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Accessibility Services

The Office of Accessibility Services at Hilbert College is committed to ensuring equal access and participation in college programs, services, and facilities for all students. We collaborate with students, faculty, and staff to determine and coordinate reasonable academic and non-academic accommodations for students with disabilities.

Accommodations

To request accommodations at Hilbert College, students must:

  1. Contact the Office of Accessibility Services and request accommodation(s).
  2. Provide documentation from a qualified medical professional. Documents should include a diagnostic statement that describes the current functional impact of the disability. Documentation may include educational, medical or psychological records.
  3. Meet with a member of the Office of Accessibility Services to discuss the requested accommodation.

Current Students

Current students can request accommodations at any time during the semester by contacting the Office of Accessibility Services. Please be aware that accommodations are not retroactive and the request process takes time. Therefore, it is advisable for students to request accommodations as early as possible.

Prospective Students

Prospective students interested in requesting accommodations should contact the Office of Accessibility Services as early as possible after acceptance. Documentation should be sent directly to the Office of Accessibility Services. Documentation sent to Admissions may not be received.

Documentation Submission

Documentation should be sent via email, post, or fax to:

Office of Accessibility Services
Hilbert College
5200 South Park Ave,
Hamburg, NY 14075
Email: asc@hilbert.edu
Phone: (716) 926-8836
Fax: (716) 648-6530

Documentation sent via email cannot be a photo or scan from a cell phone.

Testing Accommodations

Students who have been approved for testing accommodations by the Office of Accessibility Services may make an appointment to take a test in the Testing Center, located in the McGrath Library/Learning Commons.

To make a testing appointment, students must:

  1. Provide a copy of their confidential Accommodation Letter to their professor
  2. Make an appointment at the Front Desk in the library at least two business days in advance (Monday exams cannot be scheduled on Friday).
  3. Test should be scheduled for the same time the rest of the class takes the exam unless there is a direct class conflict.

Animals on Campus

Hilbert College generally prohibits animals in campus buildings. Exceptions may be made for Assistance Animals.

A service animal is any dog that has been trained to perform work or do a task for a person with a disability. The work or task performed must be directly related to the person’s disability. The provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, companionship or protection does not constitute ‘work’ for the purpose of this definition. Service animals are working animals, not pets.

Service dogs are permitted to accompany their owner in all Hilbert facilities, except where prohibited for health and safety reasons. While not required, it is strongly suggested that service dogs wear an identifying harness, tags or other items to communicate to campus tat their dog is working.

Commuter Students

Hilbert strongly recommends that commuting students accompanied by a Service Animal contact the Office of Accessibility Services prior to bringing their dog to campus.  Students who do not require any additional disability related accommodation are not required to register with the Office of Accessibility Services, nor are such individuals required to submit a request for a reasonable accommodation to receive access for their Service Animal.

Residential Students

Residential Students are required to notify both the Office of Accessibility Services and Office of Residence Life as early as possible, but at least 60 days before move in, that they intend to bring a Service Animal to live on campus with them. Students are not required to register with the Office of Accessibility Services, provide supporting documentation related to their disability, or submit a request for reasonable accommodation to receive access for their Service Animal.  However, if the student requires any additional disability related accommodations, they are required to follow Hilbert College’s Accommodations Processes and Procedures, which include providing supporting documentation.

 

An Emotional Support Animal, also known as a comfort animal, is any animal that provides emotional support to alleviate one or more symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. Emotional support animals provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and sometimes help with other mental health symptoms, but do not have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities.

Emotional Support Animals may reside in Residence Halls with their owner when necessary to afford the individual an equal opportunity to use and enjoy housing. Students may not have an ESA in their residence hall room unless approved by the Office of Accessibility Services.

To request an ESA as an accommodation, a student should:

  1. Meet with the Office of Accessibility to request an ESA as an accommodation.
  2. Provide necessary documentation from a licensed mental health care provider.
  3. Wait until the Office of Accessibility Services approves the ESA as an accommodation.
  4. Meet with the Office of Residence Life to review and sign the Animals on Campus policy.
Documentation for ESAs

A licensed mental health provider must be from New York state or the state of the student’s permanent residence and should have a working relationship with the student. Documentation from online providers will not be accepted.

ESAs are not allowed on campus until all steps are completed: the necessary documentation is provided, the accommodation is approved by the Office of Accessibility Services, and the Office of Residence Life has confirmed that they have appropriate space available.

Documentation of clean health, immunizations and rabies vaccination, NYS dog license will be required by the College before the dog move on campus.

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