Student Disability Services provides a variety of reasonable accommodations and services in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Reasonable accommodations are modifications or alterations intended to provide
equal access or improve accessibility to physical, programmatic, and academic areas of the university and to "level the playing field" for students with disabilities.
Examples of reasonable accommodations include:
- Extended time on exams
- Assistance obtaining class notes (from instructor or classmate)
- ASL Interpreters or Speech-To-Text services
- Assistive Technology
- Course materials and books in alternate format
- Coordination of accessible housing needs
Additional information on reasonable accommodations in postsecondary education is available on the U.S. Department of Education website.
How to Obtain Accommodations
Please use the Disability Self-Identification Form to request services. You will get an automated response
that your form has been received. This form is intended for students to use one time and does not need to be resubmitted each semester.
Once You Have Self-Identified
- Make an appointment through your Starfish account. If you do not have access to Starfish, please email [email protected] to set up a meeting.
- You should prepare to submit documentation of your disability as per documentation guidelines. You may submit documentation before the intake meeting or bring it with you in person. We accept electronic documentation sent in PDF format via email.
- At the intake meeting, we will discuss your needs and concerns and review your documentation.
- If the presented documentation is appropriate and complete, we can prepare Academic Adjustment Notices for your instructors.
It is strongly suggested that you make accommodation requests before the semester begins or within the first few weeks of class. While there is no specific deadline, services such as the coordination of sign language interpreters and requests for books
in alternate format can take time to arrange. To ensure optimal service and provisions, it is in your best interest to notify the office before the start of the semester.
Documentation Guidelines
Students requesting accommodations based on disability status should provide the university with appropriate medical documentation. The documentation should state the specific disability and include recommended accommodations with a rationale if needed.
The documentation must be typed and submitted by a licensed healthcare professional qualified to diagnose the disability and recommend these accommodations.
The New School has the right to request supplemental documentation if it is determined that the information in the initial documentation is incomplete or inadequate, or that the qualifications of the healthcare provider or professional are in question.
All documentation will be kept confidential as outlined in the section on confidentiality. For more details about acceptable documentation, including information on the documentation of learning disabilities and attention-deficit disorders, please review
the guidelines for submitting documentation.
Arrangement of Services
How services and, specifically, academic accommodations are arranged depends on several factors. Some services are relatively simple. For example, if you present a notice that you need to audio record classes, you and your instructor should be able to
come to an agreement on how this will be done. Other accommodations, such as providing an exam in an alternative format (e.g., Braille), will require the instructor to seek the help of the Disability Services office.Generally, if an accommodation
requires the assistance of another person (such as a sign-language interpreter) and/or adaptive equipment (such as specialized computer software), the Disability Services office will handle the arrangements.
Providing extended exam time is generally the instructor's responsibility. In cases where it is not possible to provide extended time, the instructor should talk to the Disability Services office. Some accommodations require ongoing dialogue between the
director of Disability Services and the instructor. For example. if a student who is deaf needs class notes, the instructor can help identify a responsible student in class who takes legible and comprehensive notes to share with the other student.
If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact us.
Additional Services
Generally speaking, The New School does not have resource rooms, and all classes are mainstream classes. While SDS can offer students training in academic skill areas such as time management, studying, and test taking, tutoring in academic subjects
and assistance with specific academic tasks is not provided. Parents are strongly encouraged to check with the division their son or daughter is enrolled in to determine what type of academic assistance is available. For example, the University Learning
Center offers all students assistance with research papers and other written assignments. The University Learning Center is located on the ninth floor of 71 Fifth Avenue.