Disability Support Services at Goucher College

Although Goucher College does not have a structured program for students with disabilities, the College will make reasonable academic adjustments or provide necessary auxiliary aids to accommodate students with documented disabilities, as required by federal law.  The College evaluates requests for accommodations on an individual basis, and reasonable academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids are provided for students with disabilities on a case by case basis.  

Goucher College maintains a rigorous academic program with a curriculum representing the College’s definition of a sound liberal arts education. All students are expected to complete the requirements, which include college level writing proficiency, writing proficiency in the major, computer proficiency in the major, and specified courses in mathematics, the natural sciences, the humanities, the social sciences, and the arts.  Students are also required to master the intermediate level of a foreign language. The College provides certain academic support services for all students through the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) and the student staffed Writing Center, and students with disabilities are encouraged to take advantage of these resources.

To ensure that the College is able to meet the needs of students with disabilities in a timely manner, documentation and diagnosis of a specific disability should be completed by a qualified examiner and submitted to the Disabilities Specialist before the beginning of the semester in which the student is requesting the accommodations.  For students with learning disabilities and/or attention deficit disorders, a complete and current psychoeducational evaluation must be submitted. (See Attached Form -- Policy: Documentation of Learning Disability and /or Attention Deficit Disorder.)   For students with physical and/or sensory disabilities, appropriate medical or clinical documentation which identifies the student’s current disability and specifies the recommended academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids must be submitted. (See Attached Form -- Policy: Documentation for Physical Disability/Medical Problem that will require academic adjustments or auxiliary aids.) Students who have submitted documentation and are requesting academic adjustments should set up an appointment with the Disabilities Specialist, by the end of the first week of the semester in which they are requesting the adjustments, to develop an “Agreement for Students with Disabilities.”