Definitions
“Disability” refers to a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
“Major life activities” include, but are not limited to, functions such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, reading, concentrating, thinking, and communicating.
“Reasonable accommodation” refers to a modification or adjustment of an academic requirement, or the provision of an auxiliary aid, that is necessary for a qualified student with a disability to have an equal opportunity to participate in the school’s programs and activities.
- Examples of adjustments, aids and services may include, but are not limited to: arranging for priority registration; reducing a course load; substituting one course for another; providing note takers, recording devices, or sign language interpreters; extended time for testing; and equipping school computers with screen-reading, voice recognition, or other adaptive software or hardware. Accommodations will be afforded to an individual with a disability in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of the individual. Not all listed accommodations may be available in each case.
- FNU is only obligated to provide accommodations that are reasonable. A reasonable accommodation does not include adjustments or provision of aids or services that would result in a fundamental alteration of the University’s programs, impose an undue financial or administrative burden, or necessarily result in a direct threat to the health or safety of others. Also, a reasonable accommodation does not include one that would require the University to fundamentally alter its academic programs, or lower or substantially modify essential requirements. For example, the University’s ability to grant accommodations related to certain clinical and laboratory work may be limited. Similarly, while the University may provide extended testing time, it is not required to change the substantive content of a test or to provide testing time accommodations that are unreasonable. The University also is not required to provide devices or services of a personal nature (e.g., personal attendants, individually prescribed devices, readers for personal use or study, or other devices or services of a personal nature, such as tutoring and typing).
- Students with the same diagnosis may receive different accommodations depending on the specific circumstances applicable to theme. Documentation of a specific diagnosis or disability does not automatically correlate to a specific accommodation. FNU is not required to provide the specific accommodation requested by a student and reserves the right to provide an effective alternate accommodation. Approved academic accommodations are not retroactive to prior coursework or courses.
“Qualified student” is a student with a disability who meets the academic and technical requirements for admission or participation in the institution's educational program or activity.