Disability Services

At Rivier University, our Disability Services staff is here to help you secure the accommodations you need to succeed academically.

The University makes every effort to provide equal access to programs, courses, and college life by providing reasonable and appropriate accommodations.

Housing accommodation request deadlines ensure timely review and implementation for students seeking accommodations. For the Fall 2025 semester, returning students must submit requests by March 3, 2025, while incoming first-year and transfer students must submit requests by June 9, 2025. For the Spring 2026 semester, mid-year incoming students should apply by October 20, 2025.

Although requests can be made at any time, applications submitted after these deadlines may experience delays in processing and implementation.

How to Obtain Accommodations

If you have a learning disability, ADD/ADHD, physical limitations, or medical limitations, you will need to provide official documentation in order to receive special accommodations in or out of the classroom. We grant accommodations based on proper, current (within three years) clinical documentation.

Clinical Documentation Must Include:

  • The date/dates of all testing
  • The name, title, and professional credentials of the evaluator
  • The names of the assessment instruments used, which must be appropriate for an adult population
  • A clear statement of the diagnosed disability from the doctor or clinician
  • A description of specific accommodation requests based on clear and specific evidence of a disability, including a description of the related functional limitations and a list of the tests and techniques used to arrive at the diagnosis
  • If you have medical disabilities, appropriate documentation from a physician will be sufficient

Once our Office of Disability Services reviews all clinical documentation, they will work with you to arrange for reasonable accommodations. To continue accommodations, you must meet with the Coordinator at the beginning of each semester.

Please note that the University does not grant accommodations solely based on Individual Education Plans, letters from special education teachers, or notes from tutors. Official testing must be included.

While Rivier University does not provide testing for the identification of learning disabilities, if you suspect you may have a disability, you may meet with the Coordinator of Disability Services to discuss options for testing by an outside agency. Rivier University is not responsible for the cost of the testing.

Available Accommodations

In order to provide equal access and opportunity for all students, the Office of Disability Services offers a range of academic accommodations, such as:

  • Audio taping lectures
  • Extended test time
  • Testing with reduced distraction
  • Electronic text
  • CCTV
  • Advocacy
  • Scribe for exams
  • Readers for exams
  • Kurzweil 3000

Additional Resources

Rivier University Public Safety
Association on Higher Education and Disability

Contact

Office of Disability Services