Office of Student Support Services
Request an adjustment, report inaccessible course material, or get help using an approved accommodation. Student Support coordinates access arrangements for applicants and students throughout their studies.
Report an accessibility barrierYou can start a request without a diagnosis, a completed form, or supporting records. Email with the subject Accommodation Request and explain the activity and help needed. Keep medical records out of the general email; Student Support will arrange a protected submission method when relevant information is needed.
New Meridian University considers access needs in admissions, orientation, courses, assessments, research supervision, virtual meetings, library resources, university systems, and student services. The Office of Student Support Services coordinates the process under the authority of the President or a designated official. You do not need a history of formal accommodations or academic difficulty to request assistance.
Requests may involve physical or mental health conditions, chronic conditions, temporary impairments, or episodic limitations. Describe how the condition or barrier affects the particular activity, such as reading a course document, hearing a discussion, concentrating during an assessment, or operating a course tool. The same diagnosis does not lead to the same adjustment for every person or activity.
Pregnancy-related and religious requests may also begin through this contact route. They are considered on their own basis under NMU’s Nondiscrimination, Harassment, and Fair Treatment Policy. Religious requests do not require medical documentation. Pregnancy-related requests are considered on their own basis, and disability documentation is not automatically required.
The university considers the requested adjustment and effective alternatives in relation to the actual barrier and the purpose of the activity. Examples include the following arrangements.
These examples do not predetermine an individual decision. NMU does not charge an accommodation fee for measures required to provide nondiscriminatory access. You are not required to supply a friend or family member as an interpreter.
Email info@newmeridianuniversity.org with the subject Accommodation Request. Explain what you need to do, what prevents or limits your participation, and when assistance is needed. You may ask for help identifying an effective adjustment without knowing its technical name.
Include your name, student identification number if assigned, program or application, affected course or activity, and an email address or other contact method you can use. For an approaching assessment or deadline, give the date, time, and time zone. Describe the practical barrier in the initial message; do not attach medical records or a form containing medical details to the general email.
Request assistance as early as reasonably possible. Requests are accepted throughout enrollment, and a late request is not automatically denied. Some arrangements require preparation, so identify any immediate difficulty and ask about interim assistance while review continues. You do not need to wait for supporting documentation before reporting an urgent barrier.
A particular form or legal phrase is not required to begin. If you make a verbal request, Student Support will document it for your clarification. You may authorize a support person to help with the request without granting unrestricted access to your records. If you first raise the need with an instructor or another office, that person must promptly connect you with Student Support and preserve the original request date.
Email subject Accommodation Request
NMU requests information reasonably necessary to understand the relevant limitation and the need for an adjustment. No additional documentation is required when the need and appropriate arrangement are already sufficiently established. Your account, relevant prior accommodation records, educational observations, or a statement from an appropriately qualified professional may help. Prior accommodations receive considerable weight, particularly in comparable assessment settings.
If professional documentation is needed, Student Support will identify the specific question it must answer. Useful information explains the functional limitation affecting the activity, its duration or variability, and how the recommended adjustment addresses it. A diagnosis alone may not explain the educational barrier. An NMU provider form is not mandatory.
The university does not routinely require complete medical files, treatment notes, every test score, annual reevaluation, or a new diagnosis for a stable condition. Records are evaluated for relevance to current needs rather than rejected solely because of age. Tell the office if obtaining information presents a cost, access, or timing difficulty so available evidence, alternatives, and interim measures can be considered.
Student Support will identify the receiving official and arrange a protected submission method. Send sensitive records through those instructions, rather than to a general email address, each instructor, or a course assignment area in Classter.
The reviewer discusses the barrier and possible arrangements with you. Academic Affairs, an instructor, Information Technology, or another responsible office may be consulted when its expertise is needed. Consultation is limited to information necessary for that role. The following are the ordinary processing targets in NMU’s policy.
| Stage | Timing and Next Step |
|---|---|
| Initial response | Within five business days of an identifiable request. The acknowledgment identifies your coordinating official and the next step. |
| Written decision | Within ten business days after NMU has sufficient relevant information. The decision identifies approved arrangements or explains alternatives, limitations, or denial. |
Business days are Monday through Friday, excluding published NMU holidays and closures. Counting begins on the next applicable day after receipt. An acknowledgment confirms receipt; it does not approve an adjustment. If no acknowledgment arrives within five business days, check spam and follow up in the same email thread or call Student Support with the original request date and needed date.
If more time is needed, Student Support provides a written explanation before the expected decision date, a revised date, and consideration of interim assistance. Requests are reviewed as information becomes available. Unnecessary documentation must not delay a decision.
The President or designated official issues a written decision identifying approved adjustments, the activities covered, effective dates, duration or review date, and the person responsible for implementation. The notice explains any limitation, alternative, or denial and how to request reconsideration. Read the decision and ask about missing details before the activity when possible.
Student Support coordinates implementation with instructors and responsible offices. They receive the arrangements and instructions needed to provide access, rather than routine copies of medical or diagnostic records. Instructors must implement approved adjustments and refer concerns to the designated official. You do not have to negotiate approval again with every instructor.
Check that additional assessment time, break arrangements, accessible materials, or other approved settings are in place. A deadline-flexibility approval should explain how to request and confirm a revised date. A recording or assistive tool may have conditions protecting assessment integrity and other people’s privacy. At the start of a new course or research activity, identify the existing arrangements that need to be implemented. A continuing, stable need does not by itself require new medical evidence every term.
Email with the subject Accommodation Implementation. Identify the course or activity, approved adjustment, date, continuing barrier, and immediate consequence. Include the approval notice if helpful, without resending medical records. Student Support coordinates correction and any necessary interim access. You may also notify the instructor of the practical problem.
Accommodations preserve essential learning outcomes, academic integrity, and valid assessment. A rule is not automatically essential because it appears in a syllabus. If a requested adjustment raises an academic concern, the responsible officials review its purpose and effective alternatives individually and explain the determination in writing.
Approval ordinarily addresses current and future participation and does not automatically remove earlier grades, missed work, or academic requirements. If an earlier access failure, delayed response, or failure to implement an approved arrangement affected your work, ask Student Support to coordinate a review of those effects with the responsible academic office.
You can report an inaccessible university page, Classter activity, course document, video, virtual meeting, library resource, or required third-party tool without submitting a diagnosis or waiting for an accommodation decision. Examples include a scanned reading that a screen reader cannot interpret, a video whose captions are missing or unusable, or a control that cannot be operated with a keyboard.
Email info@newmeridianuniversity.org with the subject Accessibility Barrier, or call 801-306-0660 if that route is inaccessible. Identify the page address or resource title, course or activity, task you are trying to complete, and the point at which access fails. Include the date needed and your preferred contact method. Device, browser, or assistive-software details are helpful when relevant. Do not include passwords, verification codes, medical records, or confidential assessment content.
Student Support coordinates with the responsible office to address the barrier. Technology Support and Help Desk can investigate technical access issues; the instructor or content owner may need to supply an accessible resource. If the issue prevents participation now, ask for an effective interim way to complete the activity and notify the instructor about the practical effect on your work.
Requests, supporting medical information, and decisions are handled as confidential university records under NMU’s Privacy and Information Protection Policy. Access is limited to authorized people who need the information for review, implementation, or another permitted purpose. Supporting medical information is maintained separately from routine course materials, and accommodation status is not placed on the academic transcript.
Parents, spouses, sponsors, and people paying tuition do not receive access solely because of that relationship. You may authorize specific assistance or disclosure. Confidentiality does not mean absolute secrecy; necessary disclosures may occur with authorization or another permitted basis under university policy and applicable requirements.
Contact Student Support to request access to your accommodation records or correction of factual errors. The request will be routed to the record custodian. Records follow the university’s applicable retention schedule, with relevant materials preserved while a review, complaint, or preservation requirement remains pending. Privacy concerns may be raised through the ethical complaint process.
Email with the subject Accommodation Review. Identify the decision and date, the change requested, the continuing barrier, and any overlooked or additional information. Include a specific procedural concern or conflict of interest when relevant.
Request review promptly, preferably within ten business days after receiving the decision. This preferred period is not an automatic bar to consideration. An ongoing access need or new information may be raised at any time.
The President or an unconflicted authorized official assigns a qualified reviewer with no prior involvement in the original determination and no relevant conflict. If the President made the original decision, an independent reviewer considers it; the President must not hear, direct, or override an appeal of that decision. Student Support identifies the reviewer so you can raise a specific concern about bias.
The reviewer ordinarily issues a written outcome within fifteen business days after receiving the information needed for review. A necessary extension includes an explanation, revised date, and consideration of interim access. Existing approved arrangements continue according to their terms while review is pending unless a documented, lawful reason requires a change. Ask how approved and interim arrangements will operate during review.
NMU prohibits retaliation for requesting an accommodation, reporting a barrier, participating in review, or challenging a decision. Concerns about prohibited conduct follow the procedures of the Office of Ethical Compliance. Ask Student Support to connect you with the reporting official; you do not have to confront the person involved.
A concern personally implicating the President follows the independent external-review route. Ask Student Support for the designated independent external reviewer’s direct contact information before providing sensitive details. The President and other implicated officials must not control that investigation, decision, or appeal.
An accommodation review and an ethical complaint may proceed together when they address different issues. Their separate requirements and deadlines still apply. You may seek assistance from an appropriate outside authority without first completing NMU’s process; internal review does not extend an outside filing deadline.
Use the subject that best describes the help you need so Student Support can route your message. If you are unsure which process applies, describe the issue and ask for guidance. Neither an implementation problem nor a review request requires a new form.
info@newmeridianuniversity.org
801-306-0660
Ask for another communication method if email or the ordinary process is inaccessible. Describe any immediate barrier and the date assistance is needed.
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