Requesting Accommodations
Requesting & Receiving Academic Accommodations
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Students must request to receive accommodations due to a disability by completing the following process.
- Once accepted to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center through the standard admissions process, register with Student Disability Services using our application. NOTE: Provide your R# and use your TTUHSC email account to apply for services.
- Provide relevant documentation to support/explain the accommodation request.
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Student Disability Services
3601 4th Street, STOP 8310
Preston Smith Library, 2nd Floor
Lubbock TX 79430-8310
T: 806.743.1926
F: 806-743-3027
- Student must complete the initial intake meeting with the SDS staff in order to receive Letters of Accommodation (LOA). After the initial SDS registration, students must renew their affiliation by requesting new LOAs (email disabilityservices@ttuhsc.edu) at the beginning of each semester. The student has the opportunity to review their accommodations during the LOA request process each academic semester. SDS is also able to assist with temporary accommodations as needed (e.g. broken hand). Please note the need for temporary accommodations on the SDS application. Student Disability Services also offers sign language interpreter and real-time captioning services for academic purposes to qualified SDS students.
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Students with disabilities who experience physical barriers on any TTUHSC campus are encouraged to contact SDS for assistance.
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It is the student's responsibility to make their accommodation needs known and to provide the appropriate documentation to support the requested accommodations. Students are also responsible for renewing their affiliation with Student Disability Services (SDS) each semester. It is important to remember that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), ensures equal access. A student has the right to succeed or fail a course based on academic performance. Reasonable ADA accommodations in no way guarantee student success in a course.
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Documentation can be submitted (by mail, fax, email, in person) for review any time during the year as long as it is for a currently enrolled student or an incoming (newly admitted) student.
Note: Documentation provided to SDS within the last two weeks of a semester will be processed for the following semester. It is the student's responsibility to apply for and obtain accommodations in a reasonable time frame within the semester. Documentation submitted to SDS is confidential and used solely for the purpose of assisting in identifying and securing accommodations and services to support the student’s full participation at TTUHSC. Affiliation with SDS is not reported on a student's transcript. Students should review the documentation guidelines on the SDS website for guidance and additional information to assist their medical provider. Although SDS does not offer diagnostic testing, transportation services, monetary assistance, or personal attendants, SDS does provide referral information.
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Once a student's application is received along with any supporting documentation, it will be processed through the SDS office. SDS staff will contact the student to schedule an initial intake meeting either in person or over the telephone. During this meeting, SDS will review the application and documentation to determine, in conjunction with the student, reasonable academic accommodations supported by the documentation. Reasonable accommodations may be discussed by the SDS staff and various school Student Affairs representatives, and evaluated for appropriateness based on the technical standards of each program. These reasonable accommodations, allowed for didactic courses and clinical courses, will be discussed with the student during the initial intake meeting. Other considerations in determining reasonable accommodations will include the type of disability, documented needs, previous accommodations, and functional limitations of the student. Following the intake meeting, the student and their program coordinator will receive an email from SDS staff with the Letter of Accommodation (LOA) attached. It is the student’s responsibility to then follow up with their program director and course instructors in order to discuss implementation of accommodations listed on the LOA. Faculty are not obligated to provide accommodations until such a meeting is complete, but once the meeting has occurred, faculty have one week to implement necessary accommodations. If faculty or program directors have questions, contact SDS.
Please review documentation guidelines.
Requesting ASL Interpreter/CART Services
HSC students in need of sign language interpreting or CART Services will need to completely fill out the Interpreter Services Request Form* (hyperlink) for each request needed. Please submit 3 business days prior to when you are needing the service. Once SDS receives the request the student will be notified of receipt, and then again once the request has been filled. SDS will also confirm the type of services secured and, if possible, the name of the interpreter or transcriptionist. In the event a change needs to be made to the original request, the student will need to email Tamara.Mancini@ttuhsc.edu 48 hours prior to the scheduled event.
Service Animals
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, a service animal is a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability. The tasks performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability. Title III of the ADA mandates that persons with disabilities accompanied by service animals be allowed access with their service animals into places of public accommodation, including restaurants, public transportation, schools, and health-care facilities. For more information from the ADA, see their FAQ about Service Animals.
As stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “no evidence suggests that animals pose a more significant risk of transmitting infection than people; therefore, service dogs should not be excluded from such areas, unless an individual patient’s situation or a particular animal poses greater risk that cannot be mitigated through reasonable measures.” For further information, please see #3 in the CDC Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities. Adapted from the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Textbook Information
Obtaining Accessible Texts
Current textbook accessibility includes a wide range of options. Although it is often helpful to start directly with the publisher’s own website, especially well-known publishers, here are some helpful options.
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E-Book Capabilities
- Listen to books.
- Read braille or large font.
- Customize your reading experience
Steps to Sign Up for the Bookshare Student Membership
- Go to Bookshare.org and click "SIGN UP TODAY".
- Select "Sign up Individual" then check the boxes verifying disability and age.
- SKIP the Activation I.D. and Promo Code boxes.
- Fill in your personal information. (Leave the "Plans" portion blank.)
- Click Create Account.
- You will now be given the option to print your PROOF of DISABILITY FORM. Print or send this form to Student Disability Services. They will email the form to Bookshare to complete the creation of your account.
- You will then receive a follow-up email from Bookshare to set up your account.
Bookshare is a free membership for accessible media for you and you alone. Consequences for sharing your account include termination of your student account, or termination of the entire TTUHSC account.
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E-Book Capabilities
- Have your books read to you on any of your devices.
- Highlight and take notes based on selected text.
- Access to tutors on hundreds of subjects.
- Access to flashcards.
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We can offer electronic versions of textbooks using Kurzweil/Kurzweil Firefly . The student must first purchase the necessary textbooks, fill out the Book Request Form and provide SDS with the book and the receipt of purchase. If SDS already has the book on file (you can always email me the title and edition and see if we already have the book on file), it could be a 48-hour turnaround time for the textbook to be added to Kurzweil. In either case, SDS will upload the textbook to the student’s Kurzweil account (where he/she will have a virtual bookshelf to access textbooks).
Directions for Students
- First, if you have an older version of Kurzweil, uninstall the original program by searching for it in your PC's search engine, right-clicking it and clicking Uninstall.
- Go to the Kurzweil download website
- Select the link Version 16 (subscription/web license) and allow the file to download. Open it.
- Click Run. In the window that pops up, click Install.
- In installation window, choose Web Licensing Software.
- Next window, click Install Web Licensing Software.
- On welcome screen, click Next.
- Read license agreement, choose “I accept the terms…”, and click Next.
- In the customer information window, type your name for the user name and Texas Tech University for the organization name.
- In the Setup Type screen, choose Complete, and click Next.
- In the Ready to Install screen, click Install.
- In the Guest Login Account screen, click Skip.
- You should then have a window that states “Installation Wizard Complete”, click Finish.
- When your computer asks to restart, click Yes.
Once your computer restarts, you are ready to go. You should see the shortcut for Kurzweil 3000 on your desktop, double click this icon to open Kurzweil.
When prompted, enter user name and password.
- In order to receive a username and password directly from Kurzweil you MUST have an account setup through the SDS office.
- You do not need to change the License type; just click OK.
To Use Kurzweil After Installation: ALWAYS BE CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET. When Kurzweil is open, click File, then click Open from Universal Library and open the file you wish to have Kurzweil read.
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E-Book Capabilities
- Has a cloud-based eReader with anywhere access.
- Highlight and take notes based on selected text.
- Build flashcards and study guides.
- Collaborate with fellow users to share notes and highlights.
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Vital Source Instructional Video
E-Book Capabilities
- Has a bookshelf that is read-aloud.
- Alter font size and zoom in view options.
- Accessible on multiple digital devices.
- Easy navigation through text.
- Color code your annotations.
- Flashcards and other review options.