Steps to Apply for Accommodations

1. Students with disabilities who require accommodations to receive equal access should complete the online Student Application and provide supporting documentation substantiating their disability.

• Documentation may be submitted with the application or provided to the Associate Director of Academic Success (Associate Director) as explained under Documentation Guidelines. Please contact the Associate Director if you have questions or if any of our online services are inaccessible to you. 
• Important: The application will time out after 20-30 minutes, so please take screenshots as you fill it out, just in case. Once you submit the application, you should receive an immediate confirmation email. If, on the other hand, you are taken to a blank application, you can send the screenshots directly to the Associate Director.

2. Once you have submitted the Student Application, the Associate Director will review your application and supporting documentation and will contact you. The Associate Director either will ask you to provide additional information or will schedule a meeting with you. Students may also contact the Associate Director directly by email (su-accommodations@southwestern.edu) or phone (512-863-1286), or by coming to the Center for Academic Success (Prothro Center for Lifelong Learning, Suite 120).

• Important: Please do NOT delay contacting the Associate Director out of concern for not having the right paperwork. Our first priority is communicating with you, not reviewing the paperwork! Accommodations are always determined on an individual, case-by-case basis.

3. Once the appropriate documentation has been received, you will meet individually with the Associate Director to discuss your accommodation request.

Steps to Use Approved Accommodations

1. Once you have been officially approved for specific accommodations, Southwestern’s  accommodations portal, SSD Online Services (also known as the Accessible Information Management (AIM) System), is where you will request to use your approved accommodations, schedule exams, etc. Click the button below to access it.

SSD ONLINE SERVICES

2. Your “User Profile” in the SSD Online/AIM System will be accessible to you when you log onto the system with your Southwestern User ID. Once logged in, you will see the links below along the top of your “User Service Center” screen.

    Overview  Student  Accommodations  Appointments  Notes  Files  Mailbox  Equipment  Report

3. The link labeled “Student” includes information about the accommodations for which you have been approved. The link labeled “Accommodations” includes the classes for which you are enrolled in a given semester. You will be able to select the approved accommodations you want to use for each of your courses in that semester by following the directions at the top of your “Accommodations” page.

• Important: Because your classes will change semester-by-semester, you will need to select the approved accommodations you want to use for each of your classes during each semester. Simply log onto the AIM system with your User ID, access your “Accommodations” page, and select the approved accommodations you want to use for each of your courses in that semester. A written step-by-step procedure is available here.

4. If you have been approved for testing accommodations and plan to test in the Center for Academic Success, you will be able to schedule completion of your tests through the Alternative Testing section of SSD Online Services/AIM System. A brief video tutorial is available for students online at: how to schedule an exam. A written step-by-step procedure is available here.