Accessibility Resources

We take student privacy very seriously, and we encourage students to do the same. Any disability-related documentation, including medical records and correspondence about accommodations, is handled in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), related legislation, and Institute policy.

In practice, this means that information about disabilities or accommodations is only shared with individuals who need it to support the implementation of approved accommodations. This information is not included in official records, such as transcripts, for current students or alumni. 

To help ensure accommodations are implemented effectively, students are encouraged to discuss the logistics of their accommodations with relevant faculty, clinical instructors, and/or their faculty advisor at the start of each course. 

Our office is available to support students in navigating these conversations. Students may also choose to share information about their accommodations more broadly; if doing so, we encourage thoughtful consideration of what and how much to share. 

To be eligible for disability-related services, individuals must have a documented disability as defined by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and/or the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and accommodations must be necessary in order for the individual to have equal access.

A person with a disability is someone who:

(1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,

(2) has a history or record of such an impairment (such as cancer that is in remission), or

(3) is perceived by others as having such an impairment (such as a person who has scars from a severe burn).

There is a wide variety of disabilities. Some are visible and some are not. A non-exhaustive list of potential disabilities includes: impairments of vision, hearing, or mobility; learning, disorder; psychiatric/mental health disorders; brain injury; autism;  ADHD. In order for a diagnosis or condition to be considered a disability, it must substantially limit one or more major life activities.

Accommodations must be necessary to provide equal access and must be reasonable. Institutions are prohibited from making accommodations which pose a fundamental alteration to curriculum or course design/delivery. 

To request accommodations, students must have relevant (as opposed to recent) supporting documentation that minimally meets the following criteria:

• Be from a qualified provider
• Appear on provider letterhead with date and signature
• At a minimum, the documentation must indicate:
  • Treatment relationship
  • Specific diagnosis/identification of disability
  • Impact of the disability (aka, barriers to access), which may include:
    • Presentation
    • Intensity
    • Frequency
    • Duration
  • Recommendations on how to minimize the impact of disability
    • Please note that these recommendations are considered within the accommodations process, not a guarantee.

Students who are initially applying for accommodations are required to have an individual meeting with AR staff. During this meeting you should be prepared to discuss your specific disability/diagnosis; the impact of this diagnosis on your functioning – particularly in the academic and clinical/fieldwork settings; barriers to access you experience/have experienced; and any history of accommodations. This meeting is also an opportunity for students to become familiar with the accommodations process at the IHP and the rights and responsibilities of all parties, as well as to ask any questions they may have. 

For on-line pre-requisite students, this meeting is waived if appropriate determinations can be made from submitted documentation.

Upon submission of the Accommodation Request Form, AR staff will reach out to schedule an initial meeting. If you would like to request an informational meeting prior to submitting the form please ihpar [at] mghihp.edu (email the AR office). 

The accommodations process from request to implementation can take a few weeks, as it is an interactive and iterative process:

Interactive in that Accessibility Resources, the student, and the faculty all participate in the implementation process. Accessibility Resources may seek information from appropriate MGH IHP personnel regarding essential standards for various curricular activities; conversely, MGH IHP personnel may seek information from Accessibility Resources regarding how to best facilitate a student’s accommodations in the program.

Iterative in that the students and/or faculty may find that new activities undertaken as the curriculum progresses (e.g. study in clinical vs. classroom settings) present challenges and barriers that were not anticipated when accommodations were first implemented. For this reason, we ask that students receiving accommodations maintain on-going contact with Accessibility Resources.

Given the clinical nature of our programs, additional time may be needed to create and implement accommodations. Accommodations are never retroactive; therefore, timely requests are essential and encouraged.

Some examples:

• Voice-to-text dictation software
• Screen reading software
• Amplified stethoscopes

These pieces of adaptive/assistive technology can be made available to students during their matriculation at the IHP. Please contact Accessibility Resources to find out more!

Appeal

Students may pursue an informal resolution by meeting with the Associate Director of Student Accessibility & Support Services. If no satisfactory resolution is reached, student should initiate a formal complaint in writing to the Assistant Dean of Student Services. It is not required to seek an informal resolution.

A formal resolution complaint must be submitted in writing within five business days to the Assistant Dean of Student Services from the time the student knew or could reasonably be expected to have known of the action that is the subject of the complaint. It should include information regarding the specific action being complained of, the date it occurred, the grounds upon which the appeal is based, and the relief requested. If the nature of the complaint is time sensitive, please explain why in your statement. The Assistant Dean will review the complaint and contact the student to schedule a formal resolution meeting within ten days of the date it was received.

All time frames referred to in this procedure refer to academic calendar days.

Formal Resolution Meeting

Once the Assistant Dean has received the student's statement, they will determine if additional participants are needed at the formal resolution meeting. For example, faculty or staff or classmates involved in the circumstances of the concern. Therefore, the student should be as specific as possible if there are others they wish to involve. During the formal resolution meeting, the student will have an opportunity to summarize their appeal and ask questions. The Assistant Dean will lead the meeting and will have questions for the student after reading the filed complaint. This student may bring one individual to join them, to take notes or offer support. This is optional. This person may not speak or interrupt the meeting in any way.

• Identify policies and procedures for how to obtain accommodations and modify policies and procedures as necessary
• Request medical/supporting documentation from students
• Deny a request for accommodations or academic adjustments if documentation demonstrates that the request is not warranted, or if student fails to provide appropriate documentation.
• Clearly communicate policies and procedures to students, faculty, and staff
• Maintain student confidentiality, including any information communicated verbally or in writing
• Engage in fair, unbiased, thorough review of all accommodation requests
• Select among equally effective accommodations
• Refuse an unreasonable accommodation or adjustment that imposes a fundamental alteration to an academic program.
• Discuss academic requirements and technical standards with faculty and staff to help determine appropriate accommodations and/or adjustments
• Treat each student request on an individual case-by-case basis
• Communicate approved accommodations and/or any changes with students and designated faculty in a timely manner (generally 5-15 business days)
• Stay current on best practices in the field

These include, but are not limited to:

• Extended time for exams and quizzes
• A reduced distraction environment for exams and quizzes
• Note taker
• Audio recording of class lectures
• Textbooks and course materials in an alternate format
• Paper copies of exams and quizzes

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA revised 2010) define service animals as dogs individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.  

View Policy

If a student discloses to you that they have a disability, refer them to Accessibility Resources. Have contact information handy, and follow up with an email to the student and copy ihpar [at] mghihp.edu.

If a student is consistently not finishing exams on time, reporting an inability to focus, has repeated absences, or mentions knowing the exams but still failing exams, it is ok to tell the student about different resources that are available to them, including the Academic Support Coaches and Accessibility Resources.

Yes. Students are entitled to reasonable accommodations for clinical placements. The student should follow the same procedure for applying for accommodations and documenting the disability.

A determination about what accommodations can be made in the clinical placement will be a collaborative effort among Accessibility Resources, the academic program, and the student. Students who use accommodations in the classroom setting will not necessarily need accommodations in the clinical setting.

Each request will be individually assessed and accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

MGH Institute of Health Professions views disability as an important aspect of diversity and is committed to providing equitable access to learning opportunities for all students. Accessibility Resources (AR) is the campus office that collaborates with students and faculty to provide and/or arrange reasonable accommodations for students who have documented disabilities.

To learn more about the accommodations process visit  the Accessibility Resources website: https://www.mghihp.edu/overview/accessibility-resources, or e-mail ihpar [at] mghihp.edu.