Welcome to Student Disability Services
Swarthmore College welcomes disabled students to participate fully in all aspects of college life. Student Disability Services' mission is to ensure that students with physical, medical, learning or psychological disabilities are provided with equal access to all college programs, activities and services. Our policy is consistent with relevant governmental statutes and regulations, including those pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (amended in 2008), Title IX of the Federal Education Amendments of 1972 and Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Arranging Accommodations | Registering | Housing & Dining Accommodations
Student Disability Services staff advise students about the College's policy, procedures and resources, review students' documentation, and collaborate with students, faculty and staff to arrange reasonable accommodations that support students' individual needs.
Arranging Accommodations
Student Disability Services works with students who have documented disabilities to identify appropriate and reasonable accommodations. Reasonable accommodations refer to modifications that provide students with disabilities equal access to college programs and activities. Accommodations may include eliminating physical barriers, extended time on tests, note-takers, audio recording lectures, video captioning, sign language interpreters, use of a calculator or computer, electronic books, screen-reader accessibility, voice recognition and other adaptive software or hardware for computers. An accommodation is not considered reasonable if it fundamentally alters the essential elements of an academic program. Please be aware that Student Disability Services is not able to provide retroactive accommodations. Students need to register with Student Disability Services first and submit documentation of a disability. Accommodations begin once the student has received a formal accommodations letter.
If you are a current or prospective student, please contact Student Disability Services by emailing studentdisabilityservices@swarthmore.edu or by calling 610-328-8364.
Registering with Student Disability Services
Contact the Student Disability Services office at studentdisabilityservices@swarthmore.edu or contact SDS staff directly to arrange an intake appointment. We are happy to hold initial appointments for incoming students by phone or video. If at all possible, please submit documentation of your disability in advance so that we can review it prior to talking with you. We recommend that you contact the office as early as possible since some accommodations (e.g., electronic books, interpreters, etc.) can take a several weeks to arrange. We want to be sure that your needs are met in time for classes.
Visit the Accommodations Process and the Documentation Guidelines sections in the "For Students" section of this website for all details.
Important Note about Housing and Dining Accommodations
If you are seeking Housing Accommodations, please also visit the Disability Housing Accommodations site to learn about that process.
If you are seeking dining accommodations for food allergies and related dining issues, please follow the instructions found on Swarthmore Dining's Allergies & Intolerances web page. Swarthmore Dining will contact you to discuss your needs.
