Concordia University College of Alberta

Learning Accommodation Services for Students with Disabilities

Through Learning Accommodation Services (LAS), Concordia provides opportunities for academically qualified persons with disabilities to achieve their full potential as individuals and in terms of their educational and career objectives. The mandate of Learning Accommodation Services is to work together with students and instructors to identify and remove barriers that prevent students with disabilities from achieving their full potential, allowing them to interact with other students on an equitable basis. Students, instructors, and Learning Accommodation Services share responsibility for the provision of accommodations.

If you have a documented disability, you may request Learning Accommodation Services through the Coordinator of Student Events and Services in the Student and Enrolment Office. Students are advised to begin the request process as soon as they decide to attend Concordia since the assessment process can take up to two weeks and the application process for government grant funding to cover the expense of some services (e.g., tutoring, academic strategist) can take anywhere from three to six weeks.

Requesting services early is more likely to ensure that students have all documentation and funding requirements as well as service arrangements in place for the first day of class.

How to Access Services

• Contact the Coordinator immediately after you apply for admission to begin the assessment process.
• Provide current documentation of your disability from a registered psychologist, psychiatrist, or medical doctor. The documentation should include:
  1. The nature, severity and functional analysis of the disability. In other words, what is your disability and what services do you require to overcome your challenges?
  2. The functional impact caused by the disability, specific to your post-secondary field of study.
  3. Recommendations for accommodations and support services that will permit full and equitable participation in post-secondary study.
     No more than three years may have passed between the time of the assessment and the date of your request for services. In the case of permanent disabilities, reassessment is required to reflect changing technology and environments not to re-diagnose.
• If you need to obtain the required documentation (your documentation is outdated or doesn't meet the requirements, contact the coordinator immediately who will assist you with arranging the appropriate assessments.

After your documentation is in place, Concordia's Registered Psychologist will assess your application for services; the coordinator will inform you of the results of the assessment.

Learning Accomodation Services

• Exam accommodations
• Note taking
• Reduced course-load
• Classroom and lab, assistants
• Alternate format textbooks and printed materials
• Architectural and classroom environment accommodation
• Adaptive technology room
• Tutoring information (contract)
• Academic strategist assistance (contract)

Individual Service Plan

After assessment, Student Affairs contacts eligible students to schedule meetings to develop their Individual Service Plans (ISP), which is the contract between Concordia and students who access accommodation services. During this meeting, the Coordinator also helps students to begin the application process for government funding, if appropriate. All LAS students are required to complete an ISP for every academic year that they attend Concordia.

For more information about applying for and accessing LAS, please contact Student Affairs by email at studentaffairs@concordia.ab.ca.