University of North Texas Dallas Campus

Student life

Disability accommodation

Students with disabilities can register for services with the Student Development Office (SDO) after being accepted to UNT and registering for classes.

Students must provide documentation of their disability according to the documentation guidelines noted below.

In order to register, students must contact the SDO to set up an intake appointment.

The following adaptive equipment is available at the Dallas Campus for student use:

• Zoom Text (Screen magnification software)
• JAWS (Screen reader software)
• CCTV Magnifier (Enlarges books and other documents)
• Naturally Speaking Software
• Megadots (Translates alpha and numeric characters to Braille)
• Juliet Braille Printer

Disability documentation guidelines

Students requesting a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) must provide the following information to the Student Development Office at the UNT Dallas Campus from his or her physician, educational diagnostician, licensed psychologist, psychiatrist, or other qualified professional. 

Documentation received will be considered in determining whether a student is disabled as defined by the ADA, and therefore entitled to reasonable accommodation. 

The information provided should include:   

• Current evaluation or assessment: completed within the last 5 years for learning disability, last 6 months for psychiatric disabilities, or last 3 years for all other disabilities. (This requirement does not apply to physical or sensory disabilities of a permanent or unchanging nature);
• Specific, detailed diagnosis for each physical or mental impairment, substantiated by DSM-IV (for psychological) or ICD-10 (for medical) designation;
• Statement as to if whether each physical or mental impairment is permanent or temporary; if temporary, the expected duration of the impairment;
• Information as to how each physical or mental impairment directly and currently affects the individual with regard to physical, emotional, cognitive or other limitations, to what level of severity the physical or mental impairment impacts the individual’s major life activities (for a example, walking, hearing, seeing, learning, communicating, breathing, and so forth).
• What impact does the physical or mental impairment have in the context of the classroom/learning environment;
• How are the impairments mitigated, corrected, or managed by assistive devices (such as hearing aid, walker) medications, treatments or other coping mechanisms;
• Specific recommendations as to what reasonable accommodations (such as note taker, extended testing time, sign language interpreter, etc.) are necessary for equal access in the academic environment;
• If client is taking medication for treatment of conditions, note any possible or existing side effects and how these can affect the client in daily functioning and within the classroom environment.

Only upon receipt of documentation will the student be considered for reasonable accommodation. 

Documentation will be viewed in both a historical and current context, but providing documentation does not automatically qualify student for accommodations through SDO.  For example, some educational diagnostic reports (such as Admission Review Dismissal, or ARD, reports and 504 Plans) and medical reports (physician’s release to return to work) are not considered independently sufficient in determining accommodation, but will be considered with other supporting documents. 

Documentation should be submitted on office letterhead with the signature and credentials of qualified professional.

Once SDO receives the documentation, it becomes part of the student’s educational record. 

The qualified professional will need to indicate in writing if the information provided is not to be released directly to the student (e.g., in the case of psychological or psychiatric evaluations for which the student has not received professional consultation).

The SDO is not responsible for paying any fees assessed by the document provider. 

Any questions from the physician/diagnostician may be directed to Laura Smith, Student Development Coordinator at (972) 780-3632 or lasmith@unt.edu.

 

 

Need help?

Contact the Student Development Office, Suite 115

studentdevelopment@unt.edu

(972) 780-3632

Office hours:

Mon. - Weds.: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Thurs. - Fri.: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.