Prospective Students

• Differences between IEP/504 plans and college accommodations
• Student responsibility vs. school responsibility
• Self-advocacy expectations in college
• FERPA and family role transition

• Individualized review process
• Functional impact (not just diagnosis)
• Interactive discussion with student
• Reasonableness in the college environment

Families and other supporters are welcome partners in this transition. They can help by: 

• Encouraging self-advocacy.
• Helping students prepare questions and documentation.
• Supporting organization and planning.
• Encouraging direct communication with DAS.

Families and other supporters may contact DAS for general questions, but students are the primary point of contact for accommodations.

Accommodations in postsecondary education are governed by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA; amended 2008). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is no longer applicable in college. It is important to understand the differences between the laws and the new rights and responsibilities students will have while attending a postsecondary institution. Additionally, it will be important to understand the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and how that applies to student records, including disability documentation records.

Section 504 and ADA

“Institutions shall make modifications to its academic requirements as are necessary to ensure that such requirements do not discriminate or have the effect of discriminating, on the basis of handicap, against a qualified applicant or student.”(104.44[a]).

The postsecondary education system is not covered by IDEA, but instead by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, and Subpart E of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93–112). These laws establish what colleges need to do to support equal opportunity for students with disabilities to participate in a college or postsecondary program or activity. Postsecondary programs or colleges are not required to alter academic standards to accommodate a student with a disability.

• Students are eligible for academic adjustments, program modifications and auxiliary aids/services, but are not eligible for specially designed instruction offered under IDEA.
• The college has no obligation to identify students with disabilities, but only to inform applicants of the availability of auxiliary aids/services, program modifications and academic adjustments.
• Students must self-identify, provide documentation of their disability, request the need for the academic adjustments, program modifications and auxiliary aids and/or services. The categories of disability, the type of documentation required, and who is qualified to conduct the assessment(s) may be different from K–12.
• The goal is to provide equal opportunity to access education and students will only receive the necessary support (e.g., academic adjustments, program modifications, aids/services) to allow for equal access in a course of program.
• Any alteration in course or program requirements (e.g., extended time to complete program, substitution or waiver of program requirements) usually requires the approval from the college and must be directly related to needs identified in a student’s documentation of disability.