Referring students to the DRC
When referring students to DRC, please do not mention specific accommodations. Accommodations are determined on an individual basis and a student may not be eligible for a given accommodation.
When a student who is not yet connected with DRC mentions a disability or describes access difficulties (for example, student describes difficulties with reading the course textbook) please refer the student to DRC. It is the responsibility of all of our campus faculty and staff to refer students to DRC when they describe disability related concerns.
If a student is struggling in your course and you suspect that they may have disability related needs, share a variety of campus resources and include information about DRC.
The best way to refer students to DRC is to share the DRC website, contact information, and the DRC Welcome Form.
Please do not provide informal accommodations outside of the DRC process to students with disabilities. DRC can assist the student with adding new accommodations when needed.
Process to become eligible for DRC services
Not every student with a disability attending UCSC is utilizing DRC services. The decision to connect with DRC is an individual choice for students with disabilities. If a student believes that they will require accommodations to have equal access to participate in their program at UCSC, they need to take the formal step of applying for accommodations.
Students first apply online to create an account with DRC that will allow our office to keep students’ disability records separate from their academic and other campus records. Next, students are then asked to submit documentation of disability from an appropriate medical provider confirming both the presence of a disability and the impact of that disability. Finally, the student must schedule and attend an initial appointment with a Coordinator. Accommodations are then determined in order to eliminate or mitigate the barriers that have been identified.
As the impact of students’ disabilities and the nature of the requirements of their academic curriculum may change over time, accommodations may be revisited and revised to ensure that they are still appropriate to provide the student with equal access to their academic experience at UCSC.