assessment completed by a registered psychologist or psychological associate is required. The assessment must have been completed when the student was at least 18 years or within the last 4 years and must contain a clear and conclusive diagnostic statement of a learning disability.

ADHD **

A psycho-educational assessment completed by a registered psychologist OR the completion of the SAS Medical Documentation form for Mental Health and ADHD by a qualified healthcare professional with experience in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD is required.

Deaf, Deafened, Hard of Hearing *

Completion of the SAS Medical Documentation form for Physical, Sensory, and Medical Disabilities is strongly encouraged.

Low Vision, Blind *

Completion of the SAS Medical Documentation form for Physical, Sensory, and Medical Disabilities is strongly encouraged.

Medical or Physical Condition *

Completion of the SAS Medical Documentation form for Physical, Sensory, and Medical Disabilities is strongly encouraged.

Acquired Brain Injury *

Completion of the SAS Medical Documentation form for Physical, Sensory, and Medical Disabilities is strongly encouraged.

Mental Health

Completion of the SAS Medical Documentation form for Mental Health and ADHD is required.

Autism Spectrum Disorders *

A recent psycho-educational assessment* or formal letter from a family physician, psychologist, or psychiatrist* is preferred. If the former is not available, the completion of the SAS Medical Documentation form for Physical, Sensory, and Medical Disabilities is required.

Temporary

Completion of the SAS Medical Documentation form for Physical, Sensory, and Medical Disabilities is strongly encouraged

Notes *, **

* If you have a comprehensive assessment report completed by a regulated health care professional who is licensed to diagnose your disability or health condition that confirms your disability and details the functional limitations of your disability, it can be used in place of the SAS Medical Documentation form for Physical, Sensory, and Medical Disabilities.

** An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and/or Identification, Placement and Review Committee Report (IPRC) are educational documents, and although they may be helpful to us as they provide insight into the Special Education support you may have had in elementary and secondary school, the IEP and the IPRC Report are not diagnostic healthcare documents and, therefore, they cannot be accepted as valid documentation of a disability.

If you do have an IEP but no formal documentation of your disability, please attach/forward your IEP and we will contact you for further information.

Rights & Responsibilities

As a student with a disability, you have the Right to:

  • Equal treatment as a student attending Nipissing University, including equal access to programs, classes and facilities.
  • Appropriate accommodation.
  • Be treated courteously and to expect that faculty, staff, and other students will use appropriate language, free of discriminatory or derogatory remarks regarding disabilities.
  • Confidentiality.

Your registration and involvement with SAS and the fact that you receive academic accommodation will not be identified on your official university records, test results, academic transcript or graduation documentation.

With these Rights you have the Responsibility to:

  • Make your needs known in order for SAS to review and, where possible, implement the requested supports and accommodations.
  • Provide appropriate and relevant documentation of your disability and will be required to submit updated documentation from the appropriate medical professional when requested.
  • Participate in discussions regarding possible accommodation solutions, to the best of your ability.
  • Review your accommodations on an annual basis and/or periodically as required.
  • Identify yourself as an individual with a disability when an accommodation is needed.
  • Seek information and academic and/or personal supports and services as necessary.
  • Use your right to accommodation responsibly and your accommodations and supports should never be used for academic advantage over other students nor should your accommodations and supports interfere with the learning of other students in your class.
  • Inform yourself of and adhere to SAS and university established procedures and deadlines.
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