Under the guidelines of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the American with Disabilities Act, Bay Path University is committed to providing equal access to all students in all programs and services. Students with disabilities who wish to request reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to classes, programs or services must register with the Accessibility Services Office, located in the Blake Student Commons Room 111. Reasonable accommodations for coursework may include extended time on exams, reduced distraction testing environment, note-takers, auxiliary aids, and preferential seating. Accommodations for programs and services may include visual or auditory aids, preferential seating, special assistance or access to facilities. Each request is evaluated individually and accommodations vary depending on the type and severity impacts of the disability.

Students who wish to request accommodations must:

• Provide a written request for accommodations by completing an Intake Form available in the Accessibility Services Office and on their website.
• Provide current documentation of the disability from a qualified evaluator (psychologist, physician, etc.) to the Accessibility Services Office. See the documentation guidelines on the office’s website for more detail.
• Meet with the Accessibility Services for an intake meeting, to review the request and discuss reasonable accommodations.

After reviewing the request and documentation, the Accessibility Services Office determines what accommodations are reasonable and discusses these with the student at the scheduled intake meeting. Once reasonable accommodations have been approved, the student and Accessibility Services staff work together with the faculty and staff to ensure that the accommodations are implemented. Students must request services each semester, and they must also discuss any changes to disability status or to the nature of the disability resulting in new accommodation requests. Accommodations may be requested at any time during the semester, but students are encouraged to make requests in a timely manner as accommodations cannot be retroactive.

The student may appeal any decision made by the Accessibility Services Office by submitting a written grievance to the Vice President of Academic Affairs.