Frequently Asked Questions

The Center for Accommodation and Access (CAA) is Columbus State University’s designated office to verify students’ eligibility for accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The CAA assists students in developing and implementing reasonable accommodations that are specific to the individual.

We are in the Schuster Student Success Center, room 102.

We do not provide any testing at the CAA. If you are interested in being tested, we recommend contacting the CSU Counseling Center as they provide psychological testing for students.

We support all disabilities covered by the ADA. These can include (but are not limited to) physical, psychological, and medical/systematic disabilities.

We base accommodations off the documentation and self-report data the student provides during our initial meeting process. Because this process is so individualized, please contact the CAA directly for any accommodation concerns and your program coordinator will reach out to you to provide more specific information during the initial meeting process.

No. When a student submits a letter request, we provide the professors information regarding the accommodations the student has registered with our office. We provide no information to professors regarding the disability we have on file. It is up to the student to determine if they would like to disclose any information related to their disability to their professors.

How long a document is considered “current” depends on many factors, including the disability type, student’s age when written, and the type of documentation. If you have any questions regarding if documentation would need to be updated, please feel free to reach out to your program coordinator and they will be more than happy to meet with you to clarify if updated documentation is needed.

Yes, the CAA offers both temporary and provisional accommodations.

A temporary accommodation is in place for a set period due to a disability that will not be permanent, such as breaking your hand.

A provisional accommodation occurs when a student provides some documentation but needs to provide further documentation in order for their accommodations to become permanent.

Both types of accommodations expire after a set time determined by the program coordinator and student, and any further extensions of these dates must be discussed over a meeting with a program coordinator and student to determine if an extension is possible.

We do not require students to go through the entire process every semester. Once you have been registered with the CAA, all you need to do is request your instructor letters each semester you would like accommodations.

A faculty accommodation letter lists the accommodations a student has been approved for within the CAA office. The faculty letter is to be presented to each professor from whom the student needs to receive classroom accommodations. This ensures that the professor is aware that the student should receive those accommodations in the professor’s class.

For any face-to-face courses the student takes, it is the student’s responsibility to provide the letter to the professor and return the completed signature sheet to the CAA staff.

For any online courses the student takes, the student must submit their letters through the standard online form. However, the letters for online courses are emailed from the student’s program coordinator directly to the professor instead of the student presenting a physical letter. Accommodation letters emailed to professors do not typically require a signature on the faculty signature sheet.

You can request your letters by clicking Returning Students on the CAA website, and then selecting Request Faculty Letters. Please remember to only fill out one form with all of the semester’s courses. Add courses by selecting “Add Another Class” towards the end of the form until all of the courses a student wants accommodations for have been listed. Please only click Submit once while filling out the form.

We recommend requesting your letters a few weeks to courses starting or the week of classes start. Please note that accommodation letter requests will only be fulfilled after midterms with a special meeting with either the CAA director or student’s program coordinator to determine if an exception can be made.

Registered students can request to take exams in the CAA’s Testing Center by either submitting a form for each test that will be taken at our testing center. Remember to include the time and date of your exam!

Please note that only registered students who have requested their letters and returned their faculty signature sheet will be able to test at the CAA’s Testing Center. Letters must be requested every semester for every course the student wants to receive accommodations.

We have access to accessibility software that students are welcome to use either by scheduling a time in our Tech Lab or during their exams proctored by the CAA.

Please review the software we have in our Testing and Tech Lab.

If students have a specific request, contact CAA@columbusstate.edu

The student should provide you with a faculty letter of accommodation and will request that you sin indicating receipt for face-to-face courses. For online courses, the student’s Program Coordinator will email the accommodation letter directly to you. Please note that this letter will provide you with the accommodations you are required to provide to the student.

Any receipt (digital or printed) showing proof of purchase is acceptable as long as a copy is provided to the CAA office or student’s program coordinator.

The student should provide you with a faculty letter of accommodation and will request that you sin indicating receipt for face-to-face courses. For online courses, the student’s Program Coordinator will email the accommodation letter directly to you. Please note that this letter will provide you with the accommodations you are required to provide to the student.

Read the letter carefully. It is a formal notice signifying that the student has provided the CAA with documentation of a disability and has accommodations to assure the student has equal access to the course. Please feel free to reach out to the student’s respective program coordinators at the CAA Sarah Floyd or Sarah Secoy if you have any questions regarding the accommodations or letter.

No. Students are not required to disclose their disability or documentation at any point to faculty and staff.

No. You are legally required to keep their information private. Please do not discuss a student’s disability with other students or in front of the class where other students may overhear confidential information.

All rooms at the CAA are proctored remotely using a camera system. We monitor all students who take exams in our Testing Center for necessary medical intervention as well as honor violations. Any honor violations found will be reported to the faculty member.

Instructors can either email the exam to Marie Grandison or drop off the exam prior to the scheduled exam time.

The exam can either be scanned to you via email or returned to your campus box.