Accommodation Process for Students with Disabilities
Step 1. Obtain Documentation
Identifying as a student with a disability begins the process of requesting and receiving accommodations with the University. Obtain current documentation of disability from an appropriately licensed professional. Please share the following documentation guidelines with your health care provider so that they may provide you with a report or letter that establishes your eligibility and need for accommodations in the postsecondary educational and/or student housing environments.
- Documentation Guidelines for Academic Accommodations
- Documentation Guidelines for Housing Accommodations
Step 2: Complete Registration Form and Submit Documentation
Registering with Kokua Ike begins the process of determining your eligibility for accommodations. The term “accommodations” is used in our policies and procedures to including not only disability-related accommodations, but also disability-related services and/or auxiliary aids.
Complete the online Kokua Ike ADA Registration/Request Form.
You have the option to upload your documentation with the Registration Form. We also accept documentation by email, USPS mail or in person.
Email: [email protected]
Address: Kokua Ike, 3140 Waialae Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96816
Step 3: Meet with Kokua Ike Staff
Once your documentation and Registration form are received, you will be contacted by a staff member with either further instructions, a request for additional information or documentation, or to schedule an intake meeting.
During your intake meeting, a staff member will review your documentation with you and discuss potential barriers to access that you have experienced, or may experience, during your time at Chaminade University. If you qualify for academic accommodations, an accommodation letter will be prepared for you to share with your instructors.
It is important to remember that this is an interactive and collaborative process with shared responsibilities between each student and Kokua Ike staff. Please start this process early and let us know about any delays or oversights concerning your accommodations.
Documentation and Accommodation Decisions
While physicians and/or other evaluators may submit recommendations regarding accommodations, the staff at Kokua Ike, who are familiar with the educational environment at Chaminade University, determine the extent to which the recommended accommodations are appropriate in this context. In short, the evaluator’s recommendations provide helpful information but are not binding. If, in the judgment of the Kokua Ike staff, there is insufficient diagnostic or clinical information in support of the requested accommodations, students may be asked to submit new and/or additional documentation.
Kokua Ike staff also have discretion to determine what type of professional documentation is necessary, and this may vary depending on the nature and extent of the disability and the accommodation requested. In the event that Kokua Ike staff believe that it is appropriate to obtain a second professional opinion concerning the nature or severity of the disability, the University will bear the cost of obtaining that second opinion not covered by a third-party payer.
Appropriate accommodations are determined following an individualized assessment of each request and discussion with one of Kokua Ike staff members. Among the factors considered in determining appropriate accommodations for students are:
- The nature of the student’s disability;
- Accommodations that have worked for that student in the past;
- Whether the requested accommodations will allow the student to effectively access and participate in the course or program;
- Whether the requested accommodations will alter the essential requirements of the course or program.
The University is not required to alter or modify a course or program to the extent that it changes the fundamental nature of that course or program. Although most accommodations are decided upon and provided by Kokua Ike, some accommodation decisions are made in collaboration with program/school administrators and relevant faculty.
Student Rights and Responsibilities
Student Rights
Chaminade University has an institutional commitment to providing equal educational opportunities for qualified students with disabilities in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and 2008, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. To provide equality of access for students with disabilities, accommodations (including auxiliary aids and services) will be provided to the extent necessary to comply with state and federal laws. For each student, these accommodations will specifically address those functional limitations of the disability which adversely affect equal education opportunity. Chaminade University has Kōkua ʻIke within the Office of Advising and Career Development to assist qualified students with disabilities in securing such appropriate accommodations.
Accommodations include those modifications to the course, program, or educational requirements as are necessary and appropriate so that such requirements do not discriminate or have the effect of discriminating on the basis of disability. Academic requirements that are deemed essential to the course or to the program of instruction being pursued by the student or which relate directly to licensing requirements will not be regarded as discriminatory within the meaning of this section. Potential modifications that may be considered include (but are not limited to) changes in the length of time permitted for completion of degree requirements, extended time on an examination or paper, and other appropriate accommodations which do not fundamentally alter the essential nature of a course or academic program.
Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for consideration for accommodations if they have a documented disability and Kōkua ʻIke staff have met with the student and determined that functional limitations of the disability require such accommodation.
Student Responsibilities
Each student bears the responsibility of initiating a disability-related request for accommodations with Kokua Ike prior to the time such an accommodation is needed. In addition, and more specifically, it is the responsibility of the student to:
- As early as possible, register with Kokua Ike and submit documentation of disability as a prerequisite to receiving accommodations.
- Notify Kokua Ike immediately when an accommodation is not being provided correctly.
- Notify Kokua Ike immediately when discontinuing an accommodation (e.g., notetaking) or dropping a course for which alternate format materials are required.
- Provide timely notification to faculty of approved accommodations by submitting the Accommodation Letter to your instructor.
- Provide for personal disability-related needs or services such as “personal care attendants,” transportation off-campus, housekeeping, golf cart rental, wheelchair repair, etc.
- Meet the same standards—academic, technical, performance and behavior—expected of all Chaminade students.
