Information for Students

Accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis each semester. First, you will meet with an Accessibility Specialist. In this meeting, you will discuss barriers or challenges you experience and what has helped you in the past. You will need to be able to identify what your disability is and how the program, service, or activity at Minneapolis College is created in a way that you are unable to access it.

The Accessibility Specialist will ask you a lot of questions so they can better understand your experiences. You will explore options to determine reasonable accommodations to ensure you are able to access the program, service, or activity.
If you have documentation that helps describe the situation, feel free to bring it.

If an accommodation is approved that will need faculty involvement, the Accessibility Specialist will provide you with a sealed envelope with an accommodation notification in it. You will need to deliver this letter to your instructor as the final step in implementing the approved accommodation.

You can obtain accommodation letters as early as the week before the semester starts, or at any time during the semester. This process will need to be repeated each semester, for each class, throughout your time here at Minneapolis College.

Reasonable accommodations are academic adjustments made to courses, programs, or policies. The purpose of accommodations is to remove or minimize disability-related barriers. Reasonable accommodations must not compromise standards or fundamentally alter essential elements of a course, program, or policy. 

Reasonable accommodations are not retroactive.
 

Appropriate disability documentation must include the following elements:

1. Be typed or printed on official letterhead and signed by an evaluator qualified to make the diagnosis
2. Clearly state the diagnosed disability
3. Specific Learning Disabilities require full learning disability testing results
4. Include student’s name and either student ID number or date of birth
5. If possible, describe the student’s current functional limitations or symptoms as they relate to an academic setting.

Students with high school IEPs or 504 Plans are welcome to submit them for consideration. If you choose to do this, you will need to also submit your most recent Evaluation. The Accessibility Resource Center will review the documentation to decide if there is enough information in it to determine disability status at the college level. 

Be aware that your high school IEP or 504 Plan is written to meet requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA), which does not apply at the college level. 

If we are unable to accept your high school IEP or 504 Plan as appropriate disability documentation, we will explain what is missing and discuss your options with you.
 

To schedule an appointment with an Accessibility Specialists, call us at 612-659-6730 or stop by the Accessibility Resource Center in T.2500.

Appointments can be scheduled with an Accessibility Specialist at any time throughout the year during ARC office hours. It is recommended that you schedule appointments in advance.

You can obtain accommodation letters as early as the week before the semester starts.

Throughout the rest of the semester, you can meet with an Accessibility Specialist at any time to discuss accessibility barriers and accommodations. Accommodations are not retroactive, so it is recommended that you visit the ARC as soon as possible to get the process started.

If you attended Minneapolis College in the past and have accessibility concerns, you will need to meet with an Accessibility Specialist to discuss accessibility barriers and establish accommodations for the current semester.

If you attended Minneapolis College in the past and had accommodations, you will need to meet with an Accessibility Specialist again to establish accommodations for the current semester. The accommodations process needs to be repeated each semester, for each class, throughout your time here at Minneapolis College.