Documentation Guidelines for Access/Disability Services
Using Documentation

Determining accommodations requires an interactive process. Since the amount and type of documentation required will depend on the individual situation and specific requests, students are encouraged to schedule a meeting with someone from Access / Disability Services to begin the interactive process as early as possible.
Oftentimes, Access / Disability Services may request documentation from a qualified professional to substantiate a student's disability or their specific requests for accommodation.
Academic Accommodations
Documentation is a report based on an evaluation that was done by a qualified professional.
The cost and responsibility for providing professional documentation shall be borne solely by the student. Please note: I.E.P.s and Section 504 Plans alone may not be considered sufficient documentation. Although they may be useful as historical evidence.
Documentation for academic accommodations must include:
- Diagnosis
- Description of functional limitations and impact of the disability on classroom learning
- Recommendations for academic accommodations
Please note: recommendations for accommodations are useful in helping the college determine how best to assure access for the student. When those recommendations are in keeping with our policies and practices, they may be followed as shown. When the recommendations are for support or structure outside the scope of those necessary for access, the student will be referred to other resources and programs that may be able to assist.
All documentation must be in English, on letterhead, and must include the doctor’s or clinician’s handwritten signature and can be attached to your intake form or emailed to access@cca.edu after filling out your intake form.
Housing Accommodations
Documentation for housing accommodations must include:
- Diagnosis
- Description of the current functional impact of the disability on the student’s daily activities
- Description of the specific limitations to a major life function and the suggested means of accommodating this limitation
All documentation must be in English, on letterhead, and must include the doctor’s or clinician’s handwritten signature and can be attached to your Housing Accommodations Request Form or emailed to access@cca.edu after filling out your Housing Accommodations Request Form.
Specific documentation guidelines:
Physical Disabilities / Chronic Illnesses:
- A list of current medications (and possible side effects) should be provided
Psychological Disabilities (Including ADD / ADHD)
- Diagnosis should be stated with the corresponding DSMV code
- Diagnosing professional should include a statement of continuing contact or last contact with the student
- A list of current medications (and possible side effects) should be provided
Learning Differences / Disabilities
- A psychoeducational or neuropsychological evaluation report must be prepared by a professional qualified by education and experience to diagnose learning disabilities, which would include but is not limited to: a licensed neuropsychologist or psychologist; clinical or educational psychologist; learning disability specialist or other appropriate professional certified to administer standardized psychological tests/statements identified below. Experience in evaluation of adults with learning disabilities is an essential requirement in this process.
- The report must be comprehensive, testing for: Aptitude, Achievement, and Cognitive/information processing abilities. All instruments administered must be age appropriate, nationally normed, and individually administered.
- Since assessment constitutes the basis for determining reasonable accommodations, it is in a student’s best interest to provide recent and appropriate documentation to serve as the basis for decision-making about a student’s needs for accommodations in an academically competitive environment.
- Clear and specific evidence, which identifies and states specific learning disabilities, must be presented. Individual “learning styles” and “learning differences” in and of themselves do not specify a documented learning disability.
- The report must include a list of the exact instruments used, any exceptions to standardized procedures, test score data in percentiles or standard scores, a written interpretation of the results by the professional doing the evaluation, the name of the evaluator/professional and dates of testing.
- A list of recommended academic accommodations, with supporting data from the assessment, which is specific to the individual assessed must be included. Requests which are not supported by documentation may not be approved without additional verification and documentation (to be determined by the Office of the Dean of Students).