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Students Considering Registering with SSD
Importance of Registering with SSD
Post-secondary education differs from earlier levels of education with regard to disability services. At Northwestern and all other colleges and universities, it is the responsibility of the student to inform the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) that he or she has a disability and to request accommodations and services if needed. A student who has a disability but has not registered with SSD is not entitled to services or accommodations.
Some students who received disability-related services in high school may decide to try taking their Northwestern courses without any accommodations or services. SSD recommends that those students nonetheless provide documentation of their disability. In this way, the SSD office can easily serve the student if he or she later finds that accommodations are needed. SSD maintains confidentiality of information, meaning that records contained in SSD files are housed only in the SSD office and are not part of the student's academic file.
Description of the Intake, Accommodations Determination, and Follow-Up Processes
Please visit our eligibility page and see our documentation guidelines page so that you know what documentation will be required. If you have any questions about this process, please utilize this direct link to our office email address or call 847-467-5530. Once you have your documentation, we recommend that you submit it via mail, FAX, or in person before you schedule your 1-hour intake appointment.
Procedural steps 1-7 below apply to all students receiving accommodations through SSD. Steps 8-11 refer only to students receiving testing accommodations.
- Send (mail or FAX) or personally deliver documentation of your disability to SSD in Room 21 of Scott Hall.
- Contact the SSD office after your documentation has been submitted to ensure that it has been received and to set up an appointment for an in-person intake interview to discuss possible services and accommodations.
- Sign an agreement listing your accommodations once the appropriate accommodations have been thoroughly discussed and agreed upon.
- Access this direct link to our Accommodation Letter Request Form (Word document) or pick up this (purple) form from the SSD office. This must be completed each quarter.
- Drop off the completed Accommodation Letter Request Form at the SSD office or email it using this direct link to our office email address.
- Pick up the accommodation letters at the SSD office four working days after submitting your request for accommodations to SSD.
- Hand-deliver the accommodation letters to your professors, preferably during their office hours, during the first 2 weeks of the quarter.
- Discuss with your instructor how he or she would like to handle your testing accommodations. Will the instructor proctor the tests, or will you take the test at the SSD office?
- Check your syllabus to see when you have a test scheduled.
- If you are going to take tests at the SSD office, you will need to complete a Test Request Form (dark turquoise form) listing your tests for the entire quarter. There is also a Test Request Form (light blue form) available to complete for individual tests. Test Request and other forms are available online. SSD MUST be notified at least one week prior to your test.
- If your professor is proctoring the test, remind him or her one week prior to the test of the accommodations you will need for the test.
