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About

The Student Access Services (SAS) staff helps students with disabilities by facilitating accommodations that remove barriers to their academic success.

The Office of Student Access Services (SAS) is committed to the fulfillment of equal educational opportunity, academic freedom and human dignity for students with disabilities. The SAS exists to provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations for qualified students with documented disabilities, to assist students in self-advocacy, to educate the Bradley community about disabilities, and ensure compliance with federal and state law.

  • To facilitate the highest levels of educational excellence and potential quality of life for students with disabilities.
  • To support the institution’s academic standards.
  • To achieve the highest levels of competence and integrity in all areas of assistance to students with disabilities. This support is guided by the consistent use of objective, professional judgment in all areas, especially when addressing the confidential nature of a student’s disability.
  • To continually participate in professional activities and educational opportunities designed to strengthen the personal, educational, and vocational quality of life for students with disabilities. This includes the on-going development of strategies, skills, research, and knowledge pertinent to the highest quality of disability service delivery.
  • To be actively engaged in supporting and clarifying institutional, state, and federal laws, policies, and procedures applicable to the delivery of services for students with disabilities.

Register for Accommodation Support

Until all steps of the registration process have been completed, the student will be considered pending and not eligible for services or accommodations. Incomplete files will be kept for one semester. The student may, however, begin the process again at any time.

Review the detailed registration steps

Accommodation Services Available

At Bradley University and the Office of Student Access Services, we strive for accessibility and inclusion. Several classrooms are accessible to students with all forms of disabilities. With the exception of only a few, most classrooms are wheelchair accessible, and accessible furniture such as adjustable desks are also available on request. Accessible furniture and all other accessible classroom needs should be specifically requested through SAS by the student needing these accommodations. All requests should be made in advance, with students informing SAS of their class schedules including all locations and meeting times. It is the responsibility of students to make this request each semester and should inform SAS of any changes in their schedules or in the location of their classes.

Assistive Technology

The University has a variety of adaptive equipment designed to remove educational barriers for students with disabilities. Please contact our office for more information.

Alternative Text Formats

We provide alternative text services as an accommodation for students with visual limitations, learning disabilities or other cognitive or physical limitations that significantly affect their ability to read and/or comprehend printed/digital material and text. In alternative text services, the material in question is converted into a format that is more accessible to the student and more compatible with their limitations. Alt text formats allow these students to gain access to the necessary information.

Alternative Testing

The most common test accommodations include extended time, testing in a distraction-reduced environment, tests in alternative formats, and the use of adaptive equipment. The need for alternative testing is indicated on the Notification to Instructors form.

Students are responsible for arranging testing accommodations with their professor and/or Student Access Services. Students need to schedule exams with the SAS and the instructor at least three days prior to the testing date to arrange for accommodations.

Textbooks in Alternative Format

Given the length of time necessary to make arrangements for alternative text, students should request course material as soon as possible at the beginning of each semester.

To receive course materials in an alternative format from Student Access Services students must:

  • Be registered with SAS and be approved to have alternative text as a reasonable accommodation
  • Be enrolled in the course for which alternative text is being requested
  • Purchase class materials and provide proof of purchase

Only qualified students with disabilities, or qualified students with temporary disabilities, such as a wrist fracture, may request a note taker through Student Access Services. In most instances, students will use note-taking software provided by the university, but with exception when a person note-taker would be more suitable.

When possible, students are expected to take some notes assisting them in focusing their attention during class. An individual who takes notes for the accommodation is not to assist with out-of-class assignments, homework or alternative testing arrangements.

Priority registration is available to students registered with Student Access Services who qualify for this accommodation. Generally, priority registration occurs the week before advanced registration. Students are notified of priority registration dates through their MyBradley account.

Reader/Scribe Services

Qualified students who are eligible for this service will have access to a Readers/Scribe for their exams at the SAS office. Readers can read test materials aloud, and Scribes are responsible for writing down information as dictated by the student. Readers/Scribes cannot do any of the following: explain, re-word, assist with choosing answers, or tutor or teach any materials.

Sign Language Interpreters/Captionists

Only qualified students with documented disabilities that require an interpreter may request for one through Student Access Services. Students using interpreters should also understand that the interpreter is only responsible for interpreting and cannot provide any solutions for assignments, homework or examinations and tests.

Assistance Animals (emotional support/comfort/therapy)

An assistance animal is defined as any animal with a primary role of providing emotional comfort to a person with a disability. These animals are not required to undergo specialized training. Assistance animals are not the same as service animals in that they are not individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. A request to have an assistance animal in campus housing is considered a request for accommodation and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Bradley University does not allow students to have pets in the residence halls. However, Bradley recognizes that the reasonable accommodation of an assistance animal is sometimes necessary to afford a student with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling or to participate in the housing service or program. Assistance animals do not qualify as service animals under the ADA, and as a result, are not entitled to the same protections or right of access as a service animal. However, under FHA, Assistance Animals are considered a reasonable accommodation and students with disabilities can request this accommodation by providing the necessary documentation to Student Access Services. As with any accommodation request, the request for an assistance animal is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Bradley University has the right to request additional clarification or documentation of disability.

Service Animals

A service animal is a dog (or in some cases a miniature horse) that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other qualified disability.

The work or task that the service animal performs must be directly related to the individual’s disability. Examples include assisting individuals with low vision and alerting individuals who are hearing impaired. Service animals may also be needed to pull a wheelchair, retrieve items such as medicine or a telephone, recognize and assist during seizures, and prevent or interrupt compulsive or destructive behavior.

Service animals are allowed in all places of public accommodation. This includes campus buildings, residence halls, and anywhere on campus they are needed to assist an individual with a disability to participate in educational programs and other campus activities.

Service animals must be under effective control at all times and cannot harm or threaten others in the campus community including faculty, staff, students and guests.

Consistent with federal and state law, a service animal may be prohibited from university facilities or programs if the animal’s behavior or presence poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others. The animal may also be excluded from areas where its presence fundamentally alters the nature of a program or activity, if the animal is disruptive, if its presence would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others, or if it substantially interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of housing or public accommodation by others.

Although an accommodation request does not have to be made to have a service animal on campus, it is necessary to request a housing accommodation to ensure that you have an optimal living environment to accommodate an animal.

Bradley University is not responsible for locating or paying for personal attendants; the University does recognize that, in some instances, personal attendants may be necessary (per appropriate documentation). In the classroom, a personal care attendant may monitor the student’s adaptive equipment, serve as the student’s voice when appropriate, or turn pages for the student. An attendant can be present (if documentation supports this request) during a test but the SAS proctor must administer the exam.

To ensure that students with disabilities are recognized as independent class members, the following guidelines have been established for personal care attendants.

Personal attendants will:

  • Attend to the needs for which he/she was hired (e.g. personal care duties such as turning pages, retrieving books, taking off coats, etc.). Student Access Services, not the personal attendant, will ensure that all classroom accommodations (such as note taking or in-class writing) are provided.
  • Serve as the student’s voice, when appropriate, without offering his/her own perspective. Attendants should not actively participate in the class or in conversations between the student and faculty, staff or other students.
  • Demonstrate appropriate classroom behavior.
  • Maintain any confidential information about the student.
  • Abide by Bradley’s Student Code of Conduct.
  • Abide by all College parking regulations.
  • Not give unauthorized assistance to any student (personal care attendant is not responsible for the student’s progress or behavior).
  • Not provide reading/scribing assistance in a testing situation—the student is responsible for scheduling this accommodation through Student Access Services.

While on campus, students needing assistance in getting to various buildings, toileting, dispensing of medications, etc., should make arrangements to have their own personal attendant. Requesting such services from non-trained individuals on campus could pose a threat to those providing assistance and the individual with the disability and, therefore, those types of requests cannot be accommodated.

Timely notification presented to Student Access Services is required if an attendant will need to accompany a student to class. This will enable the SAS Office to complete Faculty Notification Forms.

  • Meet qualifications and maintain essential institutional standards for courses, programs, services, activities and facilities
  • Identify as an individual with a disability when an accommodation is needed and seek information, counsel, and assistance as necessary
  • Provide appropriate documentation of the disability and how it limits participation in courses, programs, services, activities and facilities
  • Follow established procedures for obtaining accommodations, academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids and services
  • Meet and abide by the University’s academic, conduct and technical standards
  • Meet with the director of Student Access Services prior to the start of each semester to discuss ongoing or new accommodation

Students are also responsible for contacting Student Access Services if reasonable academic adjustments or accommodations are not implemented in an effective or timely way

Bradley University provides services to all qualified students with disabilities as defined by law. A person with a disability means:

“…an individual who, with or without reasonable accommodations to rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural, communication, or transportation barriers, or the provision of auxiliary aids and services, meets the essential requirements for the receipt of services or the participation in programs or activities…”

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §12131 [Sec. 201.]

The definition of a disability includes a person who:

  • Has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such a person’s major life activities.
  • Has a record of such impairment.
  • Is regarded as having such impairment.

A “qualified” person with a disability is defined as one…

“who meets the academic and technical standards requisite to admission or participation in the education program or activity.”

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protects the rights of qualified individuals who have disabilities such as, but not limited

  • Anxiety disorders
  • Attention disorders
  • Autism Spectrum disorders
  • Blindness/visual impairment
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Deafness/hearing impairment
  • Epilepsy/seizure disorders
  • Orthopedic/mobility impairment
  • Specific learning disability
  • Speech/language disorders
  • Spinal cord injury
  • Tourette’s Syndrome
  • Traumatic brain injury

Also those with chronic illnesses, such as:

  • AIDS
  • Arthritis
  • Cancer
  • Cardiac disease
  • Diabetes
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Muscular Dystrophy
  • Psychiatric disability

For conditions that are subject to change over time (including health related disorders, learning disabilities and psychological disabilities), the student may be asked to provide updated documentation for his/her file on an on-going basis in order for accommodations to be continued.

Students are required to provide documentation of their disability prior to the provision of services. This documentation must be provided by the student seeking accommodation as a person with a disability.

The professional documenting the disability must be identified by name, title, and professional credentials, provide information about license or certification as well as the area(s) of specialization, employment, and the state/province in which the individual practices. This information should be clearly stated within the documentation.

Additionally, documentation presented should be based upon assessment of the impact of the student’s disabilities on his/her performance at a given time in the student’s life. Therefore, it is in the student’s best interest to provide recent and appropriate documentation. A school plan such as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a 504 plan may be insufficient documentation in and of itself but can be included as part of a more comprehensive evaluative report. The documentation must include any record of prior accommodations or auxiliary aids, including information about specific conditions under which the accommodations were used (e.g. standardized testing, final exams, licensing or certification examinations) and whether or not they benefited the individual.

Lastly, the appropriate clinical documentation should substantiate the disability and present evidence to establish a rationale supporting the need for accommodations. If the requested accommodations are not clearly identified in the diagnostic report, Student Access Services will seek clarification and, if necessary, more information. Student Access Services will make final determination of whether appropriate accommodations are warranted and can be provided to the individual.

An accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a course, program, service, activity or facility that enables a qualified student with a disability to have equal opportunity. An equal opportunity means an opportunity to attain the same level of performance or to enjoy equal benefits and privileges as are available to a similarly-situated student without a disability. The University is obligated to make an accommodation only to the known limitations of an otherwise qualified student with a disability.

To determine accommodations, Student Access Services may seek information from appropriate University personnel regarding the essential standards for courses, programs, services, activities and facilities. Students and the practitioners directly involved in assessing the individual student’s disability may provide recommendations for accommodations. However, final determination of accommodations that will allow the student equal access will be made by the Office of Access Services.

Accommodations are determined by examining:

  • The barriers resulting from the interaction between the documented disability and the campus environment.
  • The possible accommodations that might remove barriers;
    Whether or not the student has access to the course, program, service, activity, or facility without accommodations.
  • Whether or not essential elements of the course, program, service, activity, or facility are compromised by the accommodation.

Student Access Services realizes that accommodations are individualized and flexible, based on the nature of the documented disability and the environment. Accommodations will be continued only if they are shown to be effective in providing equal access and/or the student receiving accommodations uses them responsibly. The student should make an appointment prior to the start of each semester to discuss ongoing or new accommodations.

Under provision of the ADA regulations, students are guaranteed equal opportunity with no guarantee of specific outcomes. In addition, Bradley University reserves the right to define the essential skills for its various degree programs and certificates; to refuse services to students who do not meet the standards establishing them as a person with a disability; and who do not follow procedures for accessing services.

Once appropriate documentation has been received and evaluated and accommodations have been approved, a Faculty Notification Letter can be generated. With the student’s permission, this form is used to communicate with faculty and staff about the accommodations needed for the student to have equal access. The student is responsible for talking to each instructor about the accommodations and any adjustments that may be needed in the course of the semester. Accommodations requested on the Faculty Notification Letter may change during the course of a student’s enrollment due to changes in disability status, disability documentation or program standards and requirements.

Additional Resources

Until all steps of the registration process have been completed, the student will be considered pending and not eligible for services or accommodations. Incomplete files will be kept for one semester. The student may, however, begin the process again at any time.

Syllabus Statements

All instructors are encouraged to include in their course syllabi a statement inviting students with disabilities to meet with them in a confidential environment to discuss making arrangements for accommodations. This statement will help to create a positive and welcoming environment for students with disabilities. The statement also sets the tone for a collaborative model for implementing legally mandated accommodations and serves as a reminder to students who need the accommodations that these arrangements need to be discussed with faculty.

Some suggestions are provided below from which you can choose:

Any student who feels they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Students requesting accommodations must register with Student Access Services located at 100 Heitz Hall and provide appropriate documentation to verify eligibility. You can reach the SAS at (309) 677-3654 or find more information at the Student Access Services website.

In accordance with University procedures, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. You must be registered with Student Access Services located at 100 Heitz Hall. You can reach the SAS at (309) 677-3654 or find more information at the Student Access Services website.

Please address any special needs or special accommodations with me at the beginning of the semester. Those seeking accommodations based on documented disabilities should register with Student Access Services. The Office is located at 100 Heitz Hall and the phone number is (309) 677-3654. More information is also available at the Student Access Services website.

Working with Students with Disabilities

As we work together to help our students develop academic skills and strategies, here are some additional resources.

It is fair to say that even with the best efforts of everyone involved with service delivery, a problem may occur. If this should happen, the student is strongly encouraged to let the Office of Student Access Services know so a solution can be found as quickly as possible. Experience has shown that many times a problem arises because of a misunderstanding or miscommunication, and often clarification can be a quick and effective solution. In working to resolve problems, the following steps are recommended:

  • Start by discussing the problem with the person involved.
  • If the matter is still unresolved, communicate with the person in charge of the services or program in question.
  • If no solution has been found to this point, call and make an appointment to meet with the Student Access Services Director at (309) 677-3654.
  • If the conflict remains, contact the Vice President for Student Affairs at (309) 677-3148.

The University will make every effort to resolve conflict by informal means. Throughout any of these procedures the student may expect to be treated with respect and dignity, receive a timely response, and have the issues handled in a confidential manner. The University expects the student to bring up any problems early, give clear and detailed information, and be respectful of the people who are involved.

Formal procedures for appealing administrative decisions and the academic grievance process can be found in the Bradley University Student Handbook.

Students may file a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights at:

Chicago Office

Office for Civil Rights

U.S. Department of Education

Citigroup Center

500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475

Chicago, IL 60661-4544

Telephone: 312-730-1560
Fax: 312-730-1576; TDD: 800-877-8339
Email: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov