Disability Support — Deafness/Hearing Impairment

Documentation Requirements

Students requesting academic accommodations from the Liberty University Online Office of Disability Academic Support are required to submit a notification of need form. Furthermore, they are required to submit documentation of a disability in order to verify their eligibility under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and ODAS policies. The evaluator’s report must document a disability as defined by the ADA as “a substantial limitation of a major life function.”

Currency:  Since any academic accommodations given to a student are based upon the present effect of the disability on the student, medical documentation used to request accommodations should be no more than 3 years old. However, exceptions to this amount of time may be made based upon the nature and progression of the hearing impairment itself, as well as the accommodations requested.

Diagnostician Qualifications: While the list below is not exhaustive, the following professionals are considered qualified to complete this assessment:

• Certified audiologists
• Otorhinolaryngologists

We request that the evaluator completing this assessment be unrelated to the student.

Diagnostic Report and Summarization:  The diagnostic report and summary must include, but is not limited to, the following information:

1. A specific statement of the student's hearing acuity.
2. A summary of assessment and audiogram.
3. Standard scores of any testing given, if applicable.
4. Information pertaining to the student's condition. Mention must be given as to whether the condition is static or changing and, if changing, the rate at which the change seems to be occurring.
5. Record of the student's unaided, bilateral hearing loss.
6. Suggestions (from the evaluator) for specific accommodations to be administered on behalf of the student in a postsecondary academic setting that are supported by the student's testing results and subsequent diagnosis.  

Other Requirements: This summary must:

1. Be written on evaluator letterhead.
2. Be signed and dated by the evaluator.
3. Include the specific dates of testing.
4. Include professional credentials.
5. Include contact information for the evaluator.

Submission Information:

Documentation can be sent to the following:

• Fax (preferred): 1-800-628-7977, Attention LUO ODAS
• Email (.pdf attachment complete with signature): luoodas@liberty.edu
• Address:

Liberty University Online ODAS
1971 University Blvd., Campus North
Lynchburg, VA 24502

Note: Medical Documentation will be reviewed periodically for all current students. Students may be asked to provide updated medical documentation for conditions that may change over time and whose medical documentation is past the required currency at the time of the review. Students are also encouraged to send in medical documentation when changes in their medical condition occur.