Rights & Responsibilities

Rights and Responsibilities of Students with Disabilities

As a student with a disability at Cornell University you have the right to:

  • Equal access to courses, programs, services, and activities offered through the University.
  • Reasonable accommodations and adjustments, which will be provided when needed to achieve equal access.
  • Determine whether to use the curricular and co-curricular accommodations for which you have been approved
  • All other rights and privileges available to other students at Cornell University.

As a student with a disability at Cornell University you have the responsibility to:

  • Meet qualifications and maintain essential institutional standards for courses, programs, and activities. 

  • Self-identify as an individual with a disability when an accommodation is needed and to seek information, counsel, and assistance as necessary and in a timely fashion.

  • Provide information on the manner in which the disability limits participation in courses, programs, services, and activities.

  • Engage with SDS in the interactive process to identify, discuss, and or modify disability-related accommodations. 

  • Follow university procedures for obtaining and implementing reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids and services.

  • Inform SDS of any concerns about classroom accommodations, disparate or disparaging treatment related to disability, or access issues on campus as soon as the issue arises.  

Rights and Responsibilities of Cornell University

Cornell University has the right to:

  • Identify and establish essential functions, abilities, skills, knowledge, requirements, and standards for courses, programs, services, and activities, and to evaluate students on this basis. This includes academic integrity and the Campus Code of Conduct. 
  • When necessary, request and receive, through SDS, current documentation that supports requests for accommodations or services
  • Deny a request for accommodations or services if the information provided through the interactive process does not show the request is reasonable or appropriate, results in a fundamental alteration of the program, or provides a health and/or safety risk.
  • Review requests, and through an interactive process, determine equally effective accommodations or services to meet access needs.

Cornell University has the responsibility to:

  • Provide information that can be accessed by all students in a way that works for their individual disability needs.

  • Ensure disabled students have equitable access to all courses, programs, services, and activities and provide or arrange for reasonable accommodations or services when needed.

  • Evaluate students on their abilities and not their disabilities.

  • Maintain confidentiality of records and communication as required under FERPA.