HU Undergraduate Student Success

Documentation Policies 

To establish eligibility for accommodations, Student Success requires documentation that both verifies the existence of a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 AND provides a rationale for reasonable accommodations. These laws define a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. The documentation requested by Student Success establishes a student’s disability status, aids in understanding how the disability may impact a student, and provides adequate information on the functional impact of the disability so that effective reasonable accommodations can be identified. Documentation submitted to Student Success supporting a student’s request for reasonable accommodations must indicate that the student’s disability substantially limits one or more major life activities. The documentation should reflect functional limitations that are currently impacting the student as determined by the appropriate professional who is qualified to evaluate the functional impact of the disability and render conclusions about the need for accommodations. 

The responsibility and cost of obtaining documentation is borne by the student. If the documentation supplied by the student is insufficient to establish disability or determine appropriate accommodations, Student Success will require the student to provide additional documentation at the student’s expense. Student Success has not adopted a documentation currency requirement, but documentation will only be accepted if it reflects the present-day status of the student’s functional limitations. Student Success may waive documentation requirements for a student whose disability is readily apparent or obvious (e.g., paralysis, total blindness, deafness). 

Documentation Criteria  

Documentation provided must be from a practitioner, such as physician or clinical psychologist, currently licensed to practice in the United States. Under very extenuating circumstances documentation from a practitioner licensed outside of the United States may be accepted for limited, temporary accommodation, though this is uncommon. Letters from practitioners must be on formal letterhead and Accessibility Services staff must be able to verify the legitimacy of the documentation. Documentation that cannot be verified will not be accepted.   

Documentation should include the following as criteria: 

Recent secondary school documentation, such as Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or Section 504 Plans are accepted, but additional documentation may be necessary should those plans not include the documentation criteria listed above.  

Student Success reserves the right to determine whether submitted documentation supports the need for reasonable accommodations based on the functional impact of the disability in the college environment. 

All files and information provided for the purposes of seeking accommodations are confidential. 

Email for Electronic Submission: 

It is preferred that documentation be provided via email to ADA@harrisburgu.edu, but it may also be sent via U.S. mail or provided in-person during a meeting with Student Success staff.  

Mailing Address: 

Student Success – Accessibility Services  

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology 326 Market Street 

Harrisburg, PA 17101