Students anticipating a need for support in law school due to a disability should meet with the Dean of Students to coordinate services and accommodations as early as possible before the start of the academic year.
Classroom Accommodations:
Any student who requires accommodations related to preparation for or attending class, including special seating arrangements, permission to tape classroom discussions, or to receive typed notes, should submit to the Dean of Students a memorandum enumerating the following:
1) the desired accommodations;
2) the classes for which the accommodations are required,
3) the time period for which such accommodations are required, and
Medical documentation supporting the need for the requested accommodations must be attached to the memorandum.
A meeting should be scheduled with Dean Foerst and this memorandum should be submitted no later than August 1, 2008.
Examination Accommodations:
Any student who wishes to request special testing accommodations because of a permanent disability must first meet with the Dean of Students.
Seton Hall Law School employs the State of New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners’ application for examination accommodations due to physical, learning or other disability. This enables students with disabilities to have their bar applications prepared well in advance of the bar exam, and hopefully enables them to take their law school exams under conditions similar to those that will exist for the bar exam. Students should be aware that the New York bar forms for exam accommodations are significantly more involved, and might consider having their diagnostician fill out both sets of forms at the same time. The New Jersey bar forms are available in the Dean of Student’s office or at http://www.njbarexams.org/app/accommodationsapp.pdf. Seton Hall’s eligibility criteria and documentation guidelines for most disabilities are available at http://studentaffairs.shu.edu/dss/.
After meeting with the Dean of Students the student must submit their application for exam accommodations with supporting documentation by September 1.
The Dean of Students will consult with the Seton Hall University Office of Disability Support Services (DSS) to determine if the student qualifies for accommodation, and if so, to what extent. The student will be sent notice of the accommodations that have been granted. For permanent disabilities, medical documentation need only be submitted the first time the request is made, after which the Dean of Students will keep the medical documentation supporting the disability on file.
Temporary Impairment:
Students may suffer from acute conditions or injuries that require accommodation during exams. The Dean of Students, in her sole discretion, may grant reasonable accommodations for such circumstances. If the impairment is known sufficiently in advance of exams, students should apply for such accommodations by the enumerated deadline for the Request for Special Accommodations form in that semester. A request for accommodations due to temporary impairment should be supported by a physicians documentation.
To make an appointment to meet with Cara Foerst, the Dean of Students, please contact the Office of Student Services at (973) 642-8707.
Students who require specific additional assistance may contact the Disability Support Services office at the South Orange Campus at (973) 313-6003.