Accommodations

An overview of accommodations, how to request them, and how to use them.

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Last edited: June 18, 2026
Contributors: Amy Wang

Resources

How to Apply for Accommodations

1. Fill out the application in the accommodations portal.

Log in with your Andrew ID and password. There is one form for academic accommodations and one for housing accommodations. They’ll ask for:

  1. demographic information (ie. name, address, college),
  2. a list and descriptions of your disability/disabilities (if you’re unsure what to say, language used in a diagnostic report, by a medical professional, in the DSM, etc are all good), and
  3. what accommodations you’re requesting (this disability resources page offers a nice but non-comprehensive list of possible accommodations; see [insert hyperlink in page] for a larger, but still non-comprehensive list)

2. Submit documentation of your disability/disabilities

For academic accommodations, a diagnostic report from an evaluation within the last five years will usually qualify. If you don’t have that, or the report doesn’t meet the requirements, CMU has an academic accommodations form you can send to a provider/healthcare professional after you fill out your name, Andrew ID, and email address. For housing accommodations, you will need to send this housing accommodations form to a healthcare professional after you fill out the Authorization to Release Health Care Information section. Here are CMU’s general documentation guidelines (as of 11/24/2025):

  1. Documentation must be obtained from a professional with comprehensive training and experience in the relevant specialty who holds appropriate licensure or certification.
  2. Documentation must be up to date and reflect the current status of the student’s disability and functional limitations. If the documentation provided does not reflect the current status of the student’s disability or limitations, Disability Resources will need to request more recent documentation which will delay the accommodations process. Note: documentation that is five years old or more often does not meet this requirement.
  3. Documentation must describe the treatment relationship between the student and medical or mental health provider (e.g. how long the provider has treated the student, frequency of treatment visits, primary goals of treatment, etc.).
  4. Documentation must describe in detail how the student’s disability impacts the student and substantially limits the student’s ability to engage in one or more major life activities, as well as its impact on participation in academics and/or other aspects of campus life.
  5. The documentation provided cannot be from a family member or someone with a personal relationship with the student or the student’s family.
  6. Additional information that is very helpful (but not required) in determining appropriate accommodations includes the specific diagnosis or diagnoses, the treatment history and plan of care, diagnostic methodology, recommended disability accommodations and/or auxiliary aids and services.

3. Make an appointment with the Office of Disability Resources to discuss your accommodations

Once you’ve submitted the application and any necessary documentation, you should receive an email confirming your application has been received. Once you receive a second email about making an appointment, log in to the accommodations portal again with your Andrew ID and password, navigate to My Appointments from the dashboard on the left, and click “Request an Appointment.” From there, you should select “Initial Accommodations Meeting” under “Appointment Purposes” and schedule a time to meet with the person who sent you the second email.

4. Maintain your accommodations

Now that you have your accommodations, the last thing you need to do is keep them updated and use them.

Using accommodations

For academic accommodations, you’ll need to log back in to your accommodations portal at https://rainier.accessiblelearning.com/cmu and navigate to “List Requests.” From there, for each class you’re in, you’ll need to select the accommodations you want to use, which will email you and the instructor(s) a “Summary of Accommodations Memorandum.” You should then email your instructor(s) and be prepared to discuss your accommodations. (See the Email Templates section at the bottom of this page for help drafting such an email.)

For housing accommodations, CMU Housing Services should email you to work out how your accommodations will be met. I’d recommend emailing them if you’re unsure or have any questions.

If any part of this seems intimidating, or anything goes wrong, the Office of Disability Resources will be there to help and advocate for you, so reach out!

Updating accommodations

Simply email the Office of Disability Resources about the updates you want to make. They might have you set up a meeting (which can be over zoom, phone call, or in-person) to discuss these updates. You might also need additional documentation.

While the Office of Disability Resources is really good at getting your accommodations in place ASAP, if it’s the middle of the school year, housing accommodations may be difficult to fulfill. It’s never a bad idea to try though! I was moved into a single in the middle of my freshman year.

Possible accommodations to request (non-comprehensive)

Academic

  • Extended time on exams
  • Modifications to testing environment (usually they’ll have you take exams in the testing center)
  • Recording devices
  • Adaptive hardware and software such as voice recognition
  • Interpreters

Housing

  • Semi-private bathrooms (met by all upper-class housing)
  • Single room
  • ADA-compliant and/or a ground floor room
  • A/C

Email Templates

These are just suggestions to get you started!

Informing your instructors of academic accommodations

First, find the relevant “Summary of Accommodations Memorandum” email in your inbox. You’re going to forward that email to your instructors with the following message:

Good [morning/afternoon/evening] Prof. [prof last name],

I’m [your name] and I’m excited to be in [class] this semester. As we get closer to the start of classes, the ODR has recommended I reach out to clarify the details of my accommodations. I’d be happy to do this over email or in-person, whichever you prefer.

My relevant accommodations include:
[insert your accommodations here]

Thanks,
[your name]