Documentation Guidelines
Cornell College requires that students seeking accommodations provide medical or mental health documentation of their disability. Documentation must be provided by a physician or other appropriate professional who has done the testing/evaluation. This documentation should consist of a current report or evaluation prepared by the appropriate professional. The documentation must:
- Specify a particular medical or mental health diagnosis, including when the diagnosis was made and the likely duration of the condition;
- Describe in detail the student’s functional limitations created by the diagnosis
- Indicate accommodations recommended for the student, along with explanations as to why these accommodations would be useful.
- Be up to date; generally within 3 years for most disabilities, though mental health disabilities are recommended to have updated documentation every six months. IF you have older documentation, we may be able to take it, but that depends on student's diagnosis.
The documentation is then given to the Office of Academic Support and Advising and the disability services coordinator will review the material and set up a meeting to discuss appropriate accommodations with the student.
At the beginning of each course, the student must take the initiative within the first three days of the term and notify the instructor of any accommodations needed for the duration of the course by meeting privately with the faculty member and completing the Course Accommodation form together.
The process is premised upon an open and productive dialogue between the faculty member and the student.
Specific documentation guidelines are provided to assist students in obtaining appropriate documentation from qualified professionals. The provision of this documentation assists the disability services coordinator in understanding the impact of the disability, the student’s needs, and potential accommodations. Colleges request documentation for the following reasons:
- to verify the existence of a disability;
- to support the request for each specific accommodation;
- to review the nature of the disability and its impact in the postsecondary environment; and
- to assist in the collaborative determination of eligibility for auxiliary aids and services.
The Counseling Center does not administer evaluations/assessments required for documentation of disabilities. The Counseling Center can 'screen' for symptoms relating to ADHD but will refer students elsewhere for formal evaluation for ADHD and LD.
An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan from a secondary school may not provide sufficient information for the documentation of disability and needed accommodations. Please refer to Cornell College’s specific documentation guidelines for the required information:
Head Injury/Traumatic Brain Injury
Physical Disabilities/Systemic Illnesses
Please keep a copy of your documentation. The office of the Coordinator of Academic Support and Advising holds documentation for a limited time period after a student leaves the College; all documentation will be destroyed at the end of this time period or upon the request of the student.
Note: Documentation accepted by Cornell College might not be accepted by other institutions, agencies, and/or programs (e.g. testing agencies, licensure exams, certification programs). Please check with the specific institutions and/or programs to determine their documentation requirements.
For a list of those in the area who might do testing for you, click here.
Documentation may be brought in or mailed to:
Kate Fashimpaur
Coordinator of Academic Support and Advising
Cornell College
600 First Street SW
Mount Vernon, Iowa 52314-1098
Or kfashimpaur@cornellcollege.edu as a PDF document