When you first register with AEO, you are recommended to meet with the Associate Director and Moorhead Learning Specialist, MaryJo Cavanaugh.  This meeting is a way for you to become better acquainted with the office.  During this meeting, Ms. Cavanaugh asks what AEO can provide that would be most helpful and accommodating to you.  She asks what accommodations have been beneficial or essential in the past.  It is a valuable meeting in that it gives Ms. Cavanaugh the opportunity to ensure that the appropriate accommodations for students are identified and provided.  It also allows AEO to provide accommodations in a timely manner so that students can access the curriculum.

One of the main differences about receiving accommodations in college as opposed to high school is that the student must participate in the process in order to receive accommodations.  Students’ responsibilities include:

Following AEO’s procedures for obtaining services and accommodations                            -this means completing a self-identification form at the time of registration, completing a student information sheet and academic accommodation form at the start of every semester, meeting with professors after receiving an accommodation letter, and more.

Requesting accommodations in a timely manner                                                                    -this means turning in your forms at the beginning of the semester on time or could mean requesting exam accommodations on time.  Students that receive accommodations that relate to testing (extended time, low-distraction environment, computer use) must speak to their professors at least a week before the the exam or at least two weeks before the exam if it is a final. If AEO is to proctor the exam, AEO must receive the request in one week’s notice.

Communicating with the office if a service or accommodation needs to be altered               -this simply means contacting AEO as soon as possible.

Working closely with professors to arrange accommodations.                                                  -Formally, this means meeting with professors every semester after receiving an accommodation letter.  However, this also means staying in close communication with your professors and letting them know when you will be using accommodations.

Student says: Accommodations are received much more formally at Vassar than they were in my high school.  Students did not have to go through an office to receive accommodations in high school.  Students would self-identify at the beginning of the year and make arrangements for accommodations with individual teachers when necessary.  At Vassar, students must be registered with AEO and provide their professors with an official letter from AEO indicating which accommodations for which they are eligible.  Also, every teacher in my high school was familiar with the different types of accommodations students received.  At Vassar, some professors still aren’t familiar with AEO and the accommodations they offer.