Welcome Students!

UAF Disability Services (DS) provides academic and access accommodations to students with long term and temporary disabilities. To be considered for DS accommodations individuals should be enrolled for at least one credit as a UAF student.

If you would like to learn more about our registration process, please check out our Registration Process or Forms site.

If you need assistance or have questions, please Contact Us, or stop by our office in Eielson 110. We look forward to meet with you!

Suggestions for students before registering with our office:

• Understand your disability.
• Be familiar with your Documentation.
• Know what your functional limitations are in the academic setting.
• Know what you need to do to succeed.
• Express your needs clearly.
• Have reasonable expectations for the number of credits you can successfully complete in a semester.
• Practice good health habits: enough sleep, nutritious food and physical exercise.
• Know your strengths and use them to your advantage.

Eligibility

To be eligible for accommodations a student must be enrolled in at least one credit here at UAF and have a reasonable disability. We recommend students be interactive when communicating and registering with our office. 

This includes:

• The student’s self-report through completion of the Registration Form.
• The comprehensiveness of the Medical Documentation provided by the student. 
• The completion of an Intake Appointment by the student with our office staff.
• The self initiative to request new Accommodation Letters every semester.

Student Rights and Responsibilities

A student with a disability has a right to an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from programs offered at UAF. Students who choose to exercise these rights have a responsibility to initiate and participate in the accommodation process.

1. Students are entitled to an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from the UAF academic community. This includes access to instruction, services, extracurricular activities, housing, and transportation at a level comparable to any student.
2. Students are entitled to an equal opportunity to learn. If the location, delivery system or instructional method limits access, participation or ability to benefit, they have a right to reasonable alterations in those aspects of the course (or program) to accommodate their disability.
3. Students have a responsibility to identify themselves as needing accommodation in a timely manner.
4. Students have a responsibility to provide documentation from an appropriate professional that describes the impact of their disability in the UAF environment and provides a rationale for the requested accommodation.
5. Students have a responsibility to actively participate in the identification of appropriate accommodations and auxiliary aids.
6. Students have the same obligation as any student to meet and maintain the institution's academic standards, technical standards, and codes of conduct.
7. Students have a right to be evaluated based on their ability, not their disability. If their disability affects the outcome of an evaluation format, they are entitled to an evaluation by alternate means if the alternative measures the essential skills, knowledge or abilities.
8. Students have a right to appeal decisions concerning accommodations. For information on appeal processes, see University Appeals Process

UAF Rights and Responsibilities

UAF identifies and maintains academic and technical standards fundamental to providing quality programs and insures access to students with disabilities.

1. UAF has the responsibility to insure that all of its programs are accessible.
2. UAF has the responsibility to inform its applicants and students about the availability and the range of accommodations.
3. UAF has the right to request and review documentation in support of accommodation requests. The Office of Disability Services is designated to review student documentation. The university has the right to refuse a request that is unsupported by the documentation.
4. UAF and its faculty have a right to select between equally effective methods of accommodating a student with a disability.
5. UAF has the right to identify and establish the abilities, skills, and knowledge necessary for successful entrance into its programs and to evaluate applicants on that basis.
6. UAF and its faculty have the right to identify and establish the abilities, skills, and knowledge that are fundamental to their academic programs/courses and to evaluate each student's performance on that basis.
7. UAF has the responsibility to make reasonable adjustments in the delivery, instructional method, and evaluation format of a course when there is a substantial negative interaction with a student’s disability.
8. UAF has the responsibility to adjust, substitute or waive any course or program requirement in which there is a substantial negative interaction with a disability and is not fundamental to the student's academic program.
9. UAF has the right to refuse a requested accommodation that fundamentally alters an essential course or program requirement or creates an undue hardship as determined by the university’s ADA Coordinator.

Emergency Preparedness

We request that all UAF students, faculty and staff review our Emergency Preparedness Guide. In a case of emergency it is vitally important that all students, especially students with disabilities, are prepared for potential emergency situations and managing a crisis. Students are their best first responder, as you know yourself and your needs best, so please take the time to plan ahead. If you are concerned or have questions about the Emergency Preparedness Guide, or how you can prepare yourself, please contact our office to set up a meeting.