Registered with the Office for Student Disability Resources
Students with disabilities at Penn State University have the right to:
- Full and equal access to courses, programs, services, activities, and facilities offered by Penn State University.
- An equal opportunity to learn and to receive reasonable academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and/or services.
- Appropriate confidentiality of all information regarding the disability, except disclosures required or permitted by law.
- Information in an accessible format.
Students with disabilities at Penn State University have the responsibility to:
- Meet qualifications and maintain essential institutional standards for courses, programs, services, activities, and facilities.
- Identify as an individual with a disability when an academic adjustment, auxiliary aid, and/ or service is needed and to seek information and assistance as necessary.
- Demonstrate or document (from an appropriate professional) how the disability limits participation in courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities.
- Follow published policies and procedures for obtaining reasonable academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and/or services.
- Meet with the assigned OSDR Coordinator each semester so that appropriate academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and/or services can be made in a timely manner.
Rights and Responsibilities of Penn State University in Relation to Students with Disabilities
Penn State University has the right to:
- Establish essential functions, abilities, skills, knowledge and standards for courses, programs, services, and activities or facilities and to evaluate individuals with disabilities on this basis.
- Determine the appropriate standards in developing, constructing, remodeling and maintaining facilities.
- Request and receive, through OSDR, current documentation that confirms disability status and supports requests for academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and/or services.
- Deny a request for academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and/or services if the documentation demonstrates that the request is not warranted, or if the individual fails to provide appropriate documentation.
- Select among equally effective academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and/or services.
- Refuse an unreasonable academic adjustment, auxiliary aid, and/or service that imposes a fundamental alteration to a program or activity of the University.
Penn State University has the responsibility to:
- Provide information to students with disabilities in accessible formats upon request.
- Ensure that courses, programs, services, activities, and facilities, when viewed in their entirety, are available and usable in the most integrated and appropriate settings.
- Provide or arrange reasonable academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and/or services for students with disabilities in courses.
- Respond to requests in a timely manner.
- Maintain appropriate confidentiality of all information regarding the disability, except disclosures required or permitted by law.