Accommodations for Students with Special Needs
Alvernia University understands and follows the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Anyone covered by the ADA who has specific needs will receive reasonable accommodations.
Get help with disability services
The Office of Accessibility Services is located in Bernardine Hall, Room 105C. Our Accessibility Services Director, Andrea Swift, can be reached at accessibility.services@alvernia.edu or 610-568-1499. The fax number is 484-335-4486.
Appeal or Grievance Procedures
Institutions of higher education have the obligation to make informed decisions about accommodations. These decisions may not always coincide with recommendations from outside professionals or with prior Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs) and 504 Plans.
Students who do not agree with the accommodation decisions of the Office of Accessibility Services should follow the process outlined below.
A student who disagrees with the appropriateness of a decision regarding accommodations should speak first with the Office of Accessibility Services Director Andrea Swift to resolve the issue.
If a satisfactory resolution still cannot be reached, the student has two options. For academic accommodations, written appeals should be sent to the Chief Academic Officer, Interim Provost Mary Ellen Wells. For non-academic accommodations related to medical and physiological disabilities, including campus access (residential, classroom, social and athletic) written appeals should be sent to the Senior Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, Mary-Alice Ozechoski.
If the provost or senior vice president for enrollment management and student affairs (as appropriate) feels the decision settled upon by the Office of Accessibility Services Director was reached according to ADA guidelines, written notification of the decision will be issued to the student and kept in the student’s file in the Accessibility Services Office.