How Do I Receive Accommodations for My Disability?
- Accommodation requests must be made in advance of the need (preferably at the beginning of each semester). Remember, services are not retroactive. Please schedule an appointment with the Director of Academic Success and Accessibility
as soon as possible.
- It is the student’s responsibility to self-disclose a disability and need for academic
accommodations. Students who are unable to register in person can request accommodations
by contacting the Director before classes begin. The meeting with the Director can
be conducted in person, by phone, or virtually. Please contact the Director in any
of these ways to schedule a 1 hour appointment for an intake interview:
Contact Information:
Email: katherine.meier@gfcmsu.edu
Call (406) 771-4311 (voice, TDD, or Sorenson Video Relay: 406-205-1079)
Stop by the Receptionist’s Desk in the back of the Weaver Library to schedule an appointment - When coming to the scheduled appointment. Please submit supporting documentation from
a qualified professional. The documentation must show the functional limitations that
impact the individual in the academic setting and support the request for specific
accommodations.
- During the initial intake appointment, the student will be interviewed by the Director
of Academic Success and Accessibility. Students will need to describe how the disability
affects him/her in and out of the academic setting, and the student will be asked
about the functional limitations that impact the student. After reviewing the documentation,
the Director and the student will discuss and determine appropriate accommodations.
Remember, all accommodation requests must come through the office of Academic Success
and Accessibility.
- Students are responsible for making arrangements for accommodations as needed (for
distance students and instructors, this may be done electronically). Students are
advised to schedule a time to meet with instructors during their office hours. Instructors
should review the accommodation request forms with the student and discuss arrangements.
If the instructor cannot provide the requested accommodation, alternate arrangements
may be discussed with the instructor, student and the Director. Although students
are required to disclose the existence of a disability to their instructors in order
to receive accommodations, they are not required to provide them with a diagnosis
or any other details; students are encouraged to develop an open dialogue with instructors,
but it is ultimately the student’s decision to disclose information; instructors are
required to maintain the confidentiality of disability information except to the extent
necessary to implement the accommodations. Students who are experiencing unresolved
problems receiving appropriate accommodations should contact the Director of Academic
Success and Accessibility.
- For students needing extended time for Biology Lab exams, arrangements will be made
for proctoring exams at a specific set time designated by the Biology Department.
Biology Lab exam times will be announced at the beginning of each semester.
- Each semester, students must schedule an appointment with the Director of Academic Success and Accessibility in order to continue services and address any unique circumstances for the upcoming semester.