1. It is the policy and practice of Tulane University to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (Pub. L. No. 101-336), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Pub. L. No. 93-112, § 504, as amended), and state and local requirements regarding individuals with disabilities. Under these laws, no qualified individual with a disability shall be denied access to or participation in services, programs, and activities of Tulane University. (See Legal Issues for an overview of Section 504 and the ADA). Accommodations are provided to students with documented disabilities in order that these students are viewed according to their abilities rather than their disabilities. Accommodations offered by Tulane may not necessarily be the same as those received in high school or at another college or university.

2. At the college/university level, students are responsible for:

   1. Registering their disabilities with the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at the Center for Educational Resources and Counseling.

   2. Requesting the specific accommodations they may need.

   3. Providing adequate documentation that substantiates their disabilities and shows the need for the requested accommodations (see the Accommodation Packet for additional information).

3. If a student notifies an instructor or administrator that they have a disability and need some type of accommodation, the instructor or administrator should immediately refer the student to Disability Services.

4. Disability Services reviews the disability documents to ensure that each accommodation granted is reasonable, appropriate, and based on a valid disability.

5. Students who have been through the disability documentation review process receive a course accommodation form or letter from Disability Services describing which accommodations have been approved for them. Students must request and pick up a new Course Accommodation Form or letter from Disability Services each semester.

6. A copy of the Course Accommodation Form or letter is kept on file at Disability Services, and the academic dean’s office is notified of the student’s accommodations.

7. Instructors should ask students for a copy of the current semester’s course accommodation form or letter from Disability Services before granting any accommodations. Copies of disability reports and documents from other sources are NOT acceptable substitutes. If students cannot produce a course accommodation form (or letter) from Disability Services dated for the current semester, they should be referred to Disability Services.

8. The disability document review process can take quite a while. Therefore, students should submit requests for disability accommodations as soon as possible.

9. Providing accommodations for disabilities is the responsibility of the entire university, not just Disability Services. Although Disability Services will help whenever possible, it is ultimately the instructor’s responsibility to see that approved classroom accommodations are provided.

10. Accommodations do NOT apply retroactively. If students neglect to ask instructors for accommodations, or do not discover that they have a disability until after an exam, paper or other assignment, instructors are under no obligation to retroactively correct for this. Accommodations apply to present and future, not past, events.

11. Students are encouraged to obtain a course accommodation form (or letter) from Disability Services at the beginning of each semester and to notify instructors of their need for accommodations as soon as possible, preferably during the first two weeks of class.

12. Instructors are encouraged to include a sentence or two in each course syllabus inviting students with disabilities to make an appointment to meet with them privately during the first few weeks of class in order to discuss their need for disability accommodations.

13. The instructor should keep one copy of the course accommodation form, and the student should keep another copy. Both copies should be signed and dated on the day the student first gives the instructor the form. The signatures and dates can be an important protection for the instructor and/or the student.

14. If students do not give instructors adequate notice, they may not receive accommodations for one or more exams or other assignments. Students must notify their instructors of their need for accommodations (using the course accommodation form or letter) at least seven days before a test or fourteen days before a final exam. Instructors are not required to provide accommodations if they do not receive adequate notice as defined above.

For questions and concerns about disability procedures and other disability issues, contact the Office of Disability Services, at the ERC.

David Tylicki, Manager of Disability Services
Phone: (504) 862-8433
Fax: (504) 862-8435

Email: dtylicki@tulane.edu

Angela James, Accommodations Coordinator (implements many types of accommodations, including note takers and alternate format texts)
Phone: (504) 862-8433
Fax: (504) 862-8435
Email: ajames2@tulane.edu

Brooke Hemmelder, Testing Coordinator (implements accommodated testing)
Phone: (504) 862-8433
Fax: (504) 862-8435
Email: bhemmeld@tulane.edu

Other Tulane Contact Information

Jillandra C. Rovaris, Director, ERC (supervises the Manager of Disability Services)
Phone: (504) 865-5113
Fax: (504) 862-8148
Email: rovaris@tulane.edu

Victoria Johnson, General Counsel (university legal office)
Phone: (504) 865-5783
Fax: (504) 865-5784
Email: victoria@tulane.edu

Deborah Love, Office of Institutional Equity (contact for the disability grievance process)
Phone: (504) 862-8083
Email: dlove1@tulane.edu