Frequently Asked Questions

Student Accessibility Services, located in the Academic Success Center, provides support and assistance to students with qualified medical, physical, emotional, or learning disabilities; as well as students with temporary injuries/impairments. To see if you may have a qualifying disability, check out NYSED’s List of Conditions. When in doubt, just reach out by emailing sasoffice@brockport.edu or call 585-395-5409.

A qualified disability is “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities.” Disabilities include physical and mental impairments which may include but are not limited to vision, hearing, mobility, learning, psychiatric, and brain injury. The top 5, most occurring disabilities are Anxiety, Depression, ADHD, Learning Disabilities, and Medical Conditions. 

Reasonable accommodations are provided on an individual basis, and may include academic accommodations, accessibility of campus facilities, support for student needs, and referrals to appropriate governmental and community agencies. Services include but are not limited to extended time on exams, distraction reduced test site, sign language interpreters, assistive technology, textbooks in alternate format, academic coaching (depending on program availability), and note-taking services.

The student must self-disclose to Student Accessibility Services, which is located at 168 Brown, by filling out the registration form and providing eligibility documentation. Relevant eligibility documents (within 4 years’ time) may include Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), 504 plans, psychological evaluations, and appropriate clinical documentation from a qualified professional that connects the nexus between the requested accommodations with the functional limitations as directly impacted by the disability. More information can be found on the Registration Process webpage. 

The primary purpose of the documentation is to establish a disability to help the institution work interactively with the student to identify appropriate services. The focus should be on whether the information adequately documents the existence of a current disability and the need for an academic adjustment. A qualified disability is one that has been documented by an appropriate professional. If you think that you might have a qualified disability but do not have eligibility documentation, please contact Accessibility Services for a referral to community-based professionals who assess for specific disabilities.

• Resource room
• Personal services or personal devices
• Attendants or Aids
• Tutors

All SUNY Brockport students can utilize our professional tutoring services through the Academic Success Center. While tutoring is not an official accommodation, it is a service that the college offers to all students. Math tutors are available as a walk-in service. Writing tutors are available by scheduling an appointment through EagleSuccess. Tutoring for specific courses can be requested through EagleSuccess. You are also encouraged to visit with your professors during their office hours to seek clarification and further guidance on content. 

It may take up to four weeks to review and/or process your information/documentation. First-year and transfer students are strongly encouraged to request accommodations from SAS as early as possible, prior to attending SUNY Brockport. Current students may request accommodations at any time but are encouraged to disclose their needs as soon as they become aware of a disability-related barrier due to the four-week timeline needed to facilitate the intake process.  

Accommodations are not retroactive so any new accommodations cannot be applied to prior instances of missed work or missed classes. Attendance is also a requirement for many classes. Even SAS cannot intervene if a student misses too much of the content, in which the numerous absences may have caused a fundamental alteration to the program. Fictitious example: There are 15 weeks in a semester, if your class meets 1x per week, and you miss 5 classes… you have missed 1/3 or 33% of the content in the course. By missing 33% of the content, you have not been present to learn enough of the content to earn a grade for the course. 

Accommodations are not retroactive so any new accommodations cannot be applied to prior instances of missed work. Due dates may not always be negotiated because new course content may build upon prior content which means the previous work must be mastered for further learning. Another reason due dates might not be flexible is because the answer key or discussions of the correct answers may be provided in the following class, which means late work cannot be accepted. Another occurrence where leniency cannot be provided is if there is so much past-due work that it would be impossible for the student to complete the course by the end of the semester. Multiple missing assignments that occurred throughout the semester are not an approved reason to be approved for an Incomplete in the course. Only professors can provide/approve an Incomplete in any course so you will need to speak with them directly.  

See “I haven’t turned in many/most assignments” above. For an individualized analysis of your situation, you are welcome to contact SAS directly. 

Per the New York Department of Education, it is the student’s responsibility to obtain their eligibility documentation. SAS cannot overlook or otherwise disregard the requirement for eligibility documentation. They must work with their doctor or licensed counselor to obtain the required documents and they must submit them to SAS directly. 

Professors are not required by the College to use PowerPoints or provide copies of notes to the class. SAS has many note-taking applications/technology available for eligible students. Contact SAS directly to know what you might qualify for in relation to note-taking supports.

Be incredibly careful! Absences, whether there is a doctor’s note or not, can cause a fundamental alteration of the course and may lead to the student failing. A doctor’s note does not guarantee “safety” from failing due to missed classes. Please see “Missed a ton of classes, can SAS help me” above.

Parking falls under the NYS Department of Transportation. Students must work with their doctor to get a temporary or permanent note to make them eligible for handicapped/accessible parking. Then, the student must take the doctor’s note to their local Town Hall to obtain an accessible/handicapped parking permit that hangs off their rearview mirror or is noted on their license plate. SAS does not provide parking accommodations.

All students, and their families, must purchase their own regular parking passes through SUNY Brockport Transportation to park on campus. SAS approved Interpreters or community-provided 1:1 Aides can be provided with a parking pass by SAS as it is a function of their job duties to have access to our campus (the student themselves is NOT provided with a parking pass).

Typically, a professor does not have the time or resources to provide the extra accommodated test time, which is why the SAS Test Center exists. In some situations, a professor might permit a student to finish a test during their office hours or with their department secretary, but this situation is very rare. Typically, if a student wishes to remain in the classroom, they are waiving their right to use additional accommodated test time. To ensure accommodations on tests, students are highly encouraged to use the SAS Test Center. 

No. A student can choose to stay in their classroom and use the regular amount of test time that is offered to the entire class. If a student wants their extra accommodated test time, they will more than likely need to come to the SAS Test Center. 

SAS needs 3 business days* notice. Those 3 days are to facilitate the process of notifying the professor, obtaining, printing, and packaging the test with all crucial details, scheduling a proctor, as well as other behind the scenes processes needed to ensure the provision of accommodated testing.

*3 business days means Monday – Friday only.

Some doctors will allow a student to email them the SAS Clinical Assessment Form link so that they can print the form and fill it out on behalf of the student. Doctor’s offices are welcome to fax the completed Assessment form to SAS (585-395-5291) or email it to us directly at sasoffice@brockport.edu.

If a doctor insists that they must be provided a paper copy of the Clinical Assessment form, SAS recommends the student to send the form to a family member who is able to drop off the form to the doctor. The student can also send the form to their doctor via the US Post Office.

It is the student’s responsibility to obtain the documentation and ensure that it is turned into SAS. SAS cannot request documentation on behalf of the student due to HIPPA regulations.

Hazen will only complete the Clinical Assessment form for a student who has an “established treatment relationship” with them. An “established relationship” means the student sees the provider regularly, is undergoing treatment, and the student has numerous previous and future appointments. To be sure, the student is encouraged to ask Hazen if they are willing to complete the assessment form on their behalf. 

Unfortunately, no. Beyond the diagnosis or prescriptions, SAS needs to know how the student is directly impacted by the disability or side effects of medications in academic areas. Therefore, SAS highly recommends that doctors/licensed counselors complete the SAS Clinical Assessment form. By using the preferred form, the doctor is directed to report on all disability-related impacts in a structured way where they are less likely to leave out required details.

Students can ask their doctor to write a note (instead of using the Clinical Assessment form) but most likely the note will not address all required factors. Below are the requirements for a handwritten note from a provider:

An *appropriate diagnostician can provide a disability diagnosis with a description of the condition, measures to arrive at the diagnosis, prognosis, expected duration, how this condition affects you, recommendations for accommodations, and the side effects of prescribed medication if applicable.

*An appropriate licensed diagnostician or qualified clinician, can be a primary physician, nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, licensed mental health professional, etc. The diagnostician must (1) have an established patient relationship with the student, (2) have provided treatment for the condition, and (3) be an impartial individual who is not a family member of the student.

Learning disabilities are determined by licensed psychologists. This process will entail the student finding a psychologist who will provide educational/academic testing and paying for the evaluation. Typically, a student’s health insurance will not cover the cost of this process so it may need to be paid for “out of pocket.”  

Students can obtain their own psychoeducational evaluation by utilizing the services of private practitioners. SAS does not offer any testing directly; it is the student’s responsibility to locate a testing location.  

It is the student’s responsibility to keep all medical or educational documents on file for themselves. Any documentation that is submitted to SAS is for the purposes of SAS, which means the documents may be written on or altered in some way for the purposes of accommodation implementation. SAS is not required to keep student’s records on file or provide students with copies of their records. All records are disposed of after 6 years from the student leaving the college or graduating.

SAS will provide documents, when available, at no cost via the Accommodate “documents tab.” SAS cannot mail documents, send documents to non-Brockport student emails, and cannot hand over documents to anyone but the student themselves (with proof of ID). In most cases, if SAS has the means to print un-augmented documents, the student is responsible for retrieving the document from SAS in-person.

Students are encouraged to contact their referring doctor/counselor/K-12 school district to ask for a copy of educational documents.

Switching the modality (instructional method) of a class from in-person to online, or streaming a class, is not often approved due to it causing a fundamental alteration* of the course or program. SUNY Brockport is accredited by the State as an in-person college so there are embedded interactive, hands-on, participatory activities that are often required as part of the learning objectives/course requirements that cannot be replicated online. It is oftentimes found that the conversion process in fact does not provide equal access to the remote learner and as such, cannot be approved by SAS.

Students are encouraged to submit eligibility documentation, with a variety of recommendations from a doctor/counselor, so that all possible alternative accommodations can be explored during the interactive process.

Any actual decision regarding this request would be a result of the registration and interactive intake meeting process, so please do follow the application or re-evaluation process for an official decision.

*A “fundamental alteration” is a change that is so significant that it alters the essential nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations offered.

No. Once you are registered with SAS, your accommodation letter automatically rolls over each semester. You will receive an email from SAS about two weeks prior to the start of the semester to remind you to send your accommodation letter to your professors. The email reminder will also include the steps on how to send that letter in Accommodate. 

Students who are already registered with SAS, who believe they are encountering disability-related barriers, may request a “re-evaluation” meeting by completing a Re-evaluation Request form in Accommodate. Re-evaluation meetings are opportunities to review documentation currently on file, evaluate newly submitted documentation (if applicable), and utilize the interactive process to determine if new or different accommodations may remove barriers in the educational environment.