If you believe that your grievance involves a violation of state or federal law, you should immediately contact the IUPUI Equal Opportunity Office. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of using IUPUI's procedures or you wish to pursue an alternative approach, you may contact the Office for Equal Opportunity(OEO). You can learn about the OEO complaint process from the brochure How to File a Discrimination Complaint with the Office for Civil Rights which you can get by contacting the U.S. Department of Education online.
Questions that students frequently ask
No. If you meet the admission requirements, you cannot be denied admission simply because you have a disability.
No, not if you meet the criteria for the school and are competitive within the pool of other students seeking admission to the program.
No. The application does not ask about disabilities. If, however, you wish assistance in the application or testing process before admission, you will have to work with AES.
Yes, if you want to receive accommodations you must identify yourself to AES and provide evidence of your disability to support your request for accommodations. AES will evaluate the evidence and determine the type of accommodations required by your functional limitations. AES will work with the school or program to ensure that you receive the appropriate accommodations ranging from housing accommodations, assistive technology, to testing accommodations. Disclosing any information is always voluntary, but without disclosure there are no services. In addition any documentation you provide is confidential. It may not be necessary to have services in your first semester at IUPUI, but they may become necessary later on. You can choose to wait until you need services, but the campus suggests that you register with AES as soon as possible.
There are no automatic accommodations provided to all students with disabilities. The accommodations are determined by your disability and the resulting functional limitations. Two students who have diabetes may have different needs; one student may receive no accommodations while another student may receive a variety of testing accommodations depending on how serious and controlled the diabetes is. No school has to provide accommodations which fundamentally alter the nature of a service, program or activity or results in undue financial or administrative burdens. Finally, no school has to provide personal accommodations which include personal attendants, private tutoring, or readers for materials for personal enjoyment. So while there are lists of services IUPUI provides (interpreters, testing accommodations, waivers, substitutions, assistive computer programs or equipment, etc.), an individual student may not be entitled to some of them.
Unlike high school, IUPUI, as a post secondary educational institution has no responsibility for testing you, developing a plan, or automatically arranging accommodations. You must provide AES documentation--or other evidence--and become one of their clients. You must then familiarize yourself with the policies of your school or program regarding the procedures used for obtaining modifications in the academic requirements. A visit to the dean, academic advisor or counselor to discuss your request is often a good second step. You must follow the steps used by your unit and they will determine whether to grant you an academic accommodation such a waiver or substitution.
While theoretically you can do this at any time, you should do it sooner because it takes time to arrange and it is not necessarily a certainty. Waivers are especially difficult to obtain and many schools will not grant them for core courses, laboratory, or field courses. AES will, if asked, work with you but AES cannot make a school or program grant any academic adjustment.
No. IUPUI does not charge more for classes, fees or housing for students with disabilities. Nor does the university charge for accommodations.
The entire process is explained in the section on testing accommodations. One part of the answer is that testing accommodations are tentatively scheduled at the beginning of the semester by submitting OneStart schedule and the class syllabus and other forms and having the Testing Accommodations Form signed by the faculty and student and approved by the AES staff.
If the instructor agrees to an alternate testing site, tests will be proctored in the AES Testing Lab(University Library room 3135 H). Otherwise, the test will be proctored in your regular classroom or a designated area defined by the faculty at the scheduled time of the exam.
IUPUI's Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct spells out students' rights and responsibilities. It also covers the various appeal processes such as what to do if someone discriminates against you, what to do if you wish to appeal a grade as well as spelling out the expected behavior for members of the IUPUI community. There is a current copy on-line at the IUPUI Registrar's site. In cases of grievances, students can contact AES' Faculty Student Liaison or the IUPUI Student Advocate. In disciplinary matters, the appropriate contact is the IUPUI Dean of Students Office; for academic matters such as grades, the dean in charge of student affairs in the school offering the class is the place to start.