To be eligible for services, the student must provide appropriate documentation from a licensed or certified professional with expertise in the specific disability. Students should be sure that:

• The professional’s diagnosis, evaluation, recommendations and other information should be typed on the professional’s letterhead, which include the name, title, dates of treatment, signature, license number and/or certification number.
• The professional providing the documentation must have the necessary qualifications to diagnose and treat the student for the specific disability.
• The diagnosis of the disability must be clearly stated, explained, and specific.
• Documentation must be no more than two years old. Some exceptions may apply.
• Documentation prepared by professionals must provide a diagnosis of the medical/mental health condition, explain any functional limitations the condition will impose for the student in an academic setting and provide recommendations for reasonable accommodations.

A student is responsible for providing documentation that supports his/her request for academic adjustments. It is important that the documentation clearly establishes that the student has a disability as defined by federal regulations and that the documentation clearly supports the individual’s request for accommodations.

Please check out our list of documentation guidelines on the Forms and Documents page. You will find these guidelines are provided in the interest of ensuring that documentation demonstrates a significant impact on a major life activity and supports the individual’s request for accommodations.

Examples of documentation include a completed Disability Verification Form, a physician’s letter on letterhead, a diagnostic report, and/or Psycho-educational evaluation.

**AS may require additional or new documentation if the original documentation presented is outdated, vague, or incomplete.

Student Success ensures that all information obtained from students or other sources is considered confidential and secured in locked cabinets. Neither disability nor the use of accommodations is noted on a student’s transcripts. According to Oglethorpe’s Maintenance and Disposal of Student Records Policy, we destroy any filed documentation after a student has no longer been enrolled at Oglethorpe for at least 5 years.

1. Only AS staff members who have signed the Employee Confidentiality Agreement can access student files. One exception is disclosure to other university officials who have been determined to have a legitimate interest in the information. For detailed information regarding FERPA policies, click here to read the Registrar’s FERPA Policy.
2. Disability related documents created by AS will not be released to an outside third party without the written consent of the student (FERPA).
3. Disability related documents obtained from a third party (i.e. medical records, diagnostic reports) will only be released to the student with the appropriate written authorization.
4. AS may charge a fee for copying records.
5. Students have the right to review the contents of their files with an AS staff member.
6. Disability records are retained for seven years from the last date of attendance. After seven years, these records are shredded.
7. The confidentiality policy remains in effect after graduation.

Rev. 10.14.13. Adapted from UGA.