Course Load Accommodations
Course Substitutions
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act [Subpart E — Postsecondary Education §104.44 Academic Adjustments (a) Academic Requirements] requires that postsecondary educational institutions provide modifications to their academic requirements as necessary to ensure that the requirements do not discriminate, or have the effect of discriminating, on the basis of a disability, against a qualified disabled applicant or student.
Academic requirements that the institution can demonstrate are essential to the program of instruction being pursued by each student or to any directly related licensing requirement will not be regarded as discriminatory, even if they have an adverse effect on people with disabilities.
Consideration of requests for course substitutions and/or exemptions occur where the requirement is related to a disability and such a substitution will not constitute a fundamental alteration in the nature of the individual’s program. Once the appropriate substitution is approved, documentation is provided to the appropriate academic affairs representatives for confirmation of the student’s eligibility.
Students with disabilities who are unable to complete MU’s mathematics general education requirements or their college’s second language requirements due to the direct impact of their diagnoses may petition for a course substitution. Eligibility for a course substitution is based on a case-by-case basis.
Typically, mathematics course substitutions are approved for students who provide documentation of a mathematics-based learning disability. Second language course substitutions are considered for those with a language-based learning disability. However, students with other diagnoses may be eligible for course substitution if documentation demonstrates a significant impact in the student’s ability to learn that specific subject.
Students seeking a course substitution will need to provide current documentation (e.g. IEP, 504 Plan, or psychoeducational/neuropsychological evaluation) that provides information about the student’s diagnosis and demonstrates that the diagnosis precludes the student from mastering the concepts related to the course in question. Students should also be prepared to share information with their access advisor regarding their experience with taking the course both in high school and in college in addition to their use of accommodations or support systems in attempt to complete the subject in which they are seeking a substitution.
- ASTRON 1010: Introduction to Astronomy
- PHL 1200: How to Think: Logic and Reasoning in Everyday Life
- ECON 1014: Principles of Microeconomics
- ANTH 2050: Introduction to Biological Anthropology with Laboratory
- ANTH 2052: Biological Anthropology Laboratory
- PLNT_S 3250: Green Industry Bidding
- ARCHST 2323: Sustainable Building Design Fundamentals
- ATM_SCI 1050: Intro to Meteorology
- ABM 1200: Applied Computer Applications
- ABM 1041: Applied Microeconomics
- FIN 1000: Principles of Finance
Reduced Course Load
Students with disabilities that limit their ability to complete a full-time course load are eligible to request, as an accommodation, a reduced course load of nine credit hours (undergraduate students) or six credit hours (graduate students) each semester – or the equivalent during summer session – while still being considered a full-time student.
This accommodation is approved on a semester-by-semester basis. Students are encouraged to talk with their academic advisor and financial aid to discuss the impact of the accommodation on time to degree and/or their financial aid package.
Priority Registration
Priority registration allows eligible undergraduate students the ability to enroll in classes during the University’s early registration period.
Eligibility for priority registration is determined on a case-by-case basis. Common reasons students may receive this accommodation include:
- To allow sufficient time to arrange accommodations that require additional time to prepare, such as sign language interpreters and Braille,
- The ability to plan adequate time to navigate from class to class for those with physical disabilities,
- Or, the need to carefully plan a course schedule to address medication side effects or symptoms of their disability that may be more prevalent at certain times of the day.
Priority registration does not guarantee classes will be offered at specific times, remove prerequisites, override class enrollment limits, nor exempt students from completing any college or departmental holds or policies.