Documentation Guidelines 

To assist with the collection and development of appropriately descriptive documentation, please keep the following guidelines in mind. Delays in full and meaningful documentation may result in temporary, delayed, or rejected requests depending on their significance in modifications to the program of study

Components of a Student Self-report 

This information is obtained through submitted documentation and during the intake process with the Accessibility Officer

• Description of diagnosed condition(s)
• Description of previous educational experiences
• Description of past use of accommodations or services
• Description of the condition's impact related to the academic environment
• Description of the current need for reasonable accommodations for individual courses, programs, activities, and facilities.

Components of Medical Professional Documentation

• Qualified Professional - Completed by a qualified medical professional who is a licensed or otherwise properly credentialed professional with the appropriate training and relevant experience in the area of diagnosis, and has no close, personal relationship with the student being evaluated or a relationship with Sonoran University.
• Diagnostic Statement - Documentation must include a clear diagnostic statement identifying the disability the date of the most current diagnostic evaluation and the original diagnosis, as appropriate.
• Diagnostic Methodology:
  • A description of the current diagnostic criteria, evaluation methods, procedures, and tests, as well as a clinical narrative interpretation
  • Where appropriate to the nature of the disability (e.g., learning and cognitive disorders) the report should contain both summary data and specific test scores
  • Diagnostic methods congruent with the particular disability and current professional practices in the field are expected
• Timeliness:
  • Reflects current functioning, within the last 7 years, demonstrated through a combination of formal evaluation procedures, clinical narrative, and the individual's self-report.
  • Older documentation of disabilities may be accepted for permanent or non-varying conditions. 
  • The functional impact of a variable condition that may change over time (e.g., the result of growth, development, changes in symptomatology) may warrant more frequent updates in documentation.
• Functional Limitations - Documentation should be thorough enough to demonstrate whether and how a major life activity is substantially limited by providing a clear sense of the severity, frequency, and pervasiveness of the disability.
• Description of Expected Duration, Progression, and Stability of a Condition:
  • Documentation must provide information on expected changes or fluctuation of the individual’s disability over time if the disability is cyclical or episodic. 
  • Information should be provided regarding known or suspected environmental triggers that might impact the need for adjusted reasonable accommodations.
  • If a condition is unstable, information regarding intervention (including an individual’s strategies); recommended timelines for updates; and potential reevaluations help determine reasonable accommodations.
• Identification of Need for Reasonable Accommodations:
  • Documentation should support the Accessibility Office in establishing disability, understanding how the disability may impact a student, and making informed decisions about reasonable accommodations that facilitate equal access to the institution's courses, programs, facilities, and activities.
  • The documentation should include recommendations for reasonable accommodations and services related to the student's functional limitations and specific condition. The Accessibility Office may substitute another reasonable accommodation if it is considered effective and parallel to the one recommended. The determination of which accommodations to provide is a deliberative and collaborative process.

Special Notice about Service Animals or Psychiatric Support Dogs (PSDs)

Please be aware that Sonoran can only accommodate officially certified and trained Service Animals or PSDs as per the guidelines of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division's guidance on what constitutes an acceptable service animal and appropriate utilization. We do not provide accommodations for Emotion Support Animals.

In summary, service animals must be:

• Documented as medically necessary
• Trained for their specific function
• Housebroken
• Under direct control at all times

For additional information on Services Animals contact the Accessibility Office. 

If requesting the ability to utilize a service animal on campus please complete the Service Animal Usage Affirmation Form.