The letter of the law mandates that all federally funded institutions provide academic adjustments when a student with a documented disability makes a reasonable request. The accommodation process is the vehicle used to implement this letter of the law.

Disability Support Services is the entity within the University of Alaska Anchorage responsible for reviewing accommodation

For more information on the accommodation process visit the Accommodation page.

The spirit of the law widens the focus and encourages the development of a learning environment in which the need for academic adjustment is reduced and full access is promoted from the very beginning.

Faculty, students, and staff, working together, make up the entity that lives and breathes and embodies the spirit of the law through the development and maintenance of learning environments that support a full and natural range of learners.

For more information on strategies that can promote access visit the Universal Design page. 

The Rehabilitation and Americans with Disabilities Acts mandate that universities provide students with disabilities the necessary accommodations to ensure equal access to all academic and co-curricular programs and services.

It is important to note that ensuring reasonable accommodation and equal access to academic offerings does not mean that students are guaranteed academic success. The way students with disabilities perform with accommodations varies as widely as the academic performance of non-disabled students.

Acommodation is meant to provide a level playing field, to ensure that all students are presented with a learning opportunity in which the path to success is accessible, it is still up to each student to find that success by meeting course objectives.