Students at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences who seek “reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are responsible for notifying the Director of Counseling and Wellness of their disability. There is an established procedure and form to complete.
This information can be found on the Office of Counseling and Wellness web pages located on the ACPHS intranet site (accessible via the Student Portal under the “Students” tab). Students requesting accommodations are encouraged to read this before meeting with or submitting materials to the Director of Counseling and Wellness.
In brief, the student seeking accommodation must make a formal request for a reasonable accommodation. This request should be made in writing to the Director of Counseling and Wellness and should specify the nature of the accommodation being requested.
While a student can request a particular type of accommodation, it is the College that determines how to meet a particular need. Therefore, alternative accommodations may be provided that are more cost-effective or efficient than those requested by the student seeking accommodation.
Together with the request for accommodation, the student seeking accommodation must submit documentation of disability, which will be kept on file with the Director of Counseling and Wellness. Such documentation is subject to the provisions of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
The documentation must support the accommodation request by demonstrating by competent qualified opinion that the student requesting accommodation has a physical, mental or learning impairment that substantially limits a major life activity and sets forth the nature, manner and duration of that limitation. The College reserves the right to require further evaluation.