Our goal is to ensure access to course content while mitigating disability-related functional limitations that impact a student's ability to fully participate or show mastery of content.

Accommodations do not guarantee academic success; the student is still responsible for:

  • learning subject knowledge
  • demonstrating mastery of content
  • satisfying the essential requirements of courses
  • showing progression toward major
  • meeting the same demands required of all students

Student Disability Resources engages in an interactive process with each student and reviews requests for accommodations on an individualized, case-by-case basis. We may consider reasonable alternatives to accommodation requests, though significance is given to a student’s preference.

"Reasonable" Accommodations

An accommodation is considered "reasonable" if it does not require substantial change in the curriculum or alteration of any essential elements or functions of a course, program, service, or activity. Student Disability Resources may consider reasonable alternatives to accommodation requests, though significance is given to a student’s preference.

A reasonable accommodation provides a modification or adjustment that enables a qualified student with a disability to participate in courses, programs, facilities, activities, or services; such that that a qualified student with a disability has rights and privileges equal to students without disabilities.

Types of accommodations

  • An academic accommodation minimizes or eliminates the impact of any disability that would unfairly restrict a student’s access to Penn State’s courses, programs, activities, or facilities. Examples include but are not limited to:
    • extension of time for tests
    • course substitution of nonessential requirements
    • priority registration
  • An auxiliary aid might include but is not limited to:
    • adaptive equipment
    • assistive technology
    • FM systems
    • electronic textbooks or books in alternative formats
    • computers for testing
  • A service may include but is not limited to:
    • a reader for tests
    • note taker for a course
    • test proctors
    • sign language interpreters
    • real-time captioning
  • A modification may include the removal of architectural barriers. Penn State’s University Access Committee leads efforts to remove architectural barriers.

Common Accommodations

  • Assistance Accommodations: Assistive Listening Devices, Sign Language Interpreters, CART, Captioning, and related accommodations provided to qualified students.
  • Assistance Animals: Types of assistance animals; what is allowed on campus; and how to go about requesting to have an assistance animal on campus with you.
  • Attendance Accommodations: Options for meeting attendance requirements while dealing with a disability flare up, crisis, or emergency.
  • Digital Course Materials: Options for obtaining electronic textbooks and course materials.
  • Exam Accommodations: Common exam-related accommodations provided to qualified students.
  • Flexibility Accommodations: Allows for the flexing of a course standard to allow a student to meet essential course requirements while managing a disability.
  • Housing Accommodations: Steps and additional information for on-campus housing accommodations.
  • Note-Taking Accommodations: Common note-taking related accommodations provided to qualified students.
  • Support and Accommodations for Internship Experiences: At Penn State, Student Disability Resources (SDR) is committed to ensuring that students with disabilities—whether permanent or temporary, visible or hidden—receive timely and appropriate accommodations not only in academic settings but also in experiential learning environments such as internships.
  • Temporary Academic Accommodations: Injuries that impact academic progress but have little or no residual effects and likely do not limit major life activities.

Related content

  • Implementation Guides: Guides for faculty on implementing accommodations for students.
  • Read & Write: Read & Write brings together text-to-speech within documents and on the web, study tools, OCR, and many more accessibility tools within one program. Students who are approved to receive Digital Course Materials can use Read & Write to access their requested materials and have them read aloud.
  • Equatio: Equatio allows you to create equations, formulas, and more digitally. Equatio also helps users read STEM content aloud in a human-like way.
  • Jamworks: A note-taking tool that allows students to record lectures and receive detailed notes shortly after class.