Registering for and Using Your Accommodations

Students with disabilities have the right to request disability related accommodations at any point during their time at UC. That includes requests for reasonable modifications to class policies and processes, auxiliary aids and services to support accessible communication, support with assistive or accessible technology, accommodations for housing or campus activities, and more! The first step to receiving accommodations is to complete our registration process and meet with an Access Coordinator.

To request accommodations, complete the New Student Registration Form in our online system UC Accommodate (you will use your UC email address and password to sign in). After submission, you'll receive an email with instructions to schedule a meeting with your Access Coordinator. This individual, interactive meeting is required to request and receive accommodations, and more details about it can be found on our New Student Registration website . This initial step is only required once during your academic program. 

Students are encouraged to submit documentation of their disability and past accommodations received (if applicable) as part of the registration process. A diagnosed disability is required to receive disability related accommodations, but documentation of that disability is not required to initiate registration for services. If available, documentation can help ensure full consideration of your disability's impact in the academic environment. Housing and emotional support animal accommodations typically require medical documentation.

Academic accommodations must be determined reasonable and necessary before approval. Students may be asked to provide documentation if:

• It would help identify barriers and workable solutions for accommodations
• It would clarify the connection between the academic environment and a disability not readily apparent through the student's narrative

We accept various forms of documentation, including IEPs, 504 Plans, psychological evaluations, medical records, and letters from qualified medical professionals. You may also request for a medical professional to complete a Medical Professional Disability Verification Form.

You will be able to view your approved accommodations in Accommodate after meeting with your Access Coordinator.  It is important that you read it carefully and follow up right away if you have any questions or would like to have further discussions. If at any point you want to add or change your accommodations, you can set up another meeting with your Access Coordinator to discuss them. 

Each semester, log into the Accommodate System to send accommodation requests to your professors. While you can notify instructors at any point, even before the semester begins, you cannot use accommodations until you've sent this notification. Most accommodations aren't applied retroactively, so we strongly recommend that you request these early and set up a time to meet with them to talk through your accommodations. 

Your professor will receive an email when you request accommodations for their class and can view your accommodation requests in a portal in Accommodate. They do not have the ability to see what disability you have or any other information that you have provided us, only the accommodations you have request.

We recommend meeting with your professor to discuss your accommodations. You can visit during office hours or email to schedule a meeting. Many instructors initiate these meetings themselves. If invited, we encourage you to attend. For help preparing for or during these meetings, contact your Access Coordinator.

Professors receive regular training and support regarding student accommodations, but they may still have questions or concerns about specific accommodations in their classes. If an instructor expresses concern about how an accommodation will work in their class or suggests that you should not or do not need to use your accommodations, you can reach out to your Access Coordinator for support. Remember, you do not have to disclose your disability to your instructor or anyone else at UC, except for the Accessibility Resources office.

Some accommodations can be provided directly by your instructors, while others are done outside of the classroom or through additional request processes. Be sure that you are familiar with the processes for using each of your approved accommodations by reviewing our Accommodation Description site.