Requesting Accommodations

Every student has different needs. We want to take the time to learn all about you and make the best possible accommodation recommendations.

Overview: Requesting Accommodations

It is your responsibility, as the student, to provide documentation and to request accommodations for your disability. When making your initial request for any type of accommodation:

• For information on the accomodation process, email accessibilityservices@lakeforest.edu.
• Educational, clinical/licensed, and/or medical professionals providing documentation should complete the Evaluator portion of the Verification for Need for Accessibility Services form and/or provide documents that address the questions on the form.

Reasonable Accommodations and Auxiliary Aids

Each student’s needs are different, and recommendations for reasonable accommodations cannot be made without reviewing adequate documentation and talking with each student. Possible accommodations for students with documented disabilities may include:

Disabilities affecting mobility:

• Residence hall room in an accessible residence hall (first floor and/or building with an elevator) with an accessible restroom (may not be private)
• Relocation of courses from inaccessible buildings to accessible classrooms

 Disabilities affecting learning:

• Extended time and/or a distraction-reduced testing environment for courses
• Access to assistive technology for coursework 

 Disabilities affecting hearing:

• Residence hall room with an accessible fire alarm (usually a flashing alarm)
• For a student with little to no hearing, potentially interpreter services

Just as it’s important to understand what accommodations may be reasonable, it’s important to understand the types of auxiliary aids and services that the College cannot provide.

Personal aids and services, including help with personal needs such as bathing, dressing or other personal care, are not provided.  Personal attendants and individually prescribed devices are the responsibility of the student who has a disability and not required of the College.  For example, readers may be provided for classroom use, but the College does not provide readers for personal use or for help during individual study time. Reasonable accommodations do not include personal auxiliary aids or devices, such as hearing aids, wheelchairs, or glasses.

Auxiliary aids can be provided for a student’s equal access to programs and services, but the College may not provide the most sophisticated auxiliary aid that is available or the aid that is preferred by the student.  The aids the College will provide will effectively meet the needs of the student with a disability, but the College retains the flexibility to provide an equally effective aid that is more cost-effective for the College.

The College is not required to waive essential requirements.  For example, the College is not required to eliminate a course requirement that is reasonably necessary for a course of study.  Further, the lowering or substantial modification of reasonable academic standards is not available as an accommodation.  At all times, the objective of the accommodation efforts is to afford a student with a disability an equal opportunity for academic success.   If a specific academic adjustment is requested, the College may offer that adjustment, or it may offer an effective and reasonable alternative. Accommodations are reasonable when they do not fundamentally alter the nature of a program or service and do not represent undue financial or administrative burden.

Provide Documentation

The first step is to complete and submit the  Verification of Need for Accessibility Services form. You may also submit testing results, IEPs, and 504 plans with the Verification form.

Mail Documentation to

Accessibility
Mail Stop: Accessibility Services
Lake Forest College
555 N. Sheridan Road
Lake Forest, IL 60045
disabilityservices@lakeforest.edu