Dickinson values diverse learners and strives to ensure that all courses, programs, services and facilities are accessible to every student on a non-discriminatory basis.
Seated in the division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the Access and Disability Services (ADS) team collaborates with students, faculty and campus colleagues to foster equitable and inclusive practices for students with disabilites and all Dickinsonians. ADS seeks out and promotes solutions to minimize disability-based access barriers for students; but, when they exist, we facilitate reasonable individualized accommodations to ensure full inclusion for all students in our living and learning environments.
“Being inclusive requires that we challenge traditions and assumptions that reinforce paradigms of privilege and power that contribute to oppression. Inclusion necessitates empowering Dickinsonians to ask critical questions and foster awareness-raising dialogue to ensure that all members feel welcomed and valued and have equitable opportunities to thrive.”
— From Dickinson’s Inclusivity Strategic Plan
According to the CDC, one in four American adults has a disability, and we're here to support all students who choose to disclose their disability(ies) to ADS. Disclosures are completely confidential and will never appear on a student's college record.
We're delighted to welcome students with disabilities into the ADS family and to provide support and guidance!
Those wishing to donate to ADS to help us support students with financial barriers can do so by clicking here and selecting "Access and Disability Services" from the dropdown menu.
If you are in need of any accommodation(s) at Dickinson, whether due to a medical, physical, mental health, neurodevelopmental, or learning disability, it's best tot start the process early. Once you do, we'll provide you with the next steps.
Click here to read moreFor more information regarding access, supports and various types of accommodations facilitated by ADS, please refer to the links below:
Dickinson Faculty? Click here for accommodation and accessibility resources and guidance.
Click the email links below to contact ADS regarding:
You can call us at 717-245-1734, come in to the office, or email us your availability to schedule an appointment to confidentially discuss any disability or accommodations-related questions or concerns with a member of our team.
You are also welcome to visit us in room 005 of the OWLL (Old West Lower Level) during our “no appointment necessary” hours. Open Hours: Monday – Friday: Noon – 2 pm
Here's a reminder of how to set up your Access Plan through CLIQ to set up your accommodations online.
If you have been granted academic accommodations, but are not currently using them, it’s not too late to do so (provided that there’s adequate time to set up what’s necessary). Email us if you have any questions.
If you are seeking any additional accommodations, please follow our online instructions to your "Disability Disclosure and Accommodation Request" form, add any additional information or requests, and email us to let us know that you have.
If you are a student with a severe and/or chronic medical condition which may have an impact on your academic functioning (such as note-taking, sitting for sustained periods of time, or possibly class attendance), you should follow the procedures for Disclosing and Documenting a Disability. Even if you are not requesting any academic accommodations, completion of this process will serve as your disclosure of your condition, in the event that any complications arise down the road.
When you complete our online disclosure form, you will see that it contains an option to request a “Medical condition notification” for your professors. If you so choose, you can convey what you’d like your professors to know about your condition, including how it might impact you in class. ADS will collaborate with you as to what might be conveyed, but ultimately you would opt to send that information to your professors or not.
Once we have the necessary documentation, you can anticipate that it may require 6 weeks for ADS to process your request, review your documentation and stated needs, meet to discuss your potential accommodations, and ultimately determine your eligibility for accommodations. For this reason, we encourage students to start this process as early as possible. To have accommodations in place by the start of the next semester, requests and documentation should be submitted as follows:
If you have any disability or accommodation-related grievances if you would like to appeal an accommodation determination, or if you feel you have been discriminated against on the basis of a disability, you have several options:
Whether you have a documented disability or you think that you might, ADS is committed to supporting equitable access for all Dickinsonians. If your access needs are limited by a financial barrier, click here to complete our confidential form.
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