Students must meet all admission and academic standards and be formally admitted to the University of Oklahoma.
An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.
Students in higher education are required to self-disclose their disabilities to formally request accommodations. This includes submitting appropriate diagnostic documentation of these disabilities. Diagnostic documentation must come from a licensed practitioner eligible to diagnose and treat this condition.
The rationale for seeking information about a student’s condition is to support the higher education professional in establishing disability, understanding how disability may impact a student, and making informed decisions about accommodations. Professional judgment is an essential component of this process (AHEAD, 2024).
Diagnostic documentation of a disability should include:
The ADRC is unable to accept disability information presented on a prescription pad or a document with no identifying information about the health care provider.
The ADRC may be able to use patient portal documents if they include diagnosis and prognosis.
A letter with no disability diagnosis will not be accepted (e.g. illness, condition, disability)
The ADRC reserves the right to request updated or additional documentation as needed to determine appropriate accommodations.
Professional Judgment Statement
When complete documentation is not available, ADRC staff may utilize the student self-report and exercise professional judgment to determine a student’s eligibility for services and assign temporary accommodations.
