No. Disability status is never a consideration in any admissions decisions. All students that apply for admission to Lasell University are subject to the same admissions process and criteria.

Disability documentation may be submitted with the application, though this is not a requirement. The submission is voluntary, and any documentation is immediately forwarded to the Academic Achievement Center (AAC) Director and kept confidential in accordance with FERPA and Lasell University Policy.

Lasell University ensures FERPA compliance, and therefore all documentation submitted to AAC will remain confidential. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate contact the AAC regarding any learning disability, and it is up to the student to continue the accommodation process by communicating his/her needs to the faculty. Lasell University recognizes the right of the student to determine who receives disability-related information, as well as the right to confidentiality.

Lasell University ensures FERPA and HIPAA privacy rule compliance. All disability documentation submitted to the AAC Director is confidential. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with the AAC Director regarding any learning disability, and it is up to the student to continue the accommodation process by communicating his/her needs to the faculty after completing the approval process. 

Lasell University recognizes the right of the student to determine who receives/has access to disability-related information, as well as the right to confidentiality.

Students may contact the AAC Director at any time with questions or for more information regarding disabilities and academic accommodations, as well as other academic supports available to students through the Academic Achievement Center.

Students should submit documentation before the beginning of the academic semester in order to ensure that each student’s needs are met appropriately and in a timely manner. Disability documentation is, however, accepted by the AAC Director at any time.

Documentation must be current and comprehensive, made within three to five years of the request for accommodation. It must verify the nature and extent of a specific disability as diagnosed by an evaluator with appropriate professional credentials and include relevant testing results. The need for specific academic adjustments must be clearly substantiated based on current need.

Approved accommodations may differ from those previously provided, as they must appropriately address the current impact of the disability on the student's performance in a collegiate setting.

The following are guidelines for acceptable disability documentation, based on information from the U.S. Department of Education, the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), and the U.S. Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Qualifications of Testing Evaluator(s)

• The name, title, and professional credentials of the evaluator must be clearly stated in the documentation (including information about license or certification, area of specialization, state/province in which the individual practices)

Current Documentation

• Students must provide recent and appropriate documentation, as eligibility for academic adjustment/services under the provisions of ADA is based on the current impact of the disability. A diagnostic evaluation, therefore, must have been completed within the past 3-5 years.
• If the available documentation is not sufficient and/or does not address the student's current level of functioning and need for academic adjustment, a reevaluation may be necessary. The updated evaluation should include:
  • A detailed assessment of the current impact of the disability
  • A rationale for ongoing services and academic adjustments
  • A summary of previous diagnostic information

Comprehensive Documentation

Disability documentation must verify the nature and extent of the disability, as the need for specific academic adjustments must be clearly substantiated. Documentation should confirm the need for services based on the individual's current level of academic functioning.

Comprehensive documentation should generally include the following:

• Evidence of current impairment
• Background information
• Relevant testing
• Specific diagnosis
• An integrated summary

Rationale for Recommended Accommodations/Academic Adjustments

• Accommodation needs can change over time and are not always identified through an initial diagnostic process.
• The diagnostic report should include specific recommendations for accommodations that are reasonable. A detailed explanation should be provided for why specific accommodations are recommended. The accommodations should be correlated with the student’s specific functional limitations determined through the testing and observation.
• Although prior documentation may have been useful in determining appropriate accommodations in the past, the current documentation should validate the need for services on the postsecondary level based on the student's present levels of functioning. 

Examples of testing batteries include (but are not limited to):

Cognitive Assessments

• Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III)
• Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-III NU (WJ-III NU), Tests of Cognitive Abilities
• Stanford Binet-Intelligence Scales 5th Edition (SBS-V)
• Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test

Academic Achievement Assessments

• Woodcock-Johnson-III NU: Tests of Achievement (General and Extended batteries including fluency measures)
• Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT II) with reading rate measure
• Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, 2nd (KTEA-II)
• Test of Written Language III (TOWL III)

Tests used to measure academic achievement in a timed setting

• Nelson Denny Reading Test, with standard time and extended time, measures Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test (SDRT)
• Stanford Diagnostic Math Test (SDMT)
• Woodcock-Johnson III Fluency Measures
• Test of Written Language-Third Edition (TOWL-3)

More specifically, documentation for students with learning disabilities must include:

• A complete assessment of intellectual (cognitive) functioning/aptitude as measured by acceptable testing batteries
• A comprehensive academic achievement battery that measures current levels of functioning in reading, math and oral/written language
• Assessment of specific areas of information processing (e.g., short/long term memory, auditory and visual perception/processing, processing speed, executive functioning, etc.)
• Diagnosis of a specific learning disability

Students must meet with the AAC Director to discuss the use of reasonable accommodations, sign appropriate forms and communicate with faculty each semester.

Ask your primary care physician about a referral for appropriate testing options. The Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) website may also help students research other possibilities. 

Yes. Lasell University, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, provides reasonable accommodations for eligible students with documented disabilities to afford equal access to educational programs and services.

Accommodations are determined on an individual basis, facilitated by the Director of AAC, using comprehensive disability documentation as well as confidential consultation with the student.

Lasell University provides appropriate and reasonable accommodations to ensure that no student is discriminated against on the basis of his/her disability. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the University provides accommodations for eligible students with documented disabilities to afford equal access to educational programs and services.

Accommodations are determined on an individual basis, facilitated by the AAC Director, making use of submitted comprehensive disability documentation as well as confidential consultation with the student.

The determined accommodations may differ from those previously provided to a student, as the accommodations must appropriately address the current impact of the disability on the student’s performance in a collegiate setting.

No. Documentation submitted to the AAC regarding learning disabilities must be current and comprehensive, and will be reviewed by the AAC Director as part of the case-by-case process. Comprehensive documentation must contain evaluations that include:

• Evidence of current impairment
• Background information
• Relevant testing
• Specific diagnosis
• An integrated summary

Accommodations are determined on an individual basis, with a thorough review of comprehensive disability documentation and a confidential consultation with the student. 

Students must provide documentation to the AAC director in a timely manner, preferably within the first week of the semester, to ensure each student's needs are addressed appropriately.

Students must gather copies of relevant disability documentation, and email the director at shawthorne@lasell.edu call 617-243-2212. 

Once the documentation is submitted, students must schedule a meeting with the AAC director to discuss the need for appropriate and reasonable accommodations and to complete the internal accommodation forms. 

As accommodation forms will be specific to individual courses, students must meet with AAC staff at the beginning of each semester to obtain updated forms and review progress.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides special education and related services for those students in public schools in the primary and secondary levels who meet the criteria for eligibility in a number of distinct categories of disability, each of which has its own criteria.

Some students who are not eligible for services under IDEA may receive protection and reasonable accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 while they attend school.

However, when students with disabilities graduate or reach the age of 22, they are no longer eligible for services under IDEA. Students who were eligible for services at the secondary level may not necessarily be eligible for services or accommodations at the postsecondary level.

Since IDEA includes transition to postsecondary education in transition planning services [20 U.S.C. § 1401 (30)] and requires reevaluation if the student's parent requests it [20 U.S.C. § 1414 (a)(2)(A)], these guidelines are intended to support that planning.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protects the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive federal funds. Section 504 (as amended, 29 U.S.C. 794) states: “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States . . . shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. According to this law, disability is defined as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity."

Relevance to Lasell University Students: Students who graduate from high school, or who reach the age of 22, are protected from discrimination on the basis of disability by Section 504 as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under such legislation, individuals with disabilities are guaranteed certain protections and rights of equal access to programs and services. Eligibility is based on the existence of an identified physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.

No. Eligibility guidelines and accommodations in Post Secondary Institutions differ from those at the Primary/Secondary level. An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan alone is not sufficient documentation to justify need for accommodation.

The Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD) website is an informative resource for students and parents who are looking for more information regarding services for disabilities at the post-secondary level.