Appropriate Documentation

To ensure the provision of academic adjustments for students with disabilities at Paul Smith’s College, a qualified professional (see Qualifications of Evaluator in Disability Documentation Guidelines) must provide current and comprehensive documentation of the student’s disability. Paul Smith’s College documentation guidelines are based on those developed by the Association on Higher Education and Disabilities.  Please refer to these for more comprehensive information.

Documentation must be sent in written form to the Center for Accommodative Services (address on this page). To release documentation of a disability to the Center for Accommodative Services, you must request that your school or other agency forward current testing results and recommendations to the Center for Accommodative Services. This must be done in writing, and a Release of Confidential Information must accompany documentation for it to be accessible to us.

A postsecondary student with no previous documentation may wish to determine whether a learning disability does or does not exist. At Paul Smith’s College, the process begins with an interview with a licensed counselor to evaluate the student’s situation and rule out symptoms that masquerade as learning disabilities. If necessary, a referral will be made to the Center for Accommodative Services where the individual meets with a learning specialist to share information about their academic past and to set up accommodations on a pre-referral basis. After certain measures have been tried and the student wishes to continue with the evaluation process, the student will be referred to a qualified professional to complete the required testing.