Disability - General Statement

Reasonable Accommodation

Reduced Course Load/Full-Time Status for Students with Disabilities

Federal Regulations

College of Law

Service and Assistance Animal Policy

The University of Oklahoma is committed to the goal of achieving equal educational opportunity and full participation for students with disabilities. Consistent with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, The University of Oklahoma ensures that no “qualified individual with a disability” will be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination solely on the basis of disability under any program or activity offered by The University of Oklahoma. Accommodations on the basis of disability are available by contacting the Disability Resource Center in Room 166, Goddard Center (405) 325-4173/TDD or (405) 325-3852 Voice.

The University of Oklahoma will reasonably accommodate otherwise qualified individuals with a disability unless such accommodation would pose an undue hardship, would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the service, program, or activity or in undue financial or administrative burdens. The term "reasonable accommodation" is used in its general sense in this policy to apply to employees, students, and visitors.

Reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to: 

• Making existing facilities readily accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities
• Job restructuring
• Part-time or modified work schedules
• Reassignment to a vacant position if qualified
• Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices
• Adjustment or modification of examinations, training materials or policies
• Providing qualified readers or interpreters
• Modifying policies, practices and procedures

The Disability Resource Center, unless otherwise provided, is the central point-of-contact to receive all requests for reasonable accommodation and to receive all documentation required to determine disability status under law. This center will then make a recommendation on accommodation to the appropriate administrative unit. Reasonable accommodation with respect to employment matters should be coordinated with the Office of Human Resources. Reasonable accommodation with respect to academic matters, including but not limited to faculty employment, should be coordinated with the Office of the Provost while all other issues of reasonable accommodation should be coordinated with the Office of the Vice President for Administrative Affairs.

Individuals who have complaints alleging discrimination based upon a disability may file them with the Equal Opportunity Office in accordance with prevailing University discrimination grievance procedures.

Purpose

To provide full-time status to qualified students with significant disabilities who, as a direct result of disability, are unable to carry a full course loadand, consequently, would be unable to participate fully in the benefits and privileges afforded full-time students.

Policy Statement

Under University policy, full-time status for undergraduates requires enrollment in no less than 12 credit hours and no less than 6 credit hours forgraduate students. While it is typically preferable for a student with a disability to be accommodated through methods such as academic advising, priority enrollment, and academic accommodations, it may be necessary for a student to request a reduced course load because of a more severe academic impact of a significant disability. Factors unrelated to the disability such as employment, curricular activities, family/personal obligations, inadequate academic preparation, failure to use appropriate academic accommodations, or poor class attendance cannot be the primary reason(s) for a reduced courseload. Students who are approved for reduced course loads should work closely with their academic advisers on a coursework plan, particularly with respect to university and college degree completion time limitations. Approval under this policy does not automatically grant extended time for degree completion or acceptance of over-aged credit. Students must continue to make satisfactory progress toward their degree.

This policy will allow an eligible student to carry a reduced course load without forfeiting the benefits and privileges of full time status such as tenancy in university housing, participation in intramural or intercollegiate athletics or other extra-curricular activities, or access to athletic event tickets. However, eligible students should follow up with auxiliary services such as federal financial aid, personal health insurance, and non-University sponsored scholarships as these and other services may be adversely affected by the reduction in semester hours. The University cannot require outside entities to abide by the University’s determination of a reduced course load/ full-time status designation.

Under no circumstances will full-time status be approved for credit hours totaling less than half time as defined in University Enrollment Regulations. If a student who has been approved for a reduced course load further reduces his or her course load below the approved number of hours for full-time status, the student’s full-time status shall be revoked automatically and will no longer be in effect.

Procedure

Requests for reduced course loads/full-time status should be submitted using the Request for a Reduced Course load /Full-Time Status form to the Director of the Disability Resource Center. The reduced course load, if approved, is not permanent but must be requested and re-evaluated each semester. To provide adequate time for review before the end of the add/drop period, deadlines for requesting the reduced course load/full-time status are as follows:

Fall semester:  Fifth week of the semester 
Spring semester:  Fifth week of the semester
Summer semester:  Second week of the semester

The Director of the Disability Resource Center, a representative from the Office of the Provost, and the student’s college Dean or Dean’s designee (the“Review Committee”), will make a decision on the student’s request. The Review Committee will evaluate the student’s request in terms of the impact of the disability, the demands of the student’s degree program, and the proposed academic schedule.

The Process

Submit the form to the Director of the Disability Resource Center. The form must be accompanied by the appropriate supporting medical and/or psychologicaldocumentation that is recent enough to evaluate the current impact of the disability. If professional documentation is already on file with the Disability Resource Center, students should check with the Director to determine if it is sufficient. It is the student’s responsibility to cooperate by providing any additional documentation requested by the Review Committee in order for it to reach a timely decision. Click here for the Request for Reduced Course Form

Upon making a determination on the request, the Review Committee will sign the Reduced Course Load/Full Time Status form with copies forwarded to the:

• Student
• Student’s College
• Registration and Records
• Director of Athletic Compliance, if applicable

If the student makes a request for a reduced course load for a subsequent semester, the basis for such a renewal will be contingent on the following factors:

• Documentation of disability is current and continues to establish the need for the reduced course load, and;
• The student made satisfactory progress toward his or her degree in the preceding semester(s), and;
• The student consistently used accommodations for which he or she was determined eligible by the Disability Resource Center.

Appeal

The Review Committee’s decision may be appealed to the University Equal Opportunity office in accordance with prevailing University discrimination grievance procedures.

The University of Oklahoma provides services to all students with disabilities as defined by federal regulation. A qualified person with a disability means:

…an individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable modifications to rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural, communication, or transportation barriers, or the provision of auxiliary aids and services, meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or the participation in programs or activities provided by a public entity.
(Public Law 101-336, Section 201)

The federal definition of a disability includes a person who:

(i) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such a person’s major life activities;

(ii) has a record of such impairment, or

(iii) is regarded as having such impairment.

(Public Law 101-336, Section 3)

Students must initiate their request for reasonable accommodation by self-identifying as a student with a disability to the Disability Resource Center. After a student has met with the staff of the DRC, with the student’s permission, a memo outlining the required accommodations/services will be transmitted to the Associate Dean of the College of Law. The College of Law faculty and staff, under the supervision of the Associate Dean of the College of Law, will provide direct services at the Law Center. All guidelines regarding eligibility for services, documentation of disability, and types of accommodations/services contained in this Fact Book are applicable to students enrolled in the College of Law.

Pursuant to the American Bar Association (ABA) interpretation of Standard 213-3…, “Reasonable accommodations are those that are consistent with the fundamental nature of the school's program of legal education, that can be provided without undue financial or administrative burden, and that can be provided while maintaining academic and other essential performance standards.” As reflected in ABA Standard 304 and in internal policies of the University of Oklahoma College of Law, class attendance is generally deemed to be a fundamental aspect of legal education. Although the university recognizes that students with disabilities must be accommodated on an individual basis, students who have a disability that may impede their attendance nevertheless must meet the fundamental attendance requirements. Students who believe that their situations are extraordinary should consult with the Disability Resource Center, which will in turn consult with the Associate Dean for Academics at the College of Law and the individual faculty member involved. Given the availability of other accommodations such as a reduced course load, an attendance policy exception would be extremely unusual.

Policy Overview

The University of Oklahoma is committed to compliance with state and federal laws regarding individuals with disabilities. All requests for service or assistance animals should be directed to the Disability Resource Center (“DRC”) at 620 Elm Avenue, Suite 166, Goddard Health Center; drc@ou.edu; 405-325-3852; 405-325-4173 (TDD). The University will determine, on a case by case basis, and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, whether the animal is a reasonable accommodation on campus. In doing so, the University must balance the needs of the individual with the impact of animals on other campus patrons.
Where it is not readily apparent that an animal is a service or assistance animal, the University may require that documentation be provided on the letterhead of a treating physician or mental health provider, which permits the University to determine: (1) that that the individual has a disability for which the animal is needed; (2) how the animal assists the individual, including whether the animal has undergone any training; and (3) the relationship between the disability and the assistance that the animal provides.

Service Animals Permitted on Campus

Individuals with disabilities may be accompanied by their service animals on all University of Oklahoma campuses where members of the public or participants in services, programs or activities are allowed to go. By law, a service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals. In some cases, the University may permit miniature horses on campus on a case-by-case basis, consistent with applicable law.
The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual's disability. Examples of such tasks include, but are not limited to: assisting an individual with low vision with navigation; alerting individuals who are hard of hearing to the presence of people or objects; pulling a person's wheelchair; or providing assistance with stability or balance to an individual with a mobility disability.
Federal law does not require the individual to provide documentation that an animal has been trained as a service animal. The University may, however, ask if the animal is required because of a disability, as well as what work or task the animal has been trained to perform.

Exceptions

The University may exclude a service animal from campus if its behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others or when its presence fundamentally alters the nature of a program or activity. Furthermore, the University may ask an individual with a disability to remove a service animal from campus if the animal is out of control and the individual does not take effective action to control it; or if the animal is not housebroken.

Responsibilities of Individuals with Service Animals

The University is not responsible for the care or supervision of a service animal. Individuals with disabilities are responsible for the control of their service animals at all times and must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including vaccination, licensure, animal health and leash laws. A service animal shall be restrained with a harness, leash, or other tether, unless an individual’s disability precludes the use of a restraint or if the restraint would interfere with the service animal's safe, effective performance of work or tasks. If a service animal is not tethered, it must be otherwise under the individual’s control, whether by voice control, signals, or other effective means.
Individuals are responsible for ensuring the immediate clean-up and proper disposal of all animal waste. Although the University may not charge an individual with a disability a service animal surcharge, it may impose charges for damages caused by a service animal in the same manner the University imposes charges for damages caused by pets.

Assistance Animals in University Housing

Federal law allows individuals with disabilities the presence of a broader range of animals (“assistance animals”) in University housing as compared with the campus as a whole. By law, an assistance animal means any service animal, as defined above, as well as an animal needed for emotional support. An individual may keep an assistance animal as accommodation in University housing if: (1) the individual has a disability; (2) the animal is necessary to afford the individual an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling; and (3) there is an identifiable relationship between the disability and the assistance the animal provides.

Exceptions

The University may exclude an assistance animal from University housing if the animal is not housebroken; would cause substantial physical damage to the property of others; would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others; would fundamentally alter the nature of a program or activity; or is not being cared for by the individual.

Responsibilities of Individuals with Assistance Animals

The University is not responsible for the care or supervision of an assistance animal. Individuals with disabilities are responsible for the control of their assistance animals at all times and for ensuring the immediate clean-up and proper disposal of all animal waste. Individuals must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including vaccination, licensure, animal health and leash laws, as well as the University’s rules in lease provisions regarding vaccination, licensure, leash control, cleanup rules, animal health, and community relationships.