Office for Students with Disabilities

OSD Documentation and Assessment Reports:
The Office for Students with Disabilities requires a formal assessment report to determine eligibility for reasonable accommodations requested by a PennWest California student with disabilities.
An appropriate assessment report will:

• Be typed on letterhead, dated, signed and be a complete, legible copy of the report.
• Have the name, title and professional credentials of the evaluator clearly stated.
• Identify a disability that substantially limits a major life activity, such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working.
• Identify specific and current functional deficits and the impact of the deficits as related to the student's participation in a higher education setting.
• Include a detailed summary that:
  • Identifies the degree to which the disability impacts the student in the higher education setting.
  • Identifies the student's requested accommodations.
  • Identifies additional accommodations that would be appropriate in the higher education setting, if warranted.
  • Explains how each requested and/or recommended accommodation is substantiated through the assessment and would serve to mitigate the identified current, functional deficits.

Assessment Report for Learning Disabilities and/or Attention Deficit Disorders

The evaluator must be a licensed or certified psychologist or neuropsychologist. The report must include:

• Complete intellectual assessment with all subtests and standard scores reported; WAIS-IV advised.
• Comprehensive achievement battery that identifies current levels of functioning in reading, mathematics and written language, with all subtests and standard scores reported; Woodcock-Johnson-IV advised.
• Specific areas of information processing including memory, auditory/visual perception, processing speed, executive functioning and motor ability.
• Specific diagnosis and an individualized profile of strengths and weaknesses.

Assessment Report for All Other Disabilities

The professional evaluator must be appropriate to the disability. The report must include:

• Medical history and medical diagnosis.
• Description of relevant physical/sensory deficits.
• Current medication regimen and side effects of the medications, if applicable.
• A complete psychiatric assessment should be included when relevant.

Retention or Purge of Student Files

It is the policy of the Office for Students with Disabilities at PennWest California to retain the student's file for seven consecutive years of enrollment.
The file will be purged after the student has not been enrolled in the University for at least seven consecutive academic years.