Role of Accommodations

The Office of Accessibility works with students with a wide range of diagnoses, conditions, and impairments that result in difficulties accessing the university’s curriculum, services, facilities, and activities. If you aren’t sure whether or not you have a disability, please read through the following information or contact our office to discuss your request for accommodation. It is not necessary to have a disability in order to use a wide range of campus resources, strategies, or to learn about adaptive technology. However, to receive formal accommodations you must be considered a student with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. (ADA)

According to the ADA, an individual with a disability is defined in the act as someone who has “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; has a record of such an impairment; or is regarded as having such an impairment.” The regulations define “physical or mental impairment” as any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more body systems, such as neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genitourinary, immune, circulatory, hemic, lymphatic, skin, and endocrine. The regulations also cover any mental or psychological disorder, such as intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness and specific learning disabilities. Typically, students with disabilities that are mild, and lasting less than six months are not covered by the ADA.

To initiate a formal request for accommodations, students should complete a Student Application  and submit Documentation of Disability. Please contact the Office of Accessibility via email (academicaccess@unca.edu) or phone 828. 232. 5050 with any questions.

Disclosure of a disability, impairment, condition, or limitation to an individual professor, program, department, or any entity other than the Office of Accessibility is not considered an official notification to the University nor a request for reasonable accommodations.

If you are unsure whether or not you have a disability, contact the Office of Accessibility.

UNC Asheville does not provide assessments for documentation purposes. If you have (or suspect you may have) a learning disability or attentional disability, we maintain a list of local assessment resources that you are welcome to request.

Academic Accommodations are not the same as modifications. This means that they are not a change in the curriculum of the class or how the student is graded. They are more of a change in how the student does the same work so that each student has the same opportunity regardless of disability. Both students and faculty are responsible for following the policies and procedures detailed on these pages. Accommodations are not provided retroactively; that is, accommodations must be approved prior to using them.