Cornerstone University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 in the provision of academic accommodations for students with disabilities.
Disability Accommodations Process
The process for registering with the Learning Center to receive academic accommodations is as follows:
- Submit the Student Application for Disability Services.
- Submit appropriate documentation of disability. Please see Guidelines for Documentation for specific documentation requirements.
- Once the Application for Disability Services and documentation have been received by the Learning Center, the file is reviewed by the Accommodations Officer.
- The file is presented to the Accommodations Review Committee, which approves accommodations based on recommendations within the file and available resources. An Individualized Student Accommodation Plan (ISAP) is created.
- The student will be notified of approval for accommodations by the Director of the Learning Center, and will meet with the Director to discuss the ISAP and learn how to access accommodations at Cornerstone.
Additional information regarding accommodations for students with disabilities:
- We recommend registering with the Learning Center immediately upon enrolling at Cornerstone.
- Use of accommodations is completely at the discretion of the student. Registration with the Learning Center does not require a student to use accommodations.
- The ISAP is effective for the entire time a student is enrolled at Cornerstone. Though students have the ability to review the ISAP at any time, students will not need to reapply for accommodations during their time at Cornerstone.
Student Disability Services Policy
The Cornerstone University Learning Center is responsible for providing students with disabilities equal access to their education and related experiences. To receive academic accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, students with disabilities at Cornerstone University must register with the Cornerstone Learning Center. Upon registration, students must provide documentation from an appropriately trained and credentialed professional evaluator indicating that they have a “substantially limiting” condition as defined by federal legislation noted above.
Federal law requires that students with disabilities be considered on an individual case-by-case basis. To provide each individual with appropriate accommodations, the Learning Center requires documentation that not only confirms the presence and severity of the disability, but also provides adequate information about the functional limitations for the student. In other words, the documentation must be comprehensive enough to address specific symptoms and specific information as to how the disability impacts the person’s everyday life functioning. Specific recommendations for academic accommodations/services should also be outlined in a written report, provided to the student who, in turn, will need to sign and release the information to the Learning Center for review. By providing the information outlined below, the evaluator will assist us in being able to serve the student effectively by enabling us to assess the appropriateness of the student’s request for academic accommodations.
Given that the manifestations and severity of a student’s disability may change over time, the evaluation must reflect the student’s current status. Our policy is that documentation must be no more than three years old. In other words, there should be no more than three years’ time between the date of the evaluation report and the date of application for services at Cornerstone University. For incoming freshman at Cornerstone University, an evaluation report from the student’s junior or senior year in high school is acceptable documentation; however, an IEP/MET that is older than three years is not current enough, and the student may need to obtain a current evaluation and report in order to request disability-related accommodations at Cornerstone University. Please note that an IEP in itself does not provide enough information to qualify for services; any IEP must be accompanied by a diagnostic report from a psychologist, physician and/or social worker.
While Cornerstone University does not provide assessment services, we are happy to provide referrals for a local professional who can provide quality assessment and documentation services. Students and families should be aware that insurance typically does not cover assessment and diagnostic services of this type, and such costs are left to the responsibility and sole discretion of the family.
Please be aware that having a comprehensive assessment completed does not automatically translate into qualification for services. For a student to qualify for disability-related accommodations and services, the assessing professional must certify the presence of a diagnosable and significantly limiting condition and provide specific and relevant recommendations.
Grievance Policy
Any Cornerstone University student who believes that he or she has been subjected to discrimination on the basis of disability or has been denied access or accommodations required by law may address this through the grievance policy.