Accessibility Resource Center

The broad categories of disabilities include learning, physical, chronic health, psychological, visual or hearing disabilities. If you have an impairment in one of these areas, contact ARC to register for academic accommodations.

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Here is a list of the typical accommodations offered at the ARC. Please note that we offer student accessibility help on a case-by-case basis and work with you to determine the appropriate accommodations. Accommodations are not automatic and you must qualify for each accommodation. For more information on the accommodations and services we offer, please contact us. 

Learning Disabilities

• Note takers
• Alternative testing
• Textbooks on tape
• Computer with speech input
• Separate testing room
• Tape recorders

Mobility Impairments

• Note takers
• Scribes
• Lab assistants
• Assistance with writing homework and doing library research
• Alternative testing
• Computer with speech input

Hearing Impairments

• Note takers
• Assistive listening devices
• Sign language and oral interpreters

Visual Impairments

• Textbooks on tape
• Lecture notes, handouts, tests on disk or enlarged format
• Computer with speech output, Zoom Text and a scanner with OCR software
• Alternative testing

Health Impairments

• Note takers
• Schedule modification
• Flexible attendance requirements
• Alternative testing

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K12 schools follow the guidelines of IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, subpart D, whereas higher education is regulated by ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, subpart E.

Your IEP or 504 plan will not be sent to any college or university unless you send it. To obtain academic accommodations, you must register with the Accessibility Resource Center.

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Once you are accepted to UNCP, contact ARC or stop by the Oxendine Administrative  Building, Room 110. You will receive a packet either given to you or sent through the mail, including an intake form, documentation guidelines and the instructions for your Current Impact Statement. Once your information is complete, your file will be given to the Documentation Review Committee.

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Your file and documentation are kept in ARC and separate from your educational file. No notation is placed on your transcript.

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The Documentation Review Committee determines all academic accommodations. Determinations are made based upon your specific disability, your documentation and your needs as outlined in your Current Impact Statement.

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The services at ARC are confidential and the staff makes every effort to ensure your privacy. If you have questions about confidentiality, contact the Accessibility Resource Center.

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Although the choice is ultimately yours, we recommend applying for services and utilizing the accommodations you qualify for so that course material is fully accessible to you. If you choose not to use or opt not to implement the accommodations you qualified for, be aware that, should you change your mind, your accommodations are not retroactive. In other words, we cannot ask your professors to let you “re-do” course material such as tests or assignments.

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Contact ARC as soon as possible so that we can send you a Housing Application form along with your Intake Packet through which you identify your specific housing needs. The Documentation Review Committee will meet on your application and notify you and Housing and Residence Life of your accommodation. You must still contact Housing and Residence Life to secure a room with a deposit. We recommend you submit your housing request early since housing is granted on a first-come-first-serve basis.

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Contact ARC as soon as possible because you may be eligible for temporary services. Please note that we do not transport any students around campus whether or not they have a disability.

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Although being pregnant is not in and of itself a disability, there may be extenuating conditions that develop, which ADA may cover. Contact ARC to inquire about your particular situation.

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We understand the difficulty of learning academic material in a language other than your primary language, but this is not considered a disability under the ADA. Contact the Office of Global Engagement to ask if they can assist you. However, if you have a documented disability, you may register with ARC for academic accommodations related to your disability.

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Anyone requiring help with personal and daily living needs must arrange their services. For more information, contact ARC.

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Students should be advised that no official national, state or similar registry for emotional support animals (ESAs) exists. However, if ARC approves ESAs as a reasonable accommodation, they can be permitted on campus.

Students should exercise caution when securing the necessary documentation for an ESA on campus. Guidance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in January 2020 notes:

Some websites sell certificates, registrations, and licensing documents for assistance animals to anyone who answers certain questions or participates in a short interview and pays a fee. Under the Fair Housing Act, a housing provider may request reliable documentation when an individual requesting a reasonable accommodation has a disability and disability-related need for an accommodation that are not obvious or otherwise known. In HUD’s experience, such documentation from the internet is not, by itself, sufficient to reliably establish that an individual has a non-observable disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal.

By contrast, many legitimate, licensed health care professionals deliver services remotely, including over the internet. One reliable form of documentation is a note from a person’s health care professional that confirms a person’s disability and/or need for an animal when the provider has personal knowledge of the individual.

Unless explicitly approved by ARC, the animal is not considered an ESA and may be subject to removal. More UNCP-specific policy information can found in UNCP Policy 04.25.08 - Animals on Campus.

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