Disability Support Services
- Evaluates and maintains disability-related documents
- Certifies eligibility for services
- Determines reasonable accommodations and develops plans for the provision of such accommodations
- Assists students in negotiating disability-related barriers in the pursuit of their education
- Strives to improve access to university programs, activities, and facilities for students with disabilities
- Promotes increased awareness of disability issues on campus.
In post-secondary settings, it is the student's responsibility to request individual assistance in advance. It is important to understand that not every student with a disability requires accommodations. It is equally important to understand that even though two individuals may have the same disability, they may not require the same accommodations. The Catholic University of America is a caring and supportive community with high academic expectations for each student. The goal of the University and DSS is to enable each student to achieve his or her academic goals.
Our Mission
The Office of Disability Support Services (DSS) provides programs and services designed to support and encourage the integration of students with disabilities into the mainstream of the university community.
The Office of Disability Support Services assists in creating an accessible university community, where students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to fully participate in all aspects of the educational environment.
DSS supports both the teaching and learning environments through partnerships and in-service training with students, faculty, and staff.
Confidentiality
Student disability records are education records that contain confidential information, and are to be protected per the University's Student Records Policy and Information Security and Assurance Policy (see http://policies.cua.edu/default.cfm). Accordingly, DSS will maintain a student's disability information in a confidential file in the DSS Office. In order to balance student privacy with the need to provide services and accommodations, DSS will disclose student disability information only to those University personnel who have a need to know that information or with a student's consent, and in accordance with the foregoing policies.