Faculty and Staff Resources for Accessibility and Accommodations

Student Accommodations

Inclusivity is both a practice and a value at St. Catherine University. We embrace this culture in the spirit of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

St. Catherine University provides reasonable accommodations to students with a disability in accordance with federal laws. An accommodation is a modification to support an access need. The goal is to improve University accessibility and reduce barriers, so students may access their education and educational experience.

An accommodation may need to be denied if:
• It fundamentally alters essential requirements or technical standards
•  It fundamentally alters essential functions of a program, course, activity, service, job or facility
•  It creates an undue financial, logistical or administrative burden
•  It compromises anyone’s health or safety

If an accommodation (or specific use of an accommodation) poses one of these concerns, it may not be reasonable. In this instance, if an accommodation cannot be implemented:

Consider if there is an alternative, such as limited or conditional use of the accommodation, or another option to support this access need.
Inform and provide a clear explanation to affected students (who have eligibility for this accommodation) as early as possible. This may be communicated directly, on a course syllabus, or in other course/program communications.
At any step, you or the student may contact our SA&A office for questions, consultation or guidance as needed.

Classroom accommodations
Notetaking accommodations
Testing accommodations
Access to textbooks and course materials in an alternative format
Assistance animals
ASL Interpreters
Media captioning
Use of assistive technology
Clinical/fieldwork accommodations
Referral to campus or community resources
Campus accessibility
Housing accommodations
Dining accommodations
Assignment accommodations

Accommodation Policies and Procedures

When to Request an Interpreter

Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing students, faculty, and staff who use American Sign Language (ASL) are welcome to request ASL interpreters for their classes and University meetings or events. Any University event organizers and any student/faculty/staff scheduling a meeting or event with students/faculty/staff who use ASL are also welcome to request ASL services.

ASL Interpreters may be requested using the following link:

Interpreter Request Form

We ask for as much advance notice as possible when submitting interpreter requests, especially for in-person events. Please provide at least 2 weeks of notice whenever possible, as this is an external service that needs to be coordinated. We will make a good faith effort to fill all interpreter requests, however requests submitted with less than 7 business days of notice cannot be guaranteed. For questions about interpreter scheduling, please contact: interpretingservices@stkate.edu